Today I'd like to try something new - a contest. Contests are always a bit tricky. CFDJ ran a few, but the response wasn't all that great. So, I thought I'd test the waters with my own readership and see if it works out. If it does, I'll do it again.

That being said, let's get on it with. Today I'm announcing a code contest for ColdFusion newbies. The contest is simple. You will design a simple number guessing game. The game will prompt the viewer to pick a number between one and a hundred. It will then make a guess, and ask you if the number is high, low, or correct. Gradually it will get closer and finally find the right number. The logic for this is pretty simple, but what I'm more interested in is how you handle the machanics of the game. Starting it - remembering the current state - and ending it when all done.

There is no right answer. There are, however, some rules:

• This is for beginners. You know if you aren't a beginner. Be honest out there.
• You will send me one zip. I will unzip that file into a folder. There should be no setup instructions outside of which file to run if it isn't obvious. No DSN. No Mapping. No required folder name. I want to unzip and run.
• I'll say it again. There is no right answer. It doesn't have to be CFC based. Or custom tag based. It does have to be in ColdFusion obviously.
• I will be sharing the responses with my viewers. If I see a mistake, I'll share that too. The point isn't to make fun of anybody (I won't name names), but to share mistakes so others can learn. I share my mistakes all the time. In fact, I only make mistakes so I can have nice blog postings. Really.
• The deadline is Monday, October 3rd, 8AM CST.

Simple enough? To make it fun, there will be a prize. The winner will get a copy of the ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit from Macromedia Press, authored by Ben Forta, myself, and others. Thanks go to Macromedia Press for letting me offer up their goods as a prize. Since the book is for learning ColdFusion, it just reinforces the point that this contest is for newbies.

Edited: It would help if I included my email address, wouldn't it? You can email submissions to ray at camdenfamily dot com.