It’s once again that special time of year when we give you a chance to do well by doing good. That’s right—it’s time for the 2020 edition of our annual Charity Drive.

Every year since 2007, we’ve been actively encouraging readers to give to Penny Arcade’s Child’s Play charity, which provides toys and games to kids being treated in hospitals around the world. In recent years, we’ve added the Electronic Frontier Foundation to our annual charity push, aiding in their efforts to defend Internet freedom. This year, as always, we’re providing some extra incentive for those donations by offering donors a chance to win pieces of our big pile of vendor-provided swag. We can’t keep it (ethically), and we don’t want it clogging up our offices anyway. So, it’s now yours to win.

This year’s swag pile is full of high-value geek goodies. We have 50 prizes valued at nearly $5,000 total, including game consoles, computer accessories, collectibles, smartwatches, and more. In 2019, Ars readers raised over $33,000 for charity, contributing to a total haul of more than $330,000 since 2007. We want to raise even more this year, and we can do it if readers really dig deep.

How it works

Donating is easy. Simply donate to Child’s Play using PayPal or donate to the EFF using PayPal, credit card, or Bitcoin. You can also support Child’s Play directly by picking an item from the Amazon wish list of a specific hospital on its donation page. Donate as much or as little as you feel comfortable with—every little bit helps.

Once that’s done, it’s time to register your entry in our sweepstakes. Just grab a digital copy of your receipt (a forwarded email, a screenshot, or simply a cut-and-paste of the text) and send it to ArsCharityDrive@gmail.com with your name, postal address, daytime telephone number, and email address by 11:59pm ET Monday, January 4, 2021. (One entry per person, and each person can only win up to one prize. US residents only. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. See official rules for more information, including how to enter without making a donation. Also refer to the Ars Technica privacy policy.)

We’ll then contact the winners and have them choose their prize by January 31 (choosing takes place in the order the winners are drawn).

The prizes

Here are quick descriptions of some of the biggest, most desirable prizes in this year’s contest. See the next page for a complete list of available prizes.

HP Elite G1 Dragonfly laptop

Ars’ review called this laptop “an impressively portable and powerful machine, but it’s also pricey.” But it won’t be pricey for one lucky winner of our sweepstakes, who will get this lightly used review unit for free! Oh, and it also makes for a great Linux machine.

Pro-level flight-simulator controls

Our own Sam Machkovech made use of the Honeycomb Alpha Flight Control yoke, the Logitech G PRO Flight Yoke System with throttle quadrant, and the Thrustmaster Pendular Rudder while spending some extensive hands-on time with Microsoft Flight Simulator this year. Now, these lightly used pro-level controls can be yours!

Evercade retro portable w/ ten cartridges

When we reviewed this retro-focused portable game hardware earlier this year, we found the reliance on swappable plug-and-play cartridges was a concept best left in the past. Still, the device itself is a capable emulation machine, and this collection of cartridges provides a good selection of classic gaming goodness.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2

This Samsung smartwatch sets itself apart from the competition with a nifty blood pressure monitoring function, in addition to the usual Galaxy Watch features.

Doom Eternal Collectors Edition (Windows)

Back in March, we called the latest game in the storied Doom franchise a “masterful twitch shooter” that is “almost uniformly excellent.” This Collector’s Edition version of the game comes with an 11×17-inch lithograph, a wearable Doom Slayer helmet, Lore Book, steelbook case, and digital goodies.

Command & Conquer Remastered Collection: Limited Run Games Special Edition

Party like it’s 1995 with this massive physical Collector’s Edition of this classic real-time strategy series. Comes complete with patches, a reversible beanie, official soundtrack on USB and six CDs, 100+ page art book, stickers, replica figurines, and more!

None of the big prizes grabbing your attention yet? Check out the next page for a list of dozens of additional prizes you can win by entering!

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1725036