The interesting thing about these kind of competitions is that you get to see what a really raw game looks like. There usually isn't enough time to have the game completely polished by the deadline. Often times the developer was never able to implement some core idea, or they quickly realized that the game they were building wasn't quite what they thought it was going to be. It is always useful for a designer to get a bit of insight into the design processes used by other designers.

Joystiq has a great set of screenshots and summaries of the finalists for the 2009 IndieCade Festival. Each one of these is a wonderful example of how a game can be so much more than a little diversion. Most of the finalists are games with something important to say or teach.