The Academy of Adventure Game Arts & Design announced the winners of the 45th annual Origins Awards at a gala ceremony Saturday night at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. Games were recognized in eleven categories, including Game of the Year. The winners were:

Game of the Year
Root
Leder Games

Board Game
Root
Leder Games

Card Game
The Mind
Pandasaurus Games

Family Game
The Tea Dragon Society Card Game
Renegade Game Studios

Collectible Game
Keyforge: Call of the Archons
Fantasy Flight Games

Role-Playing Game
Vampire: TheMasquerade 5th Edition
Modiphius Entertainment

Role-Playing Game Supplement
Dungeons & Dragons: Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
Wizards of the Coast

Miniatures Game
Necromunda
Games Workshop

Star Wars Legion
Fantasy Flight Games

Game Accessory
Black Dragon Trophy Plaque
WizKids

The Academy also inducted two designers and two games into the Adventure Game Hall of Fame. The Hall recognizes individuals and games that have made lasting and significant contributions to the social game hobby. This year’s inductees were:

  • Gerald Brom, Writer/Illustrator
  • Vlaada Chvatil, Designer/Co-founder of Czech Games Edition
  • Mage Knight, WizKids – Designed by Vlaada Chvatil
  • Apples to Apples, Mattel – Designed by Matthew Kirby, Mark Alan Osterhaus

Finally, the Academy created a new award for this year – The Rising Star. It is intended to honor individuals in the early stages of their careers that have demonstrated exceptional ability. The inaugural award went to designer and co-founder of Stonemaier Games Jamey Stegmaier.

Designers and publishers can submit their games published for consideration during the annual eligibility period. Submissions in each category are evaluated by a jury of industry professionals, who select nominees. Those finalists are voted on by members of the Academy by email to determine the winners. At Origins, fans are asked to vote on the nominees to determine Fan Favorites.

For a complete list of the 2019 nominees, see “Origins Awards Nominees.”

For a list of the 2018 winners, see “2018 Origins Award Winners.”