TheRPGSite

Link here  (http://bamfsies.blogspot.com/2017/03/gamers-choice-bamfsies-gamers-choice.html)

A Few Highlights:

• Aaron Allston's Strikeforce won the overall Gamer's Choice Poll (with Masks: A New Generation as a close 2nd place)


• The Awesome Powers Series (for BASH) received a Judge's Award from Steve Trustrum


• Super-Powered Legends from Rogue Genius Press received a Judge's Award from Steve Kenson


• The Template Tome from Purple Prose (and written by new M&M dev Crystal Frasier) received a Judge's Award from Jacob Blackmon.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Gamer's Choice poll (had a great turnout this year) and congratulations to all the winners. Full details/awards are here (http://bamfsies.blogspot.com/2017/03/gamers-choice-bamfsies-gamers-choice.html)

I got nominated for a Bamfsie once. Didn't even find out until several months afterward. It was for a 3PP supplement for Worlds in Peril. I would never have expected to get it, as the game it supplemented got nominated in the same year.

It isn't a fair set of awards. When one of the judges was a contributor to one of the products up for nomination.

Total conflict of interest.

Quote from: Darrin Kelley;952479It isn't a fair set of awards. When one of the judges was a contributor to one of the products up for nomination.

Total conflict of interest.

Man -especially with the massive cash prizes involved. Scandal :)

Anyway - yeah - it's not optimal. But I gather the judges panel months in advance and they send in their picks independently of each other.

Steve thought Jacob had a good product and called it out. Jacob just happened to also be a judge this year.

Quote from: DiscoSoup;952478I got nominated for a Bamfsie once. Didn't even find out until several months afterward. It was for a 3PP supplement for Worlds in Peril. I would never have expected to get it, as the game it supplemented got nominated in the same year.

Technically- everyone who releases a superhero RPG product is eligible for the Gamer's Choice Bamfsie that is awarded by popular vote on an open poll.

We have tried our best to be as thorough as possible so that everyone who's been working in the field on the ballot for a given year. The point of the award is to drawn attention to all the great work being done in the superhero RPG genre (which unfortunately can get overlooked at the bigger awards)

Quote from: mikelaff;952703Steve thought Jacob had a good product and called it out. Jacob just happened to also be a judge this year.

Jacob wasn't the only contributor to one of the products involved.

Less than optimal doesn't even remotely describe this. When you have judges commenting on products they helped produce. The conflict of interest is laid bare.

Your awards were rigged from the outset.

Quote from: Darrin Kelley;952713Jacob wasn't the only contributor to one of the products involved.

Less than optimal doesn't even remotely describe this. When you have judges commenting on products they helped produce. The conflict of interest is laid bare.

Your awards were rigged from the outset.

Speaking as a guy who was a judge the first couple of years, I never even knew who the other judges were going in, much less communicated with them.

Quote from: Tommy Brownell;952720Speaking as a guy who was a judge the first couple of years, I never even knew who the other judges were going in, much less communicated with them.

It's up to those holding the awards to check for conflicts of interest amongst its judges beforehand. The judges should all have nothing to do with the items getting the awards for it to be seen as fair.

There are also questions about the legal side of it.

Jesus Christ, dude, what the fucking hell is WRONG with you?

Quote from: Darrin Kelley;952723It's up to those holding the awards to check for conflicts of interest amongst its judges beforehand. The judges should all have nothing to do with the items getting the awards for it to be seen as fair.

There are also questions about the legal side of it.

Well, there are no prizes, other than bragging rights, so I'm not sure about the legalities of anything. I recall Mike specifically asked us not to pick anything his company put out, because of the appearance of impropriety.

If it was the fan vote, then that's entirely independent of a judge. If it was a judge picking a product that another judge worked on, I don't think it's a big deal unless that judge was hitting up the other judge and asking for the push.

If it was a judge picking something they had worked on themselves...then yeah, that's bad.

Quote from: Tommy Brownell;952727Well, there are no prizes, other than bragging rights, so I'm not sure about the legalities of anything. I recall Mike specifically asked us not to pick anything his company put out, because of the appearance of impropriety.

If it was the fan vote, then that's entirely independent of a judge. If it was a judge picking a product that another judge worked on, I don't think it's a big deal unless that judge was hitting up the other judge and asking for the push.

If it was a judge picking something they had worked on themselves...then yeah, that's bad.

Every state in the United States has laws regarding contests or awards. It's best to be aware of them.

This doesn't look good, and appearances are important.

If its all based on an independent poll by voters, that's cool. 1 person, 1 vote, etc.

The addition of "judges" is an issue if the judges have some involvement in the products. But this isn't uncommon whatsoever, even with very "notable" awards such as the Nobel and Oscars - lots of scandal and drama in the background there too - and some of its unintentional too.

Again, there probably is ZERO impropriety here. It's just appearances vs. the suspicious nature of our modern age.

As for US laws, there isn't any issue since there are no prizes. There is nothing of tangible, provable value at stake. Does a BAMFSIES award winner sell measurably better after winning the award? If that could be tracked and the dollar amounts notable (aka $1000 is usually the base threshold), then perhaps there is a discussion that the prize does come with a level of financial reward.

