Games Review

Just last week, I reviewed THE SPOILS, which is one heck of a good game. The only problem is, I never even heard of it before a reader mentioned it to me, and that means more people need to be playing this game. Considering how much better it is than Magic, it distresses me that The Spoils doesn't have more avid fans.

I intend to remedy that. And the way I will get more people playing The Spoils is to give people the game and tell them to play it. Brilliant, right? The only problem is, I only have ten decks. And that means I need some way to narrow it down.

But how do I do that? Why, I have an idea! How about a contest? Crazy, I know, but it just might work.

So here's what I want you to do. If you want to try The Spoils, or if you already have it and just want more cards, all you have to do is show me how bad you want 'em. It's a simple two-step process.

Step 1: Visit The Spoils website and flip through these links:

THE PRIMER
THE PRODUCT GUIDE
THE TUTORIAL

Get a bit of a feel for the game, read about the wacky world of The Spoils, and see the kinds of bruisers you can expect to see when you play.

Step 2: Come up with your own character for The Spoils. It can be anything, and it doesn't even have to be feasible. Hell, I'm pretty sure the guys who make cards for The Spoils don't even bother trying to make them feasible. And all you need is the name. No need to come up with card abilities and witty taglines and stuff. Just invent a name, and email it to me at matt@vixentorgames.com. Include your address, so I know where to send your cards.

The winners will be decided in two phases. First, I will pick my favorite entry, completely arbitrary, as the sole and final judge. The person who sent me that name will get four different preconstructed decks. Each deck has enough cards for one player, so you'll have enough to play with someone else.

In the second phase, I will randomly select three other people who entered. You have to come up with a character name, but it can totally suck, and you can still win. These other three people will each get two preconstructed decks, so you can sit down with a friend and give it a whirl.

The contest starts right now, and I will be accepting entries for four weeks. That means you need to get me your idea by June 17. I'll pick the winner over that weekend, and declare the winners on June 20.

You can enter as many times as you like, but every entry needs to have a different character name. The various entries will be used in deciding the grand prize winner, but your name will only be entered in the random drawing once. If you win the grand prize, you can't also win one of the random drawings. Don't be greedy. Oh, and you have to give me a few weeks to get your cards to you. God only knows how long the mail will take, and I'm shipping these the cheapest way I can, since I'm paying for them myself.

If you have questions, stick them in the comments section and I'll answer them if I can. Otherwise, put on your thinking caps and get yourselves some cards.