Contest

Lucca Comics & Games and DV Games present the international call for entries for the 2024 edition of Gioco Inedito Game Design Contest. The contest, powered by Lucca Comics & Games and DV Games, aims to identify the best new card game design from all prototypes received, and to reward it with the publication of the game in a fully professional manner aiming for the highest quality.

The contest will also recognize upcoming graphic artists with the “Best Artwork Award”. With this contest, Lucca Comics & Games, the biggest pop culture event in Europe, renews its commitment to authorship and emerging authors offering a concrete opportunity for new game designers to be able to be noticed, published and distributed internationally.

The inspirational theme of the game for this year 2024 will be: “Onde Radio”, which means “radio waves” in Italian. GIOCO INEDITO is open to Italian and English language submissions. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, February 15th 2024. International submissions can be done through this form from December 15th 2023.

The jury in charge of evaluating and play testing the games is composed by 8 experts chosen by Lucca Crea and DV Games, including President Luigi Ferrini, Prize Coordinator Daniele Boschi. All games submitted for GIOCO INEDITO 2023 will be evaluated on originality, playability, editorial, artistic, technical, and cultural value (though not necessarily in that order).

The contest is open to both Italian and foreign game designers, and prototypes may be submitted in either Italian or English. All submitted prototypes must conform to the technical and style requirements described below to avoid exclusion from the award process. The Award Jury will select the best games among those received before the contest deadline. Evaluation of the games for “Best Artwork Prize”, which will be based on illustration quality and artistic level, will be carried-out by the contest jury and publishing professionals from DV Games.

All games submitted will be evaluated on originality, playability, editorial, artistic, technical, and cultural value (though not necessarily in that order). The graphic design of the product will not be considered as a criterion for the award: designers only have to ensure that all drawings are clear, and all text is legible. On the other hand, game elements that may make it difficult for the game to be published internationally will receive unfavorable evaluation. It is therefore recommended that designers limit or exclude textual elements on the cards and, wherever possible, make use of internationally recognized expressions, symbols, and drawings (though this is not a mandatory requirement to participate in the contest). The jury will also evaluate the average length of a game. Though there are no strict requirements for game length, it is recommended for designers to aim for a game that lasts about 15 – 30 minutes.