The Indie RPG Awards are annual, creator-based awards for

Indie role-playing game An indie role-playing game is a role-playing game published outside traditional, "mainstream" means. Varying definitions require that commercial, design, or conceptual elements of the game stay under the control of the creator, or that the game ...

s and supplements. They were established in 2002 by Andy Kitkowski, and are the most sought-after awards in the ''Indie RPG'' community. For the purposes of the Awards, there exists a following "definition" of an Indie role-playