Q1: If my work has been shown in other public occasions (such as a board game exhibition), can I submit it?

A: Entries in the WODC Contest must not have been published on any platform (including but not limited to crowd-funding,exhibitions, magazines, etc.) (with the exception of submissions through the Yoka Games original board game design platform and private game testing).

Q2: After submission, do I still have an opportunity to amend my submission?

A: You may amend or add on to your game content as long as they are submitted before the deadline. It is important to pay attention to the deadlines.

Q3: Which aspects of the submission are being considered in the qualifiers and which are considered in the preliminaries?

A: In the qualifiers, the competition committee checks if the work meets the requirements of the competition, things like if the design is original or appeared elsewhere, whether it contains sensitive content, and more. Following that, the submission goes into the review phase and are screened primarily by reviewing the contents of the rulebook. In the preliminaries, the game will be evaluated through actual tests, including strategic, interactivity, replay ability, substitution, balance, difficulty, operability and fluency, and whether the submission has any unique selling points. Finally, the finalists are selected according to the various factors that makes up the entirety of the submission.

Q4: When my submission is in review and the reviewing committee has a question, will they contact me?

A: No. Explanation of the game rules is part of the criteria for evaluation. To ensure that evaluation is being carried out in all equal fairness, we will not contact any designers about the rules. If there are concerns that explanation in text may not be clear, we recommend that you use the pictures, diagrams or specific examples. Additionally, you may submit supplemental materials such as videos to assist with the explanation. However, please ensure that the materials submitted are relevant, and are submitted before the deadlines.

Q5: After the submission, how is the copyright of the work handled for winning and non-winning submissions?

A: After qualifiers results have been announced and published, all rights arising from the submissions that failed to enter the primarilies will be handed back to the designers. For submissions that have entered the primarilies of the competition. After the final results have been announced and published, and with Yoka Games subsequently given up the first rights of signing the submission by not offering a contract to the designer, all rights arising from the submission are also handed back to the designer. All submissions will be kept by the organizing committee during the competition. Please pay careful attention to the official correspondences via email and updates on the official website.

Q6: What changes to the prize pool between the 1st and 2nd season of WODC?

A： The total prize pool of the second season is exactly the same as that of the 1st season. 9,000 US dollars. The prize amount of the Gold, Silver and Bronze prizes are also intact, with the Gold prize at 3,000 US dollars, Silver prize at 2000 US dollars and Bronze prize at 1000 US dollars each, there will be 2 bronze prizes in the 2nd season. The Excellence Awards (the finalists who have not won the Gold, Silver or Bronze prizes) in the 1st season will be restructure into a number of judges' selection awards, with the remaining 2000 US Dollars to be equally divided among the winners of the selection awards. The judges' selection awards will be selected from all the qualifiers who have not won the top 3 prizes. These awards will be selected from submissions that exhibits outstanding qualities in various aspects. In addition, we will also issue certificates for winners of the gold, silver, bronze, and other prizes.

Q7: What if I want my prototype back when the competition is over?

A: The competition committee will not take the initiative to return the submissions, if you wish to have your prototype sent back, you will need to contact Yoka Games with your mailing address, mobile phone number and postage fees. The competition committee will send your submission to the address that you have specified.

Q8: Is original art required for the submission, or may placeholder art borrowed from online sources be used? (As previously asked by Bruce Nettleton on BoardGameGeek)

A: While borrowed graphics are permitted, we will require each participant to state the source of the borrowed pictorials or images. Having said that, we strongly encourage participants to go for submissions containing their own original artwork, this will contribute towards the level of completion in the submission which is a medium level factor for the WODC committee to consider. Gameplay is the most important factor that the committee will rate, even with borrowed graphics (please attach source acknowledgment). In the event where the gameplay mechanics are rated similarly in terms of points in the contest, the committee will look into the level of completeness (including artwork). If the organizing committee decides to sign the project to bring it commercial, we will definitely invest quality artwork for the game, such an example is illustrated in the transformation from the silver prize winner’s Shan Hai Jing to Drifting Lands.