Darrin, you could certainly go to DriveThruRPG / OneBookShelf and look at how BAMFSIES products rank before and after the award. If they go from Copper to Gold sellers swiftly, then maybe there is something to discuss and for the contest organizers to consider seriously in the future.

Transparency - especially in a tiny niche hobby - is always a good thing.

SpinachCat: Thanks for the reference.

I honestly didn't check that on DriveThruRPG. I just didn't know that aspect of it before I posted in this thread.

And that's what I was really pushing for. A transparent process,

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;952724Jesus Christ, dude, what the fucking hell is WRONG with you?

And here we go again.

Who wants popcorn?

Quote from: Darrin Kelley;952713Jacob wasn't the only contributor to one of the products involved.

Less than optimal doesn't even remotely describe this. When you have judges commenting on products they helped produce. The conflict of interest is laid bare.

Your awards were rigged from the outset.

Guess you're talking about Steve Kenson being a contributor to Aaron's Allston's Strike Force. I'll go ahead and put a note on the blog page that Steve was a contributor.
OH WAIT
I just checked - and Steve mentioned that in the first few sentences.

Rigged?


HOOO-boy. Thanks for the smile, fella.

Quote from: Darrin Kelley;952730Every state in the United States has laws regarding contests or awards. It's best to be aware of them.

The Colorado Attorney General Office can be reached at
Address: 1300 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (720) 508-6000

You need to let them know about this great travesty, Matlock. Get on it!

Quote from: Tommy Brownell;952727Well, there are no prizes, other than bragging rights, so I'm not sure about the legalities of anything. I recall Mike specifically asked us not to pick anything his company put out, because of the appearance of impropriety.

If it was the fan vote, then that's entirely independent of a judge. If it was a judge picking a product that another judge worked on, I don't think it's a big deal unless that judge was hitting up the other judge and asking for the push.

If it was a judge picking something they had worked on themselves...then yeah, that's bad.

It was Steve selecting Aaron's Allston's Strike Force. But he made it clear in the first few sentences. The primary authors were Michael Surbrook and the late Aaron Allston. A bunch of RPG luminaries were invited to do essays talking about superhero campaigns and/or the influence the original Strike Force had on them. Those essays were included in the book (as part of the kickstarter). Strike Force also received the most votes in the open poll.

Given the number of RPG luminaries who have published for the superhero genre who had essays in Strike Force - I'm surprised we didn't have two judges who were contributors. At least one BAMFSIE judge from a prior year that I'm aware of also has an essay in there.

I can understand the concern - but since Steve mentions his involvement right in the review - I thought that was sufficient.

thread necro!
We are now having the open call for nominees for the 2017 BAMFSIES Gamers Choice poll.

Link: http://bamfsies.blogspot.com/2017/11/its-time-open-call-for-2017-bamfsies.html

I have never heard of these awards nor the products listed for last year aside from Strike Force. Is this really a thing with professionals judging games products?

Quote from: Dumarest;1005014I have never heard of these awards nor the products listed for last year aside from Strike Force.

It's cool - I asked those guys and they had never heard of you either :)

Quote from: Dumarest;1005014Is this really a thing with professionals judging games products?

Nope. Not really. I'll break it down for you:

1) We invite a panel of RPG industry folks to serve as judges by spotlighting their favorite superhero RPG product from the last year.

2) It's not like the Ennies or Origin awards where there's a slate of nominees the judges vote on. The judges just spotlight what they think were the notable superhero RPG product(s) from the last 12 months according to their own tastes. Sort of like the judge's spotlight awards for the Ennies

3) The only true voting/judging is the Gamer's Choice award.  Every superhero RPG product from the last year is eligible and the winner is decided by popular vote in an open poll on the blog.

Quote from: mikelaff;1005035It's cool - I asked those guys and they had never heard of you either :)



Nope. Not really. I'll break it down for you:

1) We invite a panel of RPG industry folks to serve as judges by spotlighting their favorite superhero RPG product from the last year.

2) It's not like the Ennies or Origin awards where there's a slate of nominees the judges vote on. The judges just spotlight what they think were the notable superhero RPG product(s) from the last 12 months according to their own tastes. Sort of like the judge's spotlight awards for the Ennies

3) The only true voting/judging is the Gamer's Choice award.  Every superhero RPG product from the last year is eligible and the winner is decided by popular vote in an open poll on the blog.

Mayhap  you can post the results here.

Yes, do post the results here.

It can't be more unethical or screwed up than the ENnies.

and - the 2017 BAMFSIES Poll for best superhero RPG release of the last year is now live.

Check it out - make your voice heard. (http://bamfsies.blogspot.com/2018/01/2017-bamfsies-gamers-choice-poll-for.html)

Poll ends in early Feb - I'll post results here shortly afterwards (along with the Judges' spotlight awards_

Where is the actual poll?

Quote from: RPGPundit;1021698Where is the actual poll?

Hey.
It's at the link in the first message. It's a polldaddy.com poll embedded on the blog.

