Messages

[CCC]

Here are my votes:

Spoiler

Humour
Time Works Weird in Heaven - 2 points
The Magic of Laughter - 1 point

Originality
Smash and Grab - 2 points
Diner Disaster - 1 point

[close]

And some little reviews:

Spoiler

CCC
The concept of the Celebrity Confessions Circle is unique and could be a whole genre of joke in itself with different celebrities each time. It could have been tighter, but liked the simple punchline "pass". The joke relies heavily on knowing who Rolf Harris is, which I do, so I got a small giggle out of it, bad taste as it may be.

Diner Disaster
This story had a great build up and I wasn't sure what to expect from the punchline. In the end you had three punchlines in one, which was fun, but maybe just one might have been more impactful (the "weakest link" one, was my favourite. It also could have used some tightening up as there were a lot details that didn't matter in the end, like the thermometer readings and stuff, but overall I liked it.

Dinner for Two. Or Maybe One
This one took me a little while to puzzle out, so by the time I had worked out the punchline, the moment for laughter had passed. It's a funny concept, though. Another one that could be used many times and just swap out different celebrities or characters to come up with different punchlines. What we really have here is a storified version of a classic "What do you get when you cross..." type joke. Which would be more effective, but a lot less than 300 words.

Time Works Weird in Heaven
I enjoyed the misdirection in this one. And it appealed to the atheist in me. I think this is another one that would work great as a scene in a funny movie or TV sketch show. I imagine St Peter talking to someone off camera and you think it's Hitler but then then camera pans round and it's God all along. Wonderfully blasphemous.

Smash-and-grab
This story was gripping and I enjoyed the main pun at the end. And nice and tight at just a smidge over 300. I felt that this would make a great scene in a heist comedy where Trevor himself thinks he is looking for a an actual fence but gets confused when it turns out there is someone there waiting to buy the goods from him. As it is, he knows the fence is a person, so its just a pun for the reader. There's a slight missed opportunity for some situational humour on top of the pun.

The Magic of Laughter
Jokes aside, this was a nice story with a lovely message reminding us of the importance of humour. And I liked the framing device for the steady flow of mini-jokes, which I think is more effective than piling them all the end. However, the jokes themselves, funny as they are, are as old as the hills ("What's brown and sticky?" is a favouite of mine since childhood).

[close]

I've got one:
What doesn't smell when it goes off?

A fire alarm?

Maybe an alarm clock?

My answer is indeed 'alarm
clock'. Although it seems I missed CaptainD's answer 'fire alarm' which was pretty close too'

When is the deadline for voting?

To be confirmed. It's all down to when the AGS Award ceremony is set for (late-March-ish). When we know the exact date, I'll close the voting a few days before it.

If I were to make videos, should they be full playthroughs?

Whatever you can do would be great. My personal preference is full playthroughs with no talking over the game audio, but if that's not your style, that's cool. Anything that gives a flavour of the gameplay and graphics, and  shows off some of the puzzles, would be awesome.

I've got one:
What doesn't smell when it goes off?

An elctric light?

Not my answer but a valid one, and you're already in the right direction, as in it's not food.

I've got one:
What doesn't smell when it goes off?

Another riddle on a similar note:
What do you call bad breath that is sacred?

Holytosis or hallowtosis.
(From eating too much manna?)

Close, but not quite (see previous answer).

Hallowed tosis

When is the deadline for voting?

To be confirmed. It's all down to when the AGS Award ceremony is set for (late-March-ish). When we know the exact date, I'll close the voting a few days before it.

Thanks for the entries, everyone. I'll set the voting up soon. In the new time, get playing.

I think we may need another hint here. @mkennedy

Spoiler

What's another word for holy?

[close]

D'oh!

Spoiler

Hallowpeno

[close]

Almost there!

Spoiler

Think past tense.

[close]

D'oh!

Spoiler

Hallowed-peno

[close]

Well done to all the nominees. Good luck, everyone.

