Boardgames Australia is a non-profit organisation founded in 2007 to stimulate the growth and raise the profile of boardgaming in Australia.
Our aims are to:
- establish a set of awards that will recognise and reward excellence in local and international design, promote the hobby of boardgaming and guide Australian consumers to high-quality boardgames.
- promote the awards and associated recommendations as a valid, valuable and credible source for advice and recommendations on boardgames.
We also aim to
- increase sales of quality boardgames in Australia and increase the penetration of quality boardgames in retail outlets across Australia.
- encourage the development of the boardgame industry in Australia, from game design & development, through publishing and sales.
- promote boardgaming as a way to bring friends and families together to share each other’s company and produce stronger and more resilient families.
How are we going to do this?
We have three focus areas for the next few years:
- The inaugural awards were presented at the Australian Games Expo in Albury 2008. These awards are a way to promote good games to families, and provide a media hook to draw attention to the benefits of boardgames in strengthening families.
- We also organised a forum at the Expo on the use of games in education. Games can be used to teach numeracy and literacy, but as our expert speakers revelaed they are even more important in teaching social skills. We have set up a newsletter and forum for people with an interest in the use of games in education.
- We organised a forum at the Expo for game designers. This provided information ranging from submission to game publishing companies, through patent law, down to the nitty-gritty of producing your own game. We have longer term plans to host game designers days in capital cities to provide play-testing opportunities. We are also investigating organising a Boardgames Australia stall at some major international game fairs where we can promote some of the locally-designed games looking for a publisher.