Link: http://bamfsies.blogspot.com/2018/01/2017-bamfsies-gamers-choice-poll-for.html?_sm_au_=iVVHRZTstfRTFrQN

If you'd rather hit the poll on the polldaddy site directly - here's that link as well: http://poll.fm/5wmyf

Thanks!

I would not have guessed there were so many (82) Superhero RPG products in just one year.

Quote from: mikelaff;1021769Hey.
It's at the link in the first message. It's a polldaddy.com poll embedded on the blog.

Link: http://bamfsies.blogspot.com/2018/01/2017-bamfsies-gamers-choice-poll-for.html?_sm_au_=iVVHRZTstfRTFrQN

If you'd rather hit the poll on the polldaddy site directly - here's that link as well: http://poll.fm/5wmyf

Thanks!

For some reason, on the blog itself the poll is NOT showing up. All I see is the title, and that's it.
Thought you'd want to know.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1022215For some reason, on the blog itself the poll is NOT showing up. All I see is the title, and that's it.
Thought you'd want to know.

Odd. Can I ask what browser and device you're on? I've experimented with the stuff I have at hand - and I haven't had a problem yet. But that doesn't mean there's not a problem. Just that I'm not seeing it.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1022215For some reason, on the blog itself the poll is NOT showing up. All I see is the title, and that's it.
Thought you'd want to know.

It's not showing for me either. Might it have something to do with Adblock Plus?

Quote from: mikelaff;1022422Odd. Can I ask what browser and device you're on? I've experimented with the stuff I have at hand - and I haven't had a problem yet. But that doesn't mean there's not a problem. Just that I'm not seeing it.

Chrome, standard computer running windows 7.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1022966Chrome, standard computer running windows 7.

Huh  - that's pretty much what I'm using.
Maybe adblock is the what's causing the issue. Are you using that?

It could be a javascript security issue that the browser is blocking. Happens occasionally when javascript loads data from another site.

hey - as requested - here are the poll winners for this year. I've stripped out the images from the press release because I've noticed you guys tend to go pretty graphics light aroun dhere.

The BAMFSIES for 2017 have been Announced.


The 2017 BAMFSIES Gamer's Choice Poll for best Superhero RPG Product is complete.  (https://bamfsies.blogspot.com/2018/02/2017-bamfsies-awards-announced.html)


First off, thanks to everyone who voted. We have over 1500 votes this year - the most over. We are sincerely grateful to everyone who took the time to look over this years candidates and vote.


ALSO - OneBookShelf is doing a BAMFSIES Sale where many superhero genre titles (including most of our award winners) are 25% off.

Here are the links to the BAMFsies sale on DTRPG  (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/promo.php?&filters=0_0_0_0_0_45703)and RPGnow  (https://www.rpgnow.com/promo.php?&filters=0_0_0_0_0_45703)respectively:


And now - the winners:
1) Darren Watts' Golden Age Champions from High Rock Press was the number one choice in the poll.


Close behind, second and third places, respectively, go to

2)V&V 3.0 Mighty Protectors From Monkey House Games and

3) Sentinel Comics: The Roleplaying Game Starter Kit From Greater Than Games.


Visit the BAMFSIES Blog to see all the Judges' Spotlight awards from industry luminaries Christopher Rutkowsky, Crystal Frazier, Sean Patrick Fannon and Steve Kenson (https://bamfsies.blogspot.com/2018/02/2017-bamfsies-awards-announced.html)

So two games that have been around for literally decades, and one that no one has ever heard of?

I see that this set of gaming awards is as credible as every other.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1024881So two games that have been around for literally decades, and one that no one has ever heard of?

I see that this set of gaming awards is as credible as every other.

Well - the judges' spotlight awards add more breadth and diversity. Those are on the blog.

But the ones you are talking about from the Gamers Choice Poll - that's literally just an open vote. Pure popularity contest. The winners reflect the votes and nothing else there.

Re: Sentinels of the Multiverse  -with no hyperbole - that card game is literally a juggernaut in the Supers gaming market. You and your gaming circle may not have heard of it - but lots of other folks have.

Deserving winners IMHO! I see that DriveThru has a sale on nominee products too.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1024881So two games that have been around for literally decades, and one that no one has ever heard of?

I see that this set of gaming awards is as credible as every other.

What are your picks for the best superhero RPGs of 2017 then?

Quote from: mikelaff;1025067Re: Sentinels of the Multiverse  -with no hyperbole - that card game is literally a juggernaut in the Supers gaming market. You and your gaming circle may not have heard of it - but lots of other folks have.

OK, so after that, I looked it up... are we actually talking about an RPG here? Because everything I googled seems to talk about a CARD GAME.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1025699OK, so after that, I looked it up... are we actually talking about an RPG here? Because everything I googled seems to talk about a CARD GAME.

They are releasing an RPG. This was a starter kit released in advance of that rpg (which iirc, is going to be funded via kickstarter).

Quote from: urbwar;1025700They are releasing an RPG. This was a starter kit released in advance of that rpg (which iirc, is going to be funded via kickstarter).

Oh, well, that's different then, I guess.