To be honest with you, I did expect Volker to make the game available
immediately. I didn't see anything in the rules that stopped me from
doing this, and I didn't think that early release would give me any
advantage; I thought instead that it would put me at a disadvantage by
allowing other authors to see the poor quality of my submission and to
give them a month to beat it ("Magic Toyshop" is just a bunch of
unoriginal puzzles thrown together over a weekend).
I now see your point that judges, having played a game for longer, might
consider it to be better for that reason. I hope, now that the problem
has been pointed out, that it won't affect their evaluation.
-- Gareth Rees