I nominate AgentBirdnest's "Donating Blood" giveaway just because it was such a great idea and actually reminded me that i have to go give blood again sometimes.

Thanks grimwerk. Unfortunately though this one's from 2013, so I can't include it :(

First of all, I'd like to thank ZFR for this very original giveaway! I also want to thank all the members who are hosting or have hosted a giveaway in the past! Such generosity only exists on GOG! :-)



Here are my nominees, based on their originality:


1) <span class="bold">The "I've got infected, too" GiveAway</span> (AcidFlux)

A very touching thread! It takes courage to open your heart like this to strangers! I also love stories with happy endings. And choosing the winners with the help of his kids was the cherry on top of the cake! Not to mention that he was very kind and generous, with a large selection of games to choose from. I wish you all the best AcidFlux, you deserve a second chance! ;-)


2) <span class="bold">The Christmas avatar giveaway strikes again</span> (PaterAlf)

Changing your avatar for a Chrismas one was a really good idea, and added a nice touch to this giveaway, who helped me get into the Christmas mood! PaterAlf was also very generous!


3) <span class="bold">The Favourite Foursomes GA</span> (HypersomniacLive)

The idea behind this giveaway was to share your favorite foursomes. There were lots of good ideas, quality posts, and a good selection of games to choose from.



Honorable mentions:

▪ <span class="bold">Sinistar Gifts: The 12 Days Of Keanemas</span> (IAmSinistar)
▪ <span class="bold">Recommend a cookie receipt, win a game. (Giveaway)</span> (Dotur)
▪ <span class="bold">The Saint Basil Giveaway</span> (phandom)
▪ <span class="bold">A Half-farewell Giveaway (with some Christmas spirit)</span> (BillyMaysFan59)
▪ <span class="bold">IronArcturus' Let's Figure Out How to Do a Giveaway Giveaway!</span> (IronArcturus)



Wishing you good health, happiness, and success in the coming year! :-)

...

Really hard to pick three, but since you changed the rules and I can nominate without being in I had a look at the giveaways ;-)


First RWarehall for his Stupendously Discussion giveaway series. The topics were interesting and the discussions great.

Then ddickinson for the Thank the fellows giveaway since I really liked the idea to nominate others for receiving a gift. Awesome idea.

And also AgentBirdnest for his Donating blood giveway since it is an important topic and it never hurts to call more attention to it.

(and just to make it really clear: not in for myself)

Thanks for the giveaway ZFR, nice idea:)

Thespian's giveaways were always fun, but he has not been around for a while.

My favourite giveaway is PaterAlf's Christmas Avatar which he does every year.

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_christmas_avatar_giveaway_strikes_again
Just in to nominate.

Not in. The best (or for me the most memorable) giveaways were by the GOGlodytes below:

Lou
Ian
HomerSimpson

Hope they're still lurking about.

Well, I'll also share my bit of experience with the GAs. Thanks for the possibility, ZFR. :)


Nominated GAs:

The Christmas avatar giveaway strikes again by PaterAlf - aka "Four weeks of thrill (and nice avatars)".

The "I've got infected, too" GiveAway by AcidFlux - bonus points for the courage of telling the story of his life. My respect.

Giveaway of the beast by fronzelneekburm - this one actually brought me to the world of more serious GAs. Thanks, fronzelneekburm!


Honorable mentions: (I stole this from _Slaugh_ :P)

Esoteric Challenge (Giveaway) by ZFR (I'd nominate this one, but ZFR would probably decline it. :D)

The Great Nations GOG Giveaway #5 - Special Festive Edition by ddickinson

The Saint Basil Giveaway by phandom

A Half-farewell Giveaway (with some Christmas spirit) by BillyMaysFan59

Updated the rules slightly, hopefully it's a bit clearer now.

If possible please provide the links to the giveaways (most of you are doing this already). I know the search function here sucks, but it would be useful to be able to see the giveaway you're talking about.

Also, please make sure you mark clearly the giveaways you're nominating and the ones you'd just like to mention. I know 3 is not enough, but if I don't make this limit, we'd probably end up with enormous lists. So, you have to make a choice about which ones to pick for nominations.
Don't be afraid to pick giveaways which you subjectively like for personal reasons.


Thanks! But you're right, I can't pick myself. Should by any chance a post nominating me win, the nominator will still get their prize, but I'll choose another host to replace me for the 9.99$ game.

I've had the good fortune to win games in a number of giveaways this year and it would be nice to repay the hosts a little.

Picking a top three is hard though, especially as my favourite giveaway was probably out hosts own Esoteric giveaway which I found a lot of fun :)

But as I don't think ZFR needs to gift himself something I'll pick another three:

Pater Alf's Christmas Avatar Giveaway: I liked this one because it made everyone Christmas up their avatars and made the forum really Christmassy, which was great. And although I didn't win the game of my choice Pater got a second code for it and offered it to me when the giveaway ended which was very generous of him :)

Crewdroog's Terraria Giveaway: Because having one one of the copies of the game it has taken up a lot of my time :)

and

RWarehall's Serious of Stupendous Giveaways: For sparking some great conversation and giving away a load of great games :)


There have been a load of other great giveaways too but those are the ones that come to mind immediately :)

Awesome giveaway, ZFR!

Not in for the 5.99 prize, but thanks anyway! +some

There were a lot of really great giveaways. Creative, thought provoking, challenging, and always generous.

One stuck out in particular for me. I nominate Crewdroog's Birthday GA (It's a celebration, people!).
You had to tell a story about yourself (real or made up.) I had a lot of fun reading the stories, and writing my own. And on a personal note, it rekindled my own interest in writing - something I had lost for a few years. (Thank you Crewdroog!)

Sorry! I must have been a bit dim last night. I actually typed up two nominations, but then noticed the second was 2013 and removed it. Austro's is still in my favorite topics list, and I must have been judging by the (unsuitable) most recent post date.

Not in for the 5.99 game, but I wanted to nominate Coelocanth for his "The Hobbit's Birthday" giveaway series. Forum search says he did 40 of them in two months - I think that's worth a nomination ;)

Very cool giveaway - I'll refrain from nominating this giveaway! I'm IN!

I'd like to nominate a few, each of them got me more involved in the community than I had previously been, and they were great giveaways.

First - http://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_spice_must_flow_dune_2000_physical_giveaway
A unique giveaway unlike most on here, very cool. I'd never even played the game and I was excited for a chance to win this, and now I want to play it!

Second - http://www.gog.com/forum/general/end_of_sale_giveaway
This giveaway sparked a nice discussion about BOOKS! Lots of gift options +++

Third - http://www.gog.com/forum/general/stupendously_spontaneous_serendipitous_discussion_and_giveaway_15_gaming_rig_edition
Another great discussion had here, with lots of gift options +++

ZFR, thanks much for this great opportunity to celebrate the best of GOG's giveaway culture!

Not in for the prize, but here are my nominations:

Guess the Games Giveaway by K_1269

Brilliant mechanic that kept all participants engaged over the course of a tremendously fun game. For this type of GA, the most I've enjoyed myself, period.

I'm running naked through the forum covered in Nutella (GIVEAWAY)! by Sachys

For the sheer hilarious nonsense of it, had me in stitches.

GIVEAWAY: Vault Boy Photoshop Contest! (Win a $9.99 game of your choice) by BillyMaysFan59

I dig giveaways that feature a creative component. It was exciting to see what the entrants did with the contest theme here.

Sadly, I can only name three. But these are among the cream of 2014 for sure.