*NEW*  Best in Environmental Impact

Games and immersive experiences that effectively and creatively promote environmental awareness and/or inspire players to take action.

Judging Criteria:

• How prominent is the game / immersive experience’s environmental message?

• To what degree do players meaningfully engage with pro-environmental action concepts?

• How well does the game / experience resonate with its intended audience?

• Does the game /experience take creative chances that make it stand out from others environmentally-focused titles?

• Does the project create a lasting impression that inspires the player to share the game/experience’s message and/or adopt pro-environmental habits?

Best Board or Tabletop Game for Impact

Board or Tabletop Games that raise awareness, drive impactful change, or address educational goals through captivating gameplay and tactile mechanics.

Judging Criteria:

• Does the game take advantage of the unique affordances of the physical medium (tactile pieces, thematic ties, replayability, and game length) to reinforce a memorable and resonant experience for the player?

• How and to what degree does the game address a specific social issue or learning goal? To what degree can the team measure their impact on that issue?

• What impact does the game have on its audience? How does the overall game experience affect the player?

• To what extent is the development team collaborating with external stakeholders or subject matter experts to develop, evaluate, and verify a theory of change?

Additional digital components are limited to tablets or smartphone only. Best Board Game submissions are not eligible for additional awards. Submitters are responsible for shipping their game and ensuring it arrives in time for judging, as well as postage should they want their game returned.

Best in Innovation

Games and immersive experiences that redefine user engagement through experimentation and novel creative expression.

Judging Criteria:

• Are the developers using the medium of games / immersive experiences to address a theme or subject in a unique and meaningful way?

• How creatively and technically experimental is the project? To what degree does the project break with conventions of standard form (i.e., “go against the grain”)?

• To what degree does the project provoke or encourage new ideas and associations within the player?

Best Gameplay

Games and immersive experiences whose mechanics seamlessly amplify the intended impact, showcasing exceptionally compelling, polished, and engaging gameplay.

Judging Criteria:

• How well does the core gameplay loop support the project’s impact goals?

• How well does the game's design reinforce a memorable and resonant experience for the player?

• Does the project’s design, art direction, and technical performance actively support the minute-to-minute gameplay experience?

Best in Impact

Games and immersive experiences that profoundly affect players and produce measurable impact.

Judging Criteria:

• How and to what degree does the game / immersive experience address a specific social issue? To what degree can the team measure their impact on that issue?

• What impact does the project have on its audience? How does the overall project experience affect the player?

• Are there associated indicators (preliminary outcomes, internal research, or public testimonials) demonstrating an achieved impact in the real world? If the project is recently released, is there a high impact potential?

• To what extent is the development team collaborating with external stakeholders or subject matter experts to develop, evaluate, and verify a theory of change?

Additional Requirements: To compete in this category, developers must share supplemental documentation that summarizes the project’s current impact objectives. Various formats and types of 'impact documentation' are welcomed (such as internal data, third-party research, testimonials, etc.). This category is NOT limited to projects that have completed a formal impact assessment.

Best in Learning

Games and immersive experiences that harmoniously blend educational content with enjoyable, captivating gameplay.

Judging Criteria:

• Does the game / immersive experience have clearly defined learning objectives? Does the project balance learning outcomes with an engaging gameplay experience?

• How does the game incorporate common learning modalities or contemporary learning research?

• Can players effectively track their learning progress within the game, either via data collection, metric reporting, or otherwise?

Additional Requirements: To compete in this category, developers must share supplemental documentation that summarizes the project’s intended learning objectives, audience, and assessment results (i.e., internal data, third-party research, subjective information, and conjecture).

Best in Civics

Games and immersive experiences that inspire responsible citizenship by uniting communities and shedding light on the most pressing issues of our time.

Judging Criteria:

• To what extent are complex social systems represented in the game / immersive experience, and how analogous are those representations to the real world? Does the project require the player to grapple with or recognize their role(s) as an individual within these systems?

• Does the game inspire civic action in real-world spaces outside of the game? Are players taking lessons from the game to engage with their local community or society?

• Does the project foster new understanding and connection between different/disparate communities?

Additional Requirements: To compete in this category, developers must share supplemental documentation that summarizes the game's intended impact objectives, audience and assessment results (i.e. internal data, third-party research, subjective information, and conjecture).

Best in Health & Wellness

Games and immersive experiences that promote positive health and wellness outcomes for users.

Judging Criteria:

• Does the game / immersive experience have clearly defined healthcare/wellness objectives? Does the project balance these intended outcomes with an engaging gameplay experience?

• How does the project incorporate common healthcare/wellness modalities or contemporary healthcare research?

• Can players effectively track their progress via data collection, metric reporting, or otherwise?

Additional Requirements: To compete in this category, developers must share supplemental documentation that summarizes the game's intended health/wellness objectives, audience, and assessment results (i.e., internal data, third-party research, subjective information, and conjecture).

Best Narrative Game

Games and immersive experiences that tell thematic and powerful social impact stories through compelling characters and engaging storytelling.  

Judging Criteria:

• Does the message/moral of the game / immersive experience inspire real-world action that supports the observed impact goal?

• How thoughtfully crafted are the characters in the project? Do characters enter into conflict that supports or colors the impact goal of the project?

• How does the narrative structure of the project amplify the impact goal? Are scenarios and/or dialogue written in a way that immerses the player in the story?

• How does the player progress the narrative through play? To what degree are players able to purposefully influence the narrative?

Best XR for Change Experience

Outstanding virtual, augmented, or mixed reality games and immersive experiences that drive impactful change.*

Judging Criteria:

• How and to what degree does the game / immersive experience inspire change within a specific social issue or impact goal?

• Does the experience take advantage of the unique affordances of the XR medium (immersion, embodiment, and presence) to reinforce a memorable and resonant experience for the player?

• How creatively and technically adventurous is the experience? To what degree does the experience seek to define conventions of form?

*We strongly recommend that all XR experiences upload video documentation in the 'Supporting Materials' section to support the XR jurors with the review process. Examples include a gameplay video or recording of the experience.

Best Student Project

Recognizes games developed by college and university students that successfully address important social issues.*

Judging Criteria:

• How and to what degree does the game address a specific social issue?

• Is there an exceptional degree of polish to the project relative to the team’s size and experience, such as thorough game design, art direction, and technical performance?

• How well does the game's design reinforce a memorable and resonant experience for the player?

* Games and immersive experiences submitted for this category must be created by students during the 2023-2024 school year. Students will be asked to verify their enrollment status during the game's development period (via uploading a student ID, transcript, etc.). Best Student Game submissions are not eligible for additional award categories.