Points is the aggregate score based on all the ratings (from 1-5) after running them through a custom algorithm that I (George Jaros) created for the PnP Game Design Awards. This algorithm takes into account a number of different factors, including:
All of the submitted ratings for a game.
The standard deviation of the ratings for a game.
A bonus for having more ratings, based on the total number of all ratings for all games entered in the contest.
This algorithm comes up with a modified
Wilson Score (a binomial proportion confidence interval), which is a decimal value that I then multiply by 100 to come up with points. The formula used to calculate the base rating (before adjustments) is based on the one described
here.
Most Popular Game isn't based on the aggregate score, but just on the number of times a game was rated. So a game could get 100 1-star ratings, but it'll be the most popular game.
Most Popular Designer and
Most Prolific Designer are based on the total number of ratings for all games entered and the total number of games entered. So Most Popular Designer actually benefits from having more games in the contest.
The
Best Small/Medium/Large Build Games are a bit more subjective. First, they required the designer to enter the component count. Then I used those numbers to determine if a game should be considered small, medium, or large. A small build is 1-50 components. A medium build is 51-200 components. A large build is over 200 components. But any custom components (non-printable, and non-standard things like dice and pawns) get a 3x multiplier. So something with 150 standard components and 20 custom components would get a component count of 210, pushing it into the large build group.
