Announcing the Gaming Genius Awards

April 20, 2011 - PRLog -- (MONTREAL)—The International Gamer’s Guild (IGG) is pleased to announce the Gaming Genius Awards (GGAs, also called "The Golden Pawns"). The awards mark an innovation in the hobby game industry by covering every aspect of the industry, including independent products and fan achievements.

The Gaming Genius Awards recognize genius in every aspect of the hobby game industry, in a way that reflects expert opinion and not market consensus. The best-known awards in the hobby game industry awards currently are popularity contests whose results are frequently leveraged by manufacturers who are best able to mobilize the vote. Other awards are recognized in the industry as established institutions. The Gaming Genius Awards, although new, are intended to be in line with how awards outside the hobby game industry are given out and thus, representing the industry as a whole.

The Golden Pawns are planned to be given out at a major regional convention in the summer of 2011. The specific time and place is to be announced.

The Gaming Genius Awards are divided into Pro Awards and Fan Awards. The Pro Awards are for commercial products. They also recognize achievements in writing, artwork, game design, and commentary. These are voted upon by a panel of industry experts that are to be selected by the GGA Central Committee. The Fan Awards are for achievements by individual, rank-and-file enthusiasts of the game hobby. These are voted upon by members of the general public.

The many categories of Gaming Genius Awards cover roleplaying games, miniatures, wargames, board games, card games, LARPs, play-by-mail, and conventions in the Pro category. The Fan category recognizes genius in gamemastering, costume design, miniatures painting, organizing local conventions, and blogging.

The use of industry experts rather than general fan voting in all categories was the standard in the industry before changes were made to the best-known awards in the industry in the last decade. However, the Gaming Genius Awards judges will still need to be accountable to the fans, through regular feedback on the forums on the GGA web page.
Get involved!

The GGA Central Committee is now accepting applications for judges, who will having voting rights in the Golden Pawn Pro categories. Contact information is at the bottom of this announcement for everyone who is interested.
Nominate your products and your achievements!

All manufacturers, designers, and freelancers may nominate their own products. The procedure requires sending an e-mail to the Central Committee announcing this,including a written introduction to the product or achievement. Please note that no physically printed copies of any products are required for this. PDFs, software, and other electronic products are on the same playing field as so-called “real” books. Products need not be in general retail distribution to be eligible, either.
About The International Gamer’s Guild

The International Gamer's Guild (IGG) is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering participants in roleplaying games, miniatures, wargames, board games, LARPs, and related hobbies to promote such hobbies in the wider community and to increase their opportunities to enjoy the hobby as well. The Central Committee of the Gaming Genius Awards are an anonymous group of directors from the International Gamer’s Guild.
Contacts

Send all inquiries about voting or nomination to info@gamers-guild.net

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Montreal Gamer's Guild
info@gamers-guild.net