Last evening, the Indie Game Developer Network (IGDN) presented their annual Indie Groundbreaker Awards online via YouTube Live. The pre-event social was held on a pop-up Discord server, and post-event interviews with the nominees and winners were broadcast on Twitch.

Started in 2016 to recognize the contributions being made to the roleplaying industry by a diverse swath of talented game designers. The Indie Groundbreaker Awards recognizes outstanding games (and game designers) who are creating new, innovative, and exciting game designs that push the boundaries of innovation, in promoting diversity, and that exemplify and expand what it means to be “indie.”

The Indie Groundbreaker Awards recognize designers across the industry; the judging panel is comprised of judges from both inside and outside the IGDN network to mitigate bias. Products can be nominated in five categories. These categories are Most Innovative, Best Art, Best Rules Best Setting, and Game of the Year.

This year’s winners are:
Most Innovative: If I were a Lich, Man by Lucian Kahn
Best Art: Humblewood by Hit Point Press
Best Rules: Mazes by Chris O’Neill
Best Setting: Afterlife: Wandering Souls by Elizabeth Chaipraditkul

Game of the Year: Companions’ Tale by Laura Simpson

Take some time to learn more about each of these games and visit the Indie Groundbreaker Awards website (linked above) to check out all of this year’s nominees.

~ Modoc

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