![Links: Modern Games in the Media, Ideas for the Stealing, and Authors Honored by Dau Barcelona](https://cf.geekdo-images.com/jhpjolfMMdTeT9ioGxJHnA__thumb/img/NzrB-aSxmXQANQq9QHh9TujrhWI=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic2755676.jpg)
• Stuck for inspiration for a game design? The League of Gamemakers invites you to "steal this game idea", with ten offerings that mostly resemble grab bags of game mechanisms instead of settings, although it's neat to see commenters jump in with ideas of their own. To add one of my own, imagine homeowners in a cul-de-sac competing to dress their residences with the most impressive light displays possible during the holiday season.
• On Slate, Steve Krause explains "The Fun of Betraying Your Friends", highlighting how Betrayal at House on the Hill introduced him to both modern games and modern gamers:
I left the party that night not only with a brand new group of friends, but infatuated with the awesome power of board games. I told everyone I knew about that night with the dragon.
A decade later, and I'm still gaming. My collection grows every month, and I try to play games several times a week with as many people as I can. They've become more than just an excuse to get together, although my relationships have only strengthened through playing. Board games, the best of them, create experiences, and some of the best nights I've ever spent were sitting around a table with my friends and some cardboard.
How does one participate in the Dau Barcelona Awards? The press release notes that "authors will receive, from the 10th of November, a message from Dau Barcelona Awards through the BoardGameGeek messages system to invite them to participate in the votes". I spoke with Oriol Comas i Coma, Commissioner of the Dau Barcelona Games Festival at Spiel 2015, and he explained that they use the BGG database to contact authors due to its reach in the games industry and its use by authors themselves to market their games and provide support to players.
Oriol also mentioned that they're interested in creating better tools to extract data about game authors, such as their representative website or a connection between their username and game designer page, from the BGG database, and if you think this sounds like a project for you, be sure to get in touch with them.