At a Glance: Finalists of the 2020 XYZZY Awards (Second Round Voting!)

It is time for the final round of voting in the 2020 XYZZY Awards, so… hit those virtual voting booths one last time (until the 2021 XYZZY Awards)!

Since you’re still reading, I take it you’ve either already made an account or are willing to make one, and have a keen interest in making sure your voice is heard. Well, that’s easily taken care of: check the list at the bottom of this article and start playing the lot! Then, once your favorites have been decided upon, vote! That’s all there is to it.

Best of luck to participants, newcomers, and IF veterans alike!

Best Game

• The Impossible Bottle (Linus Åkesson)
• A Rope of Chalk (Ryan Veeder)
• Tavern Crawler (Josh Labelle)
• Vain Empires (Thomas Mack, Xavid)
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Night Road (Kyle Marquis)

Best Writing

• Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale (Kreg Segall)
• Limerick Quest (Pace Smith)
• A Rope of Chalk (Ryan Veeder)
• Scents & Semiosis (Sam Kabo Ashwell, Cat Manning, Caleb Wilson, Yoon Ha Lee)
• Stuff of Legend (Lance Campbell)

Best Story

• Electric word, “life” (Lance Nathan)
• The Impossible Bottle (Linus Åkesson)
• Lore Distance Relationship (Naomi “Bez” Norbez)
• A Rope of Chalk (Ryan Veeder)
• Stuff of Legend (Lance Campbell)
• Tavern Crawler (Josh Labelle)
• Vain Empires (Thomas Mack, Xavid)

Best Setting

• Ascension of Limbs (AKheon)
• The Eleusinian Miseries (Mike Russo)
• The Impossible Bottle (Linus Åkesson)
• Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale (Kreg Segall)
• The Magpie Takes the Train (MathBrush)
• A Murder in Fairyland (Abigail Corfman)
• A Rope of Chalk (Ryan Veeder)
• Shadow Operative (Michael Lauenstein)
• Vain Empires (Thomas Mack, Xavid)

Best Puzzles

• The Eleusinian Miseries (Mike Russo)
• The Impossible Bottle (Linus Åkesson)
• JELLY (Tom Lento, Chandler Groover)
• A Rope of Chalk (Ryan Veeder)
• Sage Sanctum Scramble (Arthur DiBianca)
• Seasonal Apocalypse Disorder (Zan, Xavid)
• Stuff of Legend (Lance Campbell)
• Vain Empires (Thomas Mack, Xavid)

Best NPCs

• The Impossible Bottle (Linus Åkesson)
• Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale (Kreg Segall)
• The Magpie Takes the Train (MathBrush)
• A Rope of Chalk (Ryan Veeder)
• Stuff of Legend (Lance Campbell)
• Tavern Crawler (Josh Labelle)

Best Individual Puzzle

• Cow tipping in Seasonal Apocalypse Disorder (Zan, Xavid)
• Following the cat through the forest in Stuff of Legend (Lance Campbell)
• Leaving the house in The Impossible Bottle (Linus Åkesson)
• Registering the game in Crocodracula: The Beginning (Ryan Veeder)

Best Individual NPC

• Kingfisher in Vain Empires (Thomas Mack, Xavid)
• The parrot in The Magpie Takes the Train (MathBrush)
• Sassy Britches in Stuff of Legend (Lance Campbell)
• Sister in Lore Distance Relationship (Naomi “Bez” Norbez)

Best Individual PC

• The Demon in Vain Empires (Thomas Mack, Xavid)
• The doppelganger in Doppeljobs (Lei)
• Elizabeth Boldan in Sense of Harmony (Scenario World)
• Ichabod Stuff in Stuff of Legend (Lance Campbell)
• Magpie in The Magpie Takes the Train (MathBrush)
• Open Sorcerer in A Murder in Fairyland (Abigail Corfman)

Best Implementation

• 4×4 Galaxy (Agnieszka Trzaska)
• The Impossible Bottle (Linus Åkesson)
• Limerick Quest (Pace Smith)
• The Magpie Takes the Train (MathBrush)
• A Murder in Fairyland (Abigail Corfman)
• A Rope of Chalk (Ryan Veeder)
• Several Other Tales from Castle Balderstone (Ryan Veeder)

Best Use of Innovation

• The Cursèd Pickle of Shireton (Hanon Ondricek)
• The Impossible Bottle (Linus Åkesson)
• JELLY (Tom Lento, Chandler Groover)
• A Murder in Fairyland (Abigail Corfman)
• The Prongleman Job (Arthur DiBianca)
• Sense of Harmony (Scenario World)
• Shadow Operative (Michael Lauenstein)

Best Technological Development

• Adventuron
• Dialog

Best Use of Multimedia

• Babyface (Mark Sample)
• Congee (Becci)
• Crocodracula: The Beginning (Ryan Veeder)
• A Murder in Fairyland (Abigail Corfman)
• Present Quest (Errol Elumir)
• Sense of Harmony (Scenario World)
• Shadow Operative (Michael Lauenstein)

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