ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR VOTERS

[Don Boyer]

2023 DIAMOND AWARDS - SEVENTH ANNUAL

WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN YOU JUDGE A NOMINEE

ARTIST OF THE YEAR (AOTY)
AOTY is judged on the entire portfolio of International Standard decks released by the artist within the eligibility period, and only within that period, not before or after.  Tarot decks, divination decks and other decks not conforming to the International Standard for playing cards (52-card deck plus optional jokers/gaffs/ad cards/other extras) are not eligible for consideration in the artist's portfolio.  A list of eligible releases for each AOTY candidate is listed in their PCF topic in the link on their ballot entry - if you happen to spot an error or an omission, please leave a comment in the forum topic.  For this category, you are judging the artist's works during the release window using the same criteria as in the DOTY judging.

DECK OR THE YEAR (DOTY)
DOTY nominees are judged solely on a single International Standard deck release/project, though a single release/project may comprise more than one variant, edition, back coloration, etc., such as two of the same deck design with differently-colored backs and/or two differently-sized decks and/or standard/deluxe/limited edition(s), etc.  DOTY nominees should be judged based on "the full package" - the design, artistry, manufacturing quality, features, packaging, etc., as seen in all of the decks in that release.

MORE INFORMATION ON NOMINEES - THE FORUM TOPICS
To find more information on a nominee, click on the TinyURL link at the end of the nominee's ballot entry.  That link will take you to a topic on PlayingCardForum.com (PCF), the official online forum of 52 Plus Joker, with info about the nominee, including photos and links to other pages online.  In any cases where an Artist of the Year nominee also created a Deck of the Year nominee, there is a single, combined topic to cover both nominations.  Nominated artists and creators of nominated decks have been invited to comment on their topics, so please feel free to present any questions about their work you may have to them if they make their presence on the forum known!

By the way, I suggest that you try clicking on the images in the topic posts.  In most cases, you'll see an enlarged version of the images, and in some cases, you may even see a GIF animation!

WRITE-IN VOTING ELIGIBILITY
For each category, you may opt to create a write-in vote for the candidate of your choice, subject to eligibility.  To be eligible for consideration for either/both award(s) in the current award cycle, an artist must have released at least one International Standard playing card deck/project during the eligibility window of July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 inclusive.

DEFINITION OF "RELEASED" FOR ALL NOMINEES AND WRITE-IN CANDIDATES
"Released" is defined as made available for retail sale, offered as part of a subscription (if the subscription service is open to all members of the public), given away to the public for free, distributed to crowdfunding backers or made available as a free, limited promotional item, with the final determination of eligibility to be made by the Diamond Awards Committee and the Board of Directors of 52 Plus Joker.  Private releases not made publicly available are not eligible.  Prototype decks, even if they are publicly released, sold, given away, etc., are considered an unfinished version of a work and are not eligible for award consideration, regardless of the number of prototype decks created and distributed.  The defining parameters of a prototype are 1) any deck labeled by the artist as a prototype, and/or 2) any deck judged by the DAC and/or the 52+J Board to be a prototype - key criteria for the DAC/Board to consider would be how finished the project appears, whether a later or future release of the same deck in larger distribution was/is planned, and how many copies of the deck were released (with lower amounts being more suspect than larger ones).

THE AWARDS CEREMONY
Winners of the Diamond Awards will be announced at the Seventh Annual Diamond Awards Ceremony, scheduled to be held during the Gala Dinner ending the Annual 52 Plus Joker Convention, on the evening of Saturday, October 14, 2023 at the Best Western Plus Hotel at 15471 Royalton Road, Strongsville (Cleveland), Ohio, United States - details will be provided to all 52+J members when the full schedule becomes available.  In the event of a health-related, climate/weather or other emergency, the ceremony schedule and/or venue may be subject to change or may be presented via videoconference.

FINALLY...
If you have questions, if you suspect some of the information we have is incorrect, please - contact me, Don Boyer, by emailing me at donboyermagic@gmail.com.