2020 ENnies Award Nominations

A few days ago I learned that Trilemma Adventures Compendium Vol I has been nominated for four ENnie awards!

• Best Adventure
• Best Layout and Design
• Best Cartography
• Product of the Year

Voting is live now!  There are some very cool things listed. Some of my favorites:

• Hit the Streets, Defend the Block, by Rich Rogers (Judges' Spotlight Award)
• Ultraviolet Grasslands, Luka Rejec (Best Cover, Best Interior Art)
• TTRPG Safety Toolkit, by Kienna Sunrise, Lauren Bryant-Monk (Best Free Game Product)
• Zombie World, by Brendan G. Conway, Mark Diaz Truman (Best Game, Best Rules, Product of the Year)

There are a few others I'm less familiar with, but by people who are awesome:

• Visigoths vs Mall Goths, Lucian Kahn (Best Writing)
• Asians Represent featuring Daniel Kwan, Agatha Cheng (Best Podcast)
• Electric Bastionland by Chris McDowall (Best Writing)
• Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, the Adventure Game, by Ben Milton, Jack Caesar (Best Cartography, Best Family Game / Product)

Hats off to BFF! Best Friends Forever for a chart-topping five nominations for a single product! (Best Production Values, Product of the Year, Best Interior Art,  Best Family Game / Product, Best Layout and Design).  BFF is based on Fall of Magic, which I've never played (heard great things), and it looks really fantastic.

Free League looks like a heavyweight this year, with the Mithral-selling Alien RPG and MÖRK BORG duelling for best game, and MB looking very solid in three other categories.

* * *

I'm sure I've missed many great things, I don't get out enough. The point is this: in every ENnie year there's a silent category, Best Marketing. I say this without cynicism, marketing is a real skill that few independent outfits bring to the table, and while round one is judged, the voting phase is essentially powered by product awareness, either the skills + grassroots kind, or the skills + money kind.

At the same time, the network effects of the ambient white guy demographic are undeniable. This is a chance to take something that should have more visibility and lift it up so it can be seen. Many such products weren't chosen by the judges, or were written by people who can't afford to gamble what is effectively a $100-200+ entry fee on a slim chance of winning.

Here's what I recommend:

1. Read the list of nominees
2. Vote for what you love, what you think should be more widely seen
3. Then, go and pick three awesome things that weren't nominated (and perhaps weren't even submitted) and post about them somewhere.

I'll start!

My Highlights:

• The Behold Her Podcast, which features some amazing women of RPG land
• Imaginarium by Birch and Bat Studios, who do the right thing even when it hurts
• Lorn Song of the Bachelor, by Zedeck Siew / Hydra Cooperative

Your turn!