Diana Jones Award

History

The Diana Jones trophy was originally created as a keepsake in the UK offices of TSR in the mid 1980s to commemorate the ending of their license to publish The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game. The trophy itself was a lucite pyramid containing the burnt remains of the last unsold copy of the game; all that was legible of the title was "diana Jones". (There is no relation of the award with fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones.) The trophy was "liberated" and eventually ended up with the Diana Jones committee. The destruction of "one of the least-loved and critically savaged games of all time" was seen an appropriate symbol for an award for excellence in gaming. The trophy also contains a counter that reads "Nazi™" from the game. While the trademark claim was present at Lucasfilm's insistence, it led to rumors that TSR had tried to trademark the term.

In October 2021, it was announced that the physical award had been lost in transit. A committee member stated "Perhaps it now sits in a box inside a warehouse somewhere, as forgotten and unappreciated as the Ark of the Covenant at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark." A new physical award was debuted in 2022, and the committee announced the launch of a new award, the Diana Jones Emerging Designer Program.

The Diana Jones Committee became a 501(c)(3) registered charity in 2023.

Past winners

• 2001: Peter Adkison, founder of Wizards of the Coast.
• 2002: awarded jointly to Ron Edwards and his game Sorcerer.
• 2003: awarded jointly to Jordan Weisman, a founder of FASA Corporation and WizKids, and to Nobilis second edition.
• 2004: My Life with Master by Paul Czege.
• 2005: Ticket to Ride, the board game by Alan Moon, published by Days of Wonder.
• 2006: Irish Game Convention Charity Auctions, at Gaelcon and Warpcon, for their generosity.
• 2007: The Great Pendragon Campaign, by Greg Stafford, a supplement for the Pendragon role-playing game (published by White Wolf, Inc.).
• 2008: awarded jointly to Grey Ranks by Jason Morningstar, and to Wolfgang Baur and his Open Design business model.
• 2009: Dominion, a card game by Donald X. Vaccarino (published by Rio Grande Games)
• 2010: Boardgamegeek.com, a website edited by Scott Alden and Derk Solko.
• 2011: Fiasco, a roleplaying game by Jason Morningstar.
• 2012: Nordic Larp, a book about the LARP scene in the Nordic countries, edited by Jaakko Stenros and Markus Montola.
• 2013: Tabletop, a web series where various celebrities join Wil Wheaton in playing board games.
• 2014: Hillfolk an RPG by Robin Laws.
• 2015: The Guide to Glorantha by Greg Stafford, Sandy Petersen and Jeff Richard, published by Moon Design Publications. A large two volume sourcebook for Stafford's fantasy world of Glorantha.
• 2016: Eric Lang, game designer
• 2017: Gen Con, the game convention where the Diana Jones Award is presented
• 2018: Actual Play, the "movement within hobby games in which people record and broadcast their game sessions — particularly campaigns of tabletop roleplaying games — over the internet"
• 2019: Star Crossed, a role-playing game by Alex Roberts, published by Bully Pulpit Games
• 2020: Black Excellence in Gaming, awarded to more than two dozen black professionals including Omari Akil, Maurice Broaddus, Allie Bustion, Tanya DePass, Brandon Dixon, Julia B. Ellingboe, Jerry Grayson, Shareef Jackson, Cliff “CJ” Jones, Eric Lang, Eloy Lasanta, Rich Lescouflair, Brandon O’Brien, Cody Pondsmith, Mike Pondsmith, Marcus Ross and Cara Michele Ryan, Laura Simpson, Chris Spivey, Bryan Tillman, Allen Turner, Aaron Trammell, Jabari Weathers, Travis Williams, and Camdon Wright.
• 2021: NIBCARD Games, "A strong and original voice in publishing, creating a community of new makers and players across Africa and setting an example to the rest of the world of how to use games to make a difference."
• 2022: Ajit George, for his activism in advocating for a more representative and diverse hobby games industry.
• 2023: The Coyote & Crow roleplaying game, created by designer Connor Alexander of Coyote & Crow games.
• 2024: United Paizo Workers, a union of workers at Paizo.
• 2025: awarded jointly to Daybreak (board game) and to Rose Estes, the author of the Endless Quest books.

