Judging
- Photos and a short summary of each entry will appear on this web site approximately mid-June. Each puzzle, along with the goal statement, and a one-page solution will be on display during the Puzzle Party, and will be available for
hands-on examination. (The designers' names will not be formally revealed until the
announcement of the results.) If the total number of entries is greater than 50, then the jury may perform a first round of judging prior to publishing the entry list, reducing the number of entries to no less than 50. As a courtesy, entries eliminated in this round will not be publicized. (Based on recent trends, the jury will endeavor to bring the number of published entries close to around 60.)
- Puzzlers' Award: each
registered Puzzle Party attendee may select their top five puzzles, based on
personal preference or the suggested voting criteria. Ballots must be
returned by the end of the designated review period, as announced at the
Puzzle Party.
- Jury Prize voting: the
judging panel is selected in advance by the organizing committee. Typically
this will include eligible members of the committee and sometimes someone from the host country. Each judge will select 5-7 puzzles from the pool of
entries that they feel distinguish themselves from the other puzzles in the
competition. Then the judges decide as a group what awards to give and which
puzzles shall receive them. Any member of the organizing committee that
submits a puzzle to the competition will not participate in selecting the
judges or take part in the actual judging.
The following are the 2024 Design
Competition jury members:
- Nick Baxter (chair), Brian Pletcher, Louis Coolen, Yael Meron Rohmann, Rob Stegmann, and Hirokazu Iwasawa
Judging Criteria
- All judges
are asked to consider the following criteria, balanced by their personal
preferences:
| Innovation |
| |
How
innovative is a new puzzle design; or how inventive is the new application of known principles? Emphasis should be given to designs that are completely new. |
| Physical
Design |
| |
How well does the physical design work together with the puzzle mechanism?
How
beautiful is the physical design, considering the workmanship, artistry, and use
of appropriate materials? |
| Positive
Solving Experience |
| |
How
"fun" and rewarding is the puzzle to solve? |
| Overall Desirability |
| |
How badly would you want a puzzle in your collection? |
Awards
-
The
Puzzlers' Award will be given to the puzzle that gets the highest overall
weighted score from the Puzzle Party attendee/invitee voting. Entries in the top-10 of voting will also be recognized, if not otherwise awarded a prize by the jury.
-
One or more juried prizes will be awarded,
as determined by the judging committee.
-
The winners will
be announced online, mid-July.
-
Prizes will
include suitable trophies, pins, plaques or certificates.
-
The results of
the competition will be reported in the Puzzle Party Souvenir Booklet and on the Design Competition web site.
|