Origins Awards 2026 Winners Announced

The Origins Game Fair took place in Columbus, Ohio, over 17-21 June and, with it, the announcement of this years winners of The Origins Awards. The Origins Awards, and the show itself, have been running since 1975 and have been held in Columbus since 1996.

The Origins Awards, which are run by GAMA: The Tabletop Game Association and the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design, are one of the oldest awards in the tabletop gaming industry, and celebrate the excellencee in board games, card games, miniature games, and roleplaying games.

The nominees are announced at the GAMA Trade Show, which is usually held in March, with the winners announced at the Origins Game Fair which attracts around 20,000 attendees. The winners rreceive a cast metal trpphy, affectionately known as Calliope (or Callie) after the Greek muse.

This years winners were:

Gateway Game of the Year : Railroad Tiles by Horrible Guild (Designers Hjalmar Hach and Lorenzo Silva / Artists: Francesco De Benedittis and Barla Tranquilli)

Party Game of the Year : Hot Streak by CMYK (Designer: Jon Perry / Artist: Cécile Gariép)

Light Strategy Game of the Year : Winter Rabbit by Absurdist Productions (Designer: Will Thompson / Artists Kindra Swafford & Jonni Ketcher)

Heavy Startegy Game of the Year : Speakeasy by Eagle-Gryphon Games (Designer: Vital Lacerda / Artist: Ian O'Toole)

Cooperative/Solo Game of the Year :: The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship by Z-Man Games (Designer: Matt Leacock / Artists: Jared Blando and Cory Godbey)

Roleplaying Game of the Year : Land of Eem by Exalted Funeral (Designed & Written by: James Parks and Ben Costa / Artists: Justin Gerard, Sean Kiernan, Anneliese Mak, Sam Mamei, Rosario Mendez, and Rob Gatto)

Roleplaying Game Supplement of the Year : Call of Cthulhu: The Sutra of the Pale Leaves - Twin Suns Rising by Chaosium (Deisgners/Authors: Yukihiro Terada, Jason Sheets, Damon Lang, and Andrew Logan Montgomery)

Miniatures Game of the Year : Blood Bowl Third Season Edition by Games Workshop

Miniature of the Year : Festus, The Leech Lord for Warhammer: Age of Sigmar by Games Workshop

Paint/Hobby Accessory of the Year : Goblin Hobbies Stampin’ Plates byGoblin Hobbies (Designed by Brent Amberger and Casey Aldren)

Fixed Constructible Game of the Year : Riftbound: Proving Grounds by UVS Games & Riot Games (Designers : David Smith and Jon Moormann)

Randomized Constructible Game of the Year : Gudnak: Expansion Bundle by Chaotic Great Games (Designer: Tim O’Brien and Ian Oliver / Artist : Vittoria Pompolani)