What's next for the Thousand-Year Game Design Challenge

Last January, I announced the Thousand-Year Game Design Challenge unsure of whether anyone would enter. Boy, did that doubt fade fast. The submission period closes with just under 50 entries. Now, we'll review them, play as many as physically possible and try to pick a winner. Here's what we're looking for:

Elegance: The winning entry should be easy to learn, teach and play, ideally playing in under an hour.

Accessibility: The winning entry can be played by most people, most of the time, in most places. Any special props may come from sustainable resources.

Fun/Community: If we like a game, that's great! But even a game isn't our cup of tea, if we see a thriving community of eager players, that's strong evidence that the game can last a while.

And on that note, if you're an entrant to the challenge, your job isn't over yet! Send us pics or videos showing your games being played by real people around the world. Seeing that community will weigh greatly in our judging. So, get some friends around the table and play some games!

Abstract Strategy Games
Portal by Kenny VenOsdel*
Numeria by Lloyd Krassner aka Warp Spawn Games
Coerceo by the Coerceo Company*
Zuniq by Marcos Donnantuoni*
Board Tag by Greg Stolze
Rin by Zhen Wang
Cartography by Benjamin Alan Mohr*
Rush Run Riot by Kelvin Beriguete
Sáto by Kristian Järventaus †
Venn’s Revenge by Louis J. Cassorla
Klon by Antoine Richard*
Take-Back-Toe by James Ernest*
Antipode by Shane Hendrickson †
Charing Cross by Mike C
Saaguan by Andrew Cooke*
Push by Dan Hope
Push by David Gordon Buresh
WarMaze by Mackenzie Cameron*
Nomad by Kirk Mitchell
ZoxSo by David Weinstock
Tricala by Myles Wallace
Muros by Enrique Sánchez*
Turning Points by Joseph Kisenwether
Sygo by Christian Freeling
Hunters & Haunts by C. Casey Gardner*
Flume by Mark Steere
Bluffing Style Chess by Tyler Tinsley*
Catchup by Nick Bentley*
Yodd by Luis Bolaños †
GUCKOY by Mark A. Tiroff*
Hexiles by Derek Hohls*
Hot Wire by Phil Leduc
Crowns by Sovereign Games*
Kodrek by Joshua A.C. Newman*
Close Doesn't Count by Andrew Juell
Shooting Stars by Magnus Esko*
Bakkhus by Clay Gardner
Spread by Fernando Rivas*
Box by Douglas Hoover
Commander-in-Chief by Paul Miller*
Neighbors by XiFeng*

Social or Conversational Games
Public Secrets by Joshua Curtis Kidd
Pandora's Box by Benjamin D. Stanley
The Movie Game by Tonio Loewald*
F*ckin' Do It Then by Ryan Hughes*
Beloved by Ben Lehman*
Hand Covers Bruise by Andy Clarke and Grethe Mitchell
Rule of Three by Chris Sakkas*
Millennium Saga by Brian Suda*
Liars' Club by Matthew Moore

Dice Games
Kickbones by Frywire, LLC
Drop-Shy by Jonathan Walton

Card Games
Arena of Heroes by Jeremy Southard*

We'll announce the winner of the challenge on January 1st, 2012.