(Press Release) – July 27, 2011 – Gaming Genius Awards Nomination and Voting deadline extended.

Here is some background on the awards:

   The Gaming Genius Awards are an innovation in the hobby game industry, since they cover every aspect of the industry, including independent products and fan achievements; and if we do not have a category that a particular product fits into  ̶ we will gladly listen to your reasons as to why it should be there, and make the necessary changes.

The Gaming Genius Awards (also called "The Golden Pawns"), although new, are intended to be in line with how awards outside the hobby game industry are judged and represent the industry as a whole.

The Gaming Genius Awards recognize genius, creativity, ingenuity, and tenacity in developing products and ideas that have enhanced the game hobby market in one or all ways, whether it be in a niche or some area more expansive. No category of game is excluded.

The Gaming Genius Awards are divided into Pro Awards and Fan Awards.

   Pro Awards: These awards are for products released in the time period May, 2010 to August, 2011. But we also have retro award categories to honor those from other years.

These awards recognize achievements in writing, creativity, innovation, artwork, game design, story-lines and game fiction, and of course commentary. All categories are voted upon by a panel of industry experts selected by the GGA Central Committee.

Fan Awards: These awards are for the public to propose and vote on, they are to honor achievements by individuals, rank-and-file enthusiasts of the game hobby, and products by publishers whose fans feel that they deserve the recognition. These are voted upon by members of the general public, so cast your vote today... or nominate someone.

The many categories of the Gaming Genius Awards cover everything from roleplaying games, miniatures, game-play aids, wargames, boardgames, card games, LARPs, play-by-mail games, conventions and several others in the Pro category. The Fan category recognizes genius in gamemastering, costume design for LARPs, miniatures painting, organizing local conventions, blogging, and fan favorites.

A complete list of the categories these awards cover can be found on the award's web site at //www.thegoldenpawns.org.
Nominations are now open and will remain open until September 1st (2011) at midnight.

The Gaming Genius Awards or the "Golden Pawns" will be awarded at a ceremony to be held at Montreal ComicCon 2011 at //www.montrealcomiccon.com.

Nomination Process:

   Nominations for the Pro Awards are done by a process of self-nomination that is open to all publishers, manufacturers, designers, and freelancers who created a game-related product that was completed and put to market between August 1, 2010 and the closing date of the nomination period. All nominees must self-nominate and can only nominate their own products. The procedure for nominating a product or the voting process can be found on the Gaming Genius Awards website.

Nominations for the Fan Awards are done by the public at large, that is fans of the areas covered by the GGAs. The procedure for fans nominating a product or the voting process can also be found on the Gaming Genius Awards website.

We welcome everyone to participate and hope to see you at the awards ceremony later this summer.

The Gaming Genius Awards website is //www.thegoldenpawns.org.

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