International Awards
International Serious Play Awards
The International Serious Play Awards recognize exceptional gameful products that harness the power of play and games to advance education, training, and meaningful real-world impact. Submissions are welcome from professional studios, in-house training teams, independent designers, university teams, nonprofits, and student creators. Eligible entries include stand-alone games, modules within larger learning ecosystems, embodied and experiential learning, XR and simulation-based experiences, and projects built on widely used platforms such as Minecraft, Fortnite, and others.
Our global awards program has two moments of celebration each year. We will announce Sector Award winners in Serious Play Europe (June), and Student & Special Award winners in Serious Play North America (August), including Game of the Year. Three finalists and one winner will be recognized per category.
Entrants receive input from senior judges, valuable for creators that are interested in further improving their games.
Deadlines
March 15th
Commercial and in-house digital entries.
June 1st
All student and tabletop entries.
Interested in judging?
Judges must have at least 10 years’ experience creating or implementing game-based learning programs or training simulations with game-based elements and commit to review at least 6 commercial digital or student game entries within a 6 week period.
Entry Categories
Sector Awards (presented in June at Serious Play Conference Europe)
- Government and Enterprise
- Healthcare
- Higher Education
- Pre-K & K–12
- Humanitarian and NGO
- Museums, Libraries, and Heritage
Student Awards (presented in August at Serious Play Conference North America)
- Student Digital Excellence, K–12
- Student Digital Excellence, Higher Education
- Student Tabletop Excellence, K–12 (Analog/Hybrid)
- Student Tabletop Excellence, Higher Education (Analog/Hybrid)
Special Awards (presented in August at Serious Play Conference North America)
- Best Analog (Tabletop/Hybrid/Experiential)
- Best Narrative
- Best Gameplay
- Game of the Year, presented in honor of Sue Bohle, Founder of Serious Play
Entry Process
We accept multiple entries, and the submission form includes Entrant Information and Submission Information. When completing the submission, you can opt in to be considered for Best Narrative or Best Gameplay.
If you have questions, please contact: awards@seriousplayconf.com
Entry Fees
|
Large studio (25+), corporation, medical institution or publisher |
$400 |
|
Mid-sized studio (10–25 employees) |
$350 |
|
Museum, library, university studio, nonprofit, NGO, government or military organization |
$300 |
|
Independent studio (9 or fewer employees) |
$250 |
|
Individual educator or freelancer |
$200 |
|
College student entry* |
$125 |
|
K12 student entry* |
$100 |
Late entries can be submitted up to one week after the deadline, but must add a $100 late charge in addition to the entry fee.
*A student entry is conceived and produced by students, with light guidance from faculty, teachers or advisors. University affiliated studio products intended for commercial sale should be entered as professional.
Payment by credit card must be received by the deadline for the entry to be evaluated. An invoice confirming payment can be requested from awards@seriousplayconf.com
Judging Criteria
All entries are assessed using a shared set of core criteria to ensure consistency and fairness across categories, platforms, and sectors. Judges evaluate each submission with attention to:
- Orientation and clarity of purpose
- Player engagement and motivation
- Interactivity and quality of feedback
- Alignment with stated learning objectives
- Assessment and evidence of learning or impact
- Aesthetic coherence and production quality
- Gameplay design and systems
These criteria are applied holistically, with appropriate consideration given to the intended audience, context of use, and stated goals of each submission.
Digital entries must be reviewable using commonly available hardware and software. At this time, we are unable to evaluate entries that require specialized or high-end technology platforms, experiences that require more than four hours to assess adequately, or streaming-only experiences. Links to videos may be submitted as supplementary material.
Tabletop and Analog
Entries must include two complete physical copies of the submitted game.