International Serious Play Awards honor outstanding commercial and student products which incorporate game elements and were created for use in education or training. We have four separate award programs:
- Digital Entries: Professional
- Digital Entries: Student
- Tabletop/Board Game Learning Entries: Professional
- Tabletop/Board Games Learning Entries: Student
Entry categories include: K-12 Education; Higher Education; Healthcare/Medical; Museum/Visitor Centers; Corporate/Vocational; Military/Government/Military; PreK Education; Non-Profit
Entry deadline for the International Serious Play Awards is March 1.
Payment by credit card must be received by the deadline for the entry to be evaluated. An invoice for payment can be requested from sue@seriousplayconf.com
The entry process is in two steps: Entrant Information followed by Submission information. Please review the full form before submitting.
The entry information you provide is given to the judges and is the basis on which they evaluate your entry.
Entry Fees (Applies to all Professional Entries, Digital and Table Top/Board Entries)
- Museum/University Studio/Non Profit/NGO/Govt/Military Org – $300
- Independent Studio (9 or fewer employees) – $250
- Ed Tech Teacher, Individual – $200
After the deadline, awards can be submitted for another week for the entry fee plus an additional charge of $100
Student Created Learning Products The definition of a student digital game is one that was conceived by students and produced with light guidance by college faculty or high school advisors. Games produced in a university-affiliated studio for sale to the commercial market must be entered into the Professional category. If the game is given away free, then it can be entered into the student category.
- College Student Entry (student of any age. no commercialized products) – $100
- High School Student (or 15 – 18 years or younger) – $75
Judging Criteria
Entries are judged on the following elements:
- Orientation
- Engagement
- Interactivity/Feedback
- Learning Objectives
- Assessment
- Aesthetics
- Gameplay
Note: Digital Entries (Professional and Student)
You must provide access to the entry for up to 8 judges. This access (code or link) must be available through June.
Currently, we do not have the capability to judge:
- entries requiring high-end technology platforms
- entries requiring more than 4 hours to judge adequately
- Streaming entries
Judges must be able to play the entry. We do not evaluate entries based on a video or demo version. Links to videos may be submitted as supplemental material.
Learning Tabletop/Board Entry
Beginning this year, we will accept entries requiring a trained facilitator. Entrant must supply the facilitator in these instances. Additional instructions and rules will be provided to these entrants after the deadline.
Entrants for Tabletop/board entries must be willing to send copies to up to FOUR (4) different locations. Be prepared to have copies ready to ship within a month after entry. The shipping address for tabletop games will be sent to you after your entry form and payment are received or after the deadline. In the case of heavy or expensive games, contact the program manager at: awards@seriousplayconf.com
Write the name of the submitting studio/university/company AND the NAME of the game on external packaging containing your game.
If you want your tabletop game returned, you must send the return packaging and a pre-paid voucher to Fed Ex or a similar service along with each copy.