Posted in: Board Games, Card Games, Figures, Games, Miniatures, Role Playing Games, Tabletop | Tagged: board games, card games, figures, miniatures, Origins Awards 2020, Role Playing Games, rpgs, Tabletop, wargames

2020 Tabletop Gaming "Origins Awards" Nominees Announced!

At GAMA 2020, the Game Manufacturer's Association's invite-only trade show, members of GAMA voted on the nominees for the 2020 Origins Awards, which promote and award tabletop gaming excellence.

Some of these nominees are familiar to many of you (and some of them I'd even covered on this very site!), while others are definitely a bit less so (which only means I'll have to pay a bit more attention to them).

From the press release on the Origins Game Fair website:

The annual Origins Awards reward excellence in game design. Products eligible for the 2020 Awards cycle must have been released to the public between November 15, 2018 and November 14, 2019. The following titles were selected by a jury of 40 hobby games industry professionals as the most deserving in their respective categories.

Nominees will be on display and available for demo during Origins Game Fair from June 17-21 in Columbus, OH.

Three types of awards will be presented during the Origins Awards Ceremony on Saturday, June 20 at 8pm: Category Winners, Fan Favorite, and Game of the Year. The Academy of Adventure Gaming and Arts will choose the ultimate winner of each category. Origins attendees will vote upon the Fan Favorite of each category through the official Origins Game Fair mobile app during the show. GAMA members will vote upon the Game of the Year via a digital survey.

The nominees in each category are as follows:

Board Games

• Cloudspire | Chip Theory Games | Adam Carlson, Josh J. Carlson, Josh Wielgus

• Colors of Paris | Super Meeple / Luma Imports | Nicolas De Oliveira

• Guardian's Call | Druid City Games / Skybound Games | James Hudson

• PARKS | Keymaster Games | Henry Audubon

• Prêt-à-Porter | Portal Games | Piotr Haraszczak, Ignacy Trzewiczek

• Red Alert: Space Fleet Warfare | PSC Games | Richard Borg

• Tonari | IDW Games | Bruno Faidutti, Alex Randolph

• Tricky Tides | Gold Seal Games / Zafty Games | Steven Aramini

Card Games

• Cogs and Commissars | Atlas Games | Matt Haga

• DC Deck-Building Game: Rebirth | Cryptozoic Entertainment | Matt Hyra, Jared Saramago, Nathaniel Yamaguchi

• Embers of Memory: A Throne of Glass Game | Osprey Games | Kuro

• Kamigami Battles: River of Souls | Japanime Games | Rich Gain

• Lockup: A Roll Player Tale | Thunderworks Games | Stan Kordonsky

• Shuffle Grand Prix | Bicycle | Rob Newton

• UNDO: Cherry Blossom Festival | Pegasus Spiele | Michael Palm, Lukas Zach

Collectible Games

• Marvel HeroClix: Avengers Black Panther and the Illuminati Booster Brick | WizKids

Yes, that's the only one in its category! I bet they'll win.

Digitally-Adapted Games

• Cutthroat Caverns | Smirk & Dagger Games / Cellbloc Studios | Curt Covert

• Mystic Vale | Alderac Entertainment Group / Nomad Games | John D. Clair

• Raiders of the North Sea | Renegade Game Studios / Garphill Games / Dire Wolf Digital | Shem Phillips

• Through the Ages: New Leaders and Wonders | Czech Games Edition | Vlaada Chvátil

• Tsuro VR | Callipe Games / Thunderbox Entertainment Digital | Tom McMurchie

Family-Oriented Games

• ClipCut Parks | Renegade Game Studios | Shaun Graham, Scott Huntington

• Code Stack! | AMIGO Games | Heinz Meister

• Dirty Pig | North Star Games | Frank Bebenroth

• Draftosaurus | Ankama Boardgames / Luma Imports | Antoine Bauza, Corentin Lebrat, Ludovic Maublanc, Théo Rivière

• Finger Guns at High Noon | Indie Boards and Cards | John Velgus

Game Accessories

• Citadel Contrast Paint | Games Workshop

• The Jasper: A Board Gaming Table | BoardGameTables.com

• Valhallah Screen | Dog Might Games | Mike Cameron, Mike Konas, Alyssa Menold, Lindsey Rode

• The Watson Game Topper System | Game Toppers

• Wingspan Organizer and Dice Tower | The Broken Token | Tuan Vo

Historical Games

• Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel (3rd edition) | Academy Games | Gunter Eickert, Uwe Eickert

• Pandemic: Fall of Rome | Z-Man Games | Matt Leacock, Paolo Mori

• U-BOOT: The Board Game | Phalanx Games / Ares Games | Bartosz Pluta, Artur Salwarowski

• Watergate | Capstone Games | Matthias Cramer

Historical Miniature Games

• Bolt Action: Campaign D-Day Overlord | Osprey Games / Warlord Games

• Bolt Action: Korea | Osprey Games / Warlord Games

Yes, Osprey Games has stake in both games in the Historical Games category. It's like two actors from the same film being nominated for the same Academy Award… Only nobody else is viable for that award. Cool!

Miniature Games

• Gaslands: Refuelled | Osprey Games | Mike Hutchinson

• Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid | Renegade Game Studios | Jonathan Ying

• Reality's Edge: Cyberpunk Skirmish Rules | Osprey Games | Joseph McGuire

• Riot Quest | Privateer Press | Matt Wilson

• Warcry | Games Workshop | Sebastien Toursel

Right here we see two games I've covered – Gaslands: Refuelled and Warcry – and I'm pleased that they're both there. Fine games indeed!

Role-Playing Games

• Alien: The Roleplaying Game | Free League Publishing | Andrew E.C. Gaska, Tomas Härenstam

• Over the Edge (3rd edition) | Atlas Games | Chris Lites, Jonathan Tweet

• Pathfinder Core Rulebook (2nd edition) | Paizo Inc | Logan Bonner, Jason Bulmahn, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Mark Seifter

• Star Crossed | Bully Pulpit Games | Alex Roberts

• Teens in Space | Renegade Game Studios / Hunters Entertainment | Jonathan Gilmour, Doug Levandowski

And there you have it, folks – this is the gamut of the nominees for 2020's Origins Awards. Here's hoping that this award ceremony (which will be hosted in July, at this juncture) is not cancelled due to COVID-19 or its repercussions.

What do you think? Are these games all worth their salt? Do you project one company to take more awards home than another? Let us know!

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