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[Meghan]

The judges didn't just vote on their choices though. They argued, debated and convinced each other. If it was a blind vote that would be another thing entirely. But arguing and debating, there is a much higher chance that a product which isn't very good will get through, whereas if you had a panel of 12 or so qualified individuals who voted, if one was voting for their personal favorite regardless of how much it sucked, that vote wouldn't count.

Let's look at the Olympics. Or the Academy Awards. Or even a smaller award system like the Parsecs.

I also take strong offense to the notion that "they didn't choose what you like so you're upset." Not the case at all.

What I like and what is quality are not the same thing. I readily admit to liking stuff that isn't very good quality (I'm a sucker for the Twilight books, that should tell you something). And in the same regard, there are things I can appreciate for extremely high quality which I don't particularly like.

Aces and Eights was a fantastic book. Looking at it objectively, it had all the right pieces. It was unique, interesting, had a very interesting mechanic, and included great information. That being said, I will never play that game. I personally don't enjoy that style nor genre of RPG. But just because I don't like it shouldn't mean I can't appreciate its value to gaming.

The inverse is also true. Just because I like a game (again- full disclosure. I liked Rifts) doesn't mean I can't look at it objectively and compare it in a pool against a set rubric.

We do reviews now on our podcast- and reviewed all of the books in 4 of the categories of the ENnies. These reviews were not based on opinion- we set the criteria for review before we opened them. Some of the games we were familiar with and liked the game- but when we reviewed, we looked at it in a new light.

There were entries in the ENnies that simply did not belong. They didn't represent the category they were in and had nothing to offer that category. That's not saying I didn't like these books- that's saying that when you look at the RPG market they flat out just don't belong.

The judges favortism got in the way of them making an informed decision about a product which is to represent the industry.

That being said, if these awards are not for products to represent the industry, then by all means, continue in the manner upheld so far. I believe though that they can be more than a popularity contest. I would love to see quality products for each nomination (again- distinction between quality and what I personally like).

I think a few fairly simple adoptions of regulations will solve many of these problems and give more credibility to the award system.