You make a lot of good points and there are definitely holes in the "here take 20 games and review them OR ELSE" approach. I guess the point I was trying to get at was that it would be great to see everyone get some constructive feedback back from their games. Now I realise how difficult this is given over 8000 people entered and there are thousands of projects out there, and you're right, if you get an allocation that is barely playable, then it renders this a bit pointless. How about having a rating system that doesn't have a "winning goal" but instead just provides an indication as to the quality of your entry? Just ideas, and I think, as you said, this system works.
In the end we just have to hope that everyone is being upfront and honest (I think for the most part they are). In the end we're all winners, imo.
The gamedev community is always the best! Everyone here knows how hard it is to make a game and everyone can appreciate your effort and is willing to help wherever they can.
(Didn't expect a discussion board about cheating to end up in such a wholesome thread, but I for sure don't mind some positivity)