The migration to the new website will occur this weekend sometime LATE Saturday night (11pm-ish EST, into early morning Sunday, ??? am EST).

PLEASE be aware that site availability will be impacted during this time and any new post/topic/blog submission might be best kept for the start of the new system.

NO user specific content will be migrated to the new system. This includes USER ACCOUNTS... As such be prepared to register to the new site. Also be prepared to move over any important personal information from this current system. This site will be available for a short period after the move and will be reach via archive.bgdf.com. BUT this site is VERY vulnerable to hackers, as such, I would suggest movement of any important information occur ASAP. At some point we might not be able to retrieve the data if any major hack attempts are successful.

Wiki content will be moving, various admins are preparing to preform migration of this content along with cleanup and restructuring of the data. This might be a slow process but hopefully it will result in a more useful content component to this community.

Thank you once again for understanding, being patience and supportive of BGDF . This move was not an easy decision to make, but in hopes to bring your a better community with long term value it had to be done now. Failure to do so might have yielded a scenario where BDGF might have become just a memory!

The Libraries of Modena have announced a competition for the creation of a card game based on Modena Cathedral’s imaginary world. The game must require at least two players, last no more than one hour and be made of maximum 110 cards divided into one or two decks, rules not included. Nothing else must be necessary to play: only sheets of paper and a pen to record scores.

For more information, see the article on Boardgame News.

URGENT! notice, due to the recent site issues (speed performance/hackers/etc), BGDF.com will be moving to version 3.0, sooner than planned!

With this change will also come an entirely new site, better look and feel, better features and a better BGDF.com!

This will be a new beginning for BGDF, as such and due to the unforeseen circumstances, we will be requesting that all user re-register with the new site. We will keep an active archive of the current site available for a short period, while content is migrated to the new system.

We will also be asking members to help move their own personal content over to the new system when it becomes available. Because of these latest hack attempts on the current site, we can not guarantee that the archive site will not be attacked again. As such it is requested that any important information be migrated as soon as possible.

We will do our best to make the transition easier, and we thank you for your support during this difficult time.

More information to follow... and thank you,
--Zzzzz

The site has been attacked multiple times by hackers over the past few days. At this point, the site will be unstable with a high potential for data loss. Please be aware that the admins are working to resolve the issue.

More information to follow.

Four brave designers have stepped up with some out-of-the-box (-and-into-the-pool) entries for the July 2008 Challenge in the monthly Game Design Showdown series. The Challenge was entitled "Pool Party" and was looking for games to be played by groups in a swimming pool.

Catch the details in the Challenge Thread.

Then, send in your votes and post your critiques.

Folks,
Byron Collins of FrontLineGeneral.com posted a most excellent article on the Geek about his experiences with game design and publication. I highly recommend you read it, it has a lot of useful information.

check it out here:

-Darke

Congratulations to Isamoor, whose entry "Lion Tamers" was voted as the best response to the June 2008 Challenge in the monthly GDS series. The Challenge, entitled "Send In The Clowns", was looking for custom card-driven games about things you might see at a circus.

Read "Lion Tamers" and the other 9 entries in the Challenge Thread.

Then, help out the entry authors by giving your critiques.

Congratulations to Freerby who submitted the winning entry, "Billy Sweetshoe & the Ranchsliders present ... Gig of the Century", in response to the May 2008 Game Design Showdown Challenge. This Challenge in the monthly series was entitled "Baby, I'm a Star!", and was looking for VP Collection games about entertainers.

Get the details about Billy Sweetshoe, and the other 4 entries that were submitted, in the Challenge Thread.

Interesting video by Matt Leacock, involving Pandemic, how is career influenced the design and "how cooperative games can point to new models for engagement in online systems".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdTVcFo2EQw

Enjoy!

Congratulations goes to RobertC, whose entry "Rush to the North Pole" was voted as the best entry in the April 2008 GDS Challenge. The title of the Challenge was "Going Solo: Man Versus Wild", and was looking for solo-play games about people struggling against nature.

Read "Rush to the North Pole", along with the other 9 entries, in the Challenge Thread.