Even more contests

The forces behind Protospiel have announced a game design contest.  It's described here.  While this is exciting, and Diggity might be eligible if I don't publish it beforehand, the prize doesn't seem like it's worth the trouble.

If you win, you get your game "published."  I put this in quotes, because:

1. The print run is pretty small (500 copies)
2. You don't actually get paid for the game, since all proceeds go to the publisher, other than 24 free copies to you.

The free copies aren't nothing, but they're not much.  You could try selling them yourself, but you'd be competing with the actual publishers of your game, which might limit your ability to sell them.

Furthermore, in order to enter, you need to pay $5 and submit three copies of your game that you don't get back.  Assuming you'll spend some money producing the copies, you're actually out something like $50-$60 to enter after printing and shipping (assuming you use something like TheGameCrafter.com to produce your copies).  All for a shot (and possibly a small one) at a net 21 copies (24 minus 3) of your game and no cash reward.

Still, winning is fun, and winning could lead to publication elsewhere, or reputation-building.  I'm just not sure the return-over-investment makes it worth it.