Emerging Designer Program winners

The Diana Jones Emerging Designer Program is awarded to "rising and impactful talent in the analog tabletop/hobby games industry" and aims to amplify "the voices of up-and-coming designers with a focus on creators from marginalized communities". It was launched in 2021. Since 2023, the program was awarded to four winners.

• 2021: Jeeyon Shim****
• 2022: ( Bianca Canoza)
• 2023: Anthony Joyce-Rivera, Erin Roberts, Kayla Dice, and Sen H.H.S.
• 2024: Quinn Brander, Taylor Navarro, Clarence Simpson, and Basil Wright
• 2025: Ashraf Braden, Elliot Davis, Lyla McBeath Fujiwara, and Marceline Leiman

References

Additional reading

References

1. (10 August 2016). "Tabletop gaming's most coveted trophy is a burned book". [[Polygon (magazine).
2. "About the Diana Jones Award". The Diana Jones Award committee.
3. "The Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming". The Diana Jones Award committee.
4. (7 June 2017). "Gaming's Nobel Prize, the Diana Jones Award, selects Gen Con, Gloomhaven and Terraforming Mars among 2017 nominees". Tabletop Gaming.
5. "JAMES WALLIS: ...Eventually the Lucasfilm license expires and is not renewed. The word comes down from TSR head office to TSR UK that all unsold copies are to be destroyed, as per the terms of the license. The guys at TSR UK... got the final unsold copy and they destroyed it.... in strategic ways, by singeing bits of it. They took the singed remains, which included the logo, from which they'd burned the first two letters, to turn it from 'Indiana Jones' to 'Diana Jones,' and they encased these remains in a Perspex pyramid." (Laws 2007, p 139)
6. "JAMES WALLIS: ... let's just say it was liberated from TSR UK by persons unnamed, and made its ways into the hands of the committee...." (Laws 2007, p 137)
7. "JAMES WALLIS: ... a trophy that symbolizes the destruction of one of the least-loved and critically savaged games of all time would make suitable symbol for an award that celebrated excellence in gaming." (Laws 2007, p 137)
8. "MATT FORBECK:...the last copy of the ''Indiana Jones'' roleplaying games.... It actually has one of the legendary counters in it that reads 'Nazi™.' Which apparently was not TSR's idea, but Lucasfilm insisted that everything that appeared in the game have a "TM" next to it." (Laws 2007, p 139)
9. (October 2021). "The Lost Trophy".
10. Hall, Charlie. (8 October 2021). "One of tabletop gaming’s most prestigious awards has gone missing". Polygon.
11. Forbeck, Matt. (9 August 2023). "Matt Forbeck's Mastodon: Gamers! Check the presentation of this year's Diana Jones Award! It was a fantastic night, and now you can watch the whole thing. (Warning: Includes me going on about a lot of wonderful people.)". mastodon.social.
12. "Diana Jones Award 2010".
13. "Diana Jones Award 2011".
14. (16 August 2012). "Nordic Larp Won the Diana Jones Award!".
15. Wil 'Kick the Nazis off the tweeters' Wheaton. (15 August 2013). "#tabletop won the Diana Jones Award! It's like the Stanley Cup of gaming! Celebrating with @thegamesmith".
16. Currently on the main website page
17. (August 9, 2018). "The 2018 Award".
18. (2019). "The 2019 Award". The Diana Jones Award.
19. Hall, Charlie. (30 July 2020). "One of tabletop gaming's biggest awards celebrates Black creators". Polygon.
20. (2020-06-26). "The 2020 Award".
21. (2021-07-14). "The 2021 Award".
22. Dohm-Sanchez, Jeffrey. (2022-08-04). "'D&D' Author Ajit George Wins the Diana Jones Award". ICv2.
23. "The 2023 Award".
24. (2024-06-05). "The 2024 Award".
25. (2025). "The 2024 Award".
26. (2022-05-17). "Program FAQ".
27. (2023-05-05). "2023 Emerging Designers".
28. Carter, Chase. (August 4, 2021). "Jeeyon Shim wins 2021 Diana Jones Emerging Designer Program".
29. (August 4, 2022). "'D&D' Author Ajit George Wins The Diana Jones Award".
30. Hall, Charlie. (June 7, 2022). "Author of ARC: Doom tabletop RPG honored as Diana Jones Emerging Designer".
31. "2024 Emerging Designers".
32. "Winners of the 2025 Diana Jones Emerging Designer Program".