Spring Thing 2006 Reviews - Introduction

     I skipped both steps for the 2006 Spring Thing. At first, I intended to use my IFComp 2005 criteria (http://www.sidneymerk.com/comp05/scoring.shtml). With only four entries - each being very different from any of the others and none of them being bad - I changed my mind. The final scores are kind of a hybrid between this and my 2004 C32 Comp system.

     Ranking them was no easy task. I was tempted to take the cheap way out and rate them all the same - "Spring Thing 2006: Every Game Gets a Ten!" The Potter and the Mould is action-packed with good scenery implementation, but Pantomime has great writing and a trippy storyline. The Warlord, The Princess & The Bulldog is a lengthy puzzlefest with multiple solutions and some clever gameplay mechanics, but The Baron stands apart from its competition with a well-told, thought-provoking story that lacks puzzles entirely.

     To decide on scores, I considered the writing, the story, the implementation, the length of the game, and the experience as a whole. Every entry was great in its own way. I am incredibly impressed with what each of these authors has done here, and any of them would make a fine Spring Thing winner. However, I did decide on scores, and so that they're meaningful, no two scores are the same.