Thanks to (almost) everyone who interacted with MAGS in one way or another in 2023.

@4KbShort @BowsetteGamer @Blondbraid@Bulbapuck @Cassiebsg @cat @Coco_the_Clown @Creamy @DBoyWheeler @Durinde @eri0o @glurex @The Great Underground Empire @HandsFree @heltenjon @Intense Degree @jwalt @Kastchey @Kitty Trouble @lanchong @Mandle @MOCCA @noblonski @Ponch @Radiant @RootBound @Shadow1000 @Stupot @tbook @Tomags @vertigoaddict @Volcan

If anyone can help making videos of some of the games, that would be a great help. Games that currently have videos are marked with this clapperboard 🎬. If you are able, you can PM me the link or just post it below.

Happy voting

[The Distant Door]

The Winner of MAGGIES 2023 is:
The Distant Door by Durinde (with 7 votes)
Well done, indeed.

In 2nd place we have The Devil's Teeth by GOC Games (with 5 votes), and injoint 3rd place with have both Elevation by Rootbound, and Tales from a Forgotten Tavern by Ponch (with 4 votes each).

Thanks to everyone who has taken part in MAGS over the past year. We had a quiet 2023 in terms of entries, but the quality of those entries was really high, and things have already picked up for 2024, so with lots of cool-looking games. Keep up the good work.


Now it's time to decide the best of the best. The cream of the crop. The cherry on top, the icing on the cake, the toad in the hole... Now I'm just hungry.

It's time to cast your mind back to 2023 and vote for your favourite games among the winning MAGS monthly entries. There are 14 entries to choose from (as we had two winners each in June and September).

Voting is simple. Just choose your best three games in no particular order. The game with the most tallied votes will be the winner.

A few requests before we proceed.

1) Please try to have played as many of the games as possible (preferably all of them). If you really don't have time to play every game, some of them have videos you can watch instead (🎬). I will try to add more videos over the next couple of weeks.
2) Only one submission per person.
3) Please vote for games based on their own merits (visual, enjoyment, puzzles etc.). Don't just vote for your friend or fellow countryman's games.
4) You do NOT have to be logged into a Google account but you will be asked for your AGS forum name for verification purposes.


Click here to vote

The winner will be announced as part of the forthcoming AGS Awards ceremony.

Now, here are the games.
As always. Please let me know if I've missed anything.

	January The Sea The Devil's Teeth by GOC Games 🎬		February Make a Demo Splendor Solis (demo) by tbook
	March Uplifting Elevation by Rootbound		April Hiking The Errand by 4KbShort 🎬
	May Air The Passenger by 4KbShort 🎬		June* Stranded The Road Trip by 4KbShort
	June* Stranded Mad Jack: Breakdown Shakedown by Rootbound		July Last One Tales from a Forgotten Tavern by Ponch
	August Distance/Separation The Distant Door by Durinde 🎬		September* No Talking, Please The Delivery by 4KbShort
	September* No Talking, Please Lost & Found by Creamy		October Prolific Super Author Simulator 2023 by Rootbound
	November Worlds Collide Worlds Literally Collide by The Great Underground Empire		December Forbidden Dead Phones by noblonski

(* June and September had two winners each)

I think we may need another hint here. @mkennedy

Spoiler

What's another word for holy?

[close]

D'oh!

Spoiler

Hallowpeno

[close]

Thanks cat. I was going to add that stuff later but just wanted to get the thread up quickly.

[Into the Woods]

Theme: Into the Woods
Set by: nobloski

The winner of MAGS February is Brian Eggs is Lost in the Woods by @OneDollar.

	The Second Secret of the Orbs by jwalt
	Brian Eggs Is Lost In The Woods by OneDollar
	Dracula's Mid-Century-Modern House of Mystery by newwaveburritos
	Use It All (Or Forget Your Ball) by Kastchey
	The Green & Red by Babar and jfrisby

Make a game about:
something that takes place in the forest or woods or at least has something to do with it.

