marurun wrote:If we want to attempt participatory gaming, I think going with varied themes would indeed be the way to go. Look at how Dwelling of Duels does their composition challenges. Sometimes it's Konami Month, or Shooter Month, or Scary Month, or Sonic Month. Nice and easy. The hardest part is thinking of themes.
One way to enhance this might also to include some suggestions (along with a brief "why play") from notable forum members for games that would fit the theme of the month. That gets people thinking about the coming month, and might also help some folks choose what to play.
I love the idea of a "Editors' Picks" (for lack of a better term) bit for each theme, especially if they are more broad or obscure. Maybe 2-3 suggestions from long-time members or mods that highlight what the chosen theme means to them, why they picked a certain game, and encouraging other members to join in. Not exactly the same thing, but this sort of system seems to work really well in bookshops and libraries, at least for me.