You may recall that the IGF also has a game modding-specific competition, but the folks at ModDB, who helped us out a bit last year, have expanded their slightly more mainstream-styled competition significantly, and have just announced their 2006 Players Choice Awards.

As they bubble happily: "80,000 votes. 4,000 mods. Over the course of 2 months, gamers from across the globe came together to decide which mods rank as the epitome of what our hard working community can do. Now, gallons of blood and sweat later, we tell you what triumphed in 2006."

There are lots of very worthy mods in there, plenty of which don't get so much mainstream coverage, and I guess I'm giving it away a bit to reveal: "Point of Existence 2, for Battlefield 2, has won Mod of the Year for 2006. Point of Existence 2 manages to extend the gameplay of the original game into a new setting with a complex and believable storyline. It manages to have stylish art assets while remaining within the bounds of realism and enforces teamwork without feeling like a chore. It takes a popular formula to the next level of balance, flow and fun." Still, go check the whole thing for a great countdown.