Have fun. I'll leaf it to yew guys.

Here's another one:

Neuralink

Three men, Tom, John and Don, are in the waiting room at Neuralink. They've all come to have new implants in their brain

Tom stands up nervously and speaks, "Errm. Why don't we all introduce ourselves and say a bit about why we're getting Neuralink."

The others nod in agreement, and Tom continues. "Okay. Hi, I'm Tom. I'm getting Neuralink because I want to improve my intelligence and increase my memory and learning speed, so that I can impress my wife."

The second man doesn't stand up but says, "Hi, I'm John. I'm getting Neuralink because I'm paralyzed from the waist down and I want to be able to make love to my wife for the first time."

The third man stands up but doesn't speak. Instead, he holds up a piece of paper which says, "Hi. I'm Don. I'm getting Neuralink because I can't speak and I just want to be able to talk to my wife through telepathy."

The men are all go off to get their Neuralink implants and are asked to come back three months later to see how they're getting on.

When they return, Elon Musk is there. Elon turns to Tom and says "Hi Tom. How is it going? Did you manage to impress your wife with your new found memory and intelligence?"

Tom replies, "Absolutely. Our conversations have become notably more stimulating. And I have also had the good fortune of winning several televised quiz shows, yielding a significant sum of money. Needless to say, my wife is happy on both counts."

"That's Wonderful," says Elon. He turns to John. "And how about you? Did you manage to pleasure your wife now that your lower half works?"

"I did. We're at it like rabbits, day and night. She can't get enough. And I'm so athletic now, I even entered the Olympics and brought back a couple of golds."

"That's amazing news," says Elon. He turns to Don. "And how about you? Were you able to use your new telepathic abilities to talk with your wife?"

"Fucking bollocks." Don's voice is heard in the heads of the other three men.

Elon looks concerned, "What's the matter? Did something go wrong? Who should I fire?"

Don shook his head. "No, I can talk. But... fuck fuck fucking twat..."

"What? Who?"

"Turns out I've got Tourette's"

[January 31st]

Deadline: January 31st (but we'll discuss extensions nearer the time)

It's nearer the time now 

My game is playable from start to finish but I could use a few extra days for testing and polishing...

Is three days enough? Let's say the new deadline is end of the day on Feb 3rd.

Layers

The other day, it was freezing cold outside. I had a few errands to run but it took me ages to get ready.

First, I went out in just my pants and socks. It was so cold I came running in again, and warmed myself up in the shower.
 
Then I went out in my pants and socks, and some long johns. Quickly came running in again, and warmed myself up with a nice bubble bath.

Then I went out in my pants, socks, some long johns and a vest. Came running back in again, and warmed myself up in the airing cupboard.

Then I went out in my pants, socks, some long johns, a vest and a set of silk pyjamas. Came running back in again and warmed myself up with a nice bowl of chicken soup.

Then I went out in my pants, socks, some long johns, a vest, a set of silk pyjamas and a pair of jeans. Came running back in again and warmed myself up in the tumble dryer.

Then I went out in my pants, socks, long johns, a vest, a set of silk pyjamas, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Came running back in and warmed myself up with a large brandy.

Then I went out in my pants, socks, long johns, a vest, a set of silk pyjamas, a pair of jeans, a T-shirt and a woolly Christmas jumper. Came running back in again and warmed myself up in front of a YouTube video of a cozy fireplace.

Then I went out in my pants, socks, long johns, a vest, a set of silk pyjamas, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, a woolly Christmas Jumper and a bicycle helmet. Came running back in again and warmed myself up in my wife's loving embrace.

She looked pityingly at me and said, "Let's go shopping and get you a proper coat."
I said, "Not today, love, I've got a lot on."

Here's an original riddle/pun I made up.
"What is the name of a sacred chili pepper?"

Pope Rika?