RPGWatch - Spring Key Giveaway Preparation

I've tried a number of things in the past, like:

• Being registered before a certain date
• A minimum absolute post count
• A minimum number of posts in the last x months
• Any combination of the above

A more elaborate version was a ticketing system. People get a number of tickets based on how long they have been registered and/or the number of post counts and/or the number of posts in the last x months.

The last system favors active persons more than inactive, but there is still a chance for those with a low amount of posts to win, just less of a chance than for someone with a lot of posts.

However there are some things to take into account:

• We have 80+ keys to give away. This means that a large group of those participating will end up with a key anyway
• The majority of our visitors hardly ever post. Does that make them less 'worthy' of winning a key, even if they are loyal visitors?
  We are already excluding those who never bothered to register
• The whole thing is semi-automatic, so I have a tendency to go with what is the least amount of effort

So, I don't know yet what the final restrictions will be, but the strongest voices in this thread that will guide me in that, are the voices of those who have contributed keys.

It's too bad we can't bid for specific keys somehow, based on your criterion. Most of the games that are given away I already have or am not interested. While I'd appreciate the gesture of receiving a free copy of "The Life of Snails" or something, I fear it would be a wasted transaction. I suppose I could give it away later, tho.

*clicks to eat lettuce*

We always allow you to give a preference of games, but if you make it very restrictive it also means you have less of a chance to win.
The thing is that I randomly select winners and assign keys from top to bottom based on the provided preferences. At a certain point it is impossible to do that anymore when people have only listed one or a very limited amount of games, especially if they are very popular.

While it is fun to see who crawls out of the wood-works during giveaways, I have no problem with it. I was a lurker myself for a few years before I officially joined the Watch.

I'm fine with whatever system Myrthos decides on.

Awesome. Good luck to registrants when it goes live!

I always feel bad taking keys from folks who maybe can't afford that many games. I rarely enter these things unless there's a game I'm curious about but don't want to spend any money. I think I won a key to DOS:2 that way. It's a bummer because I barely made it through the first town before dying of boredom. P.S. Combat must be fast and/or optional for me.

I have seriously got to give back for the keys you folks have gifted me. Unfortunately, on the rare occasion when I purchase a bundle, I feel obligated to at least check the extra games out.

if i get a game from a bundle that i already own i tend to give it away.

crpgnut said:

I won a key to DOS:2 that way.

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Lucky man

zypek said:

I don't agree. I have been reading RPGWatch since day one, almost every day. It's my main source for RPG news. I'm not into writing or communicating much with others, so I have barely any posts. I've participated in a few of the giveaways, because why not, I'm a loyal reader. And now I'm donating a few games for the first time. Things are not always black and white

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Same here. I don't post much, but I've been reading RPGWatch for years pretty much daily (and I contributed keys to the last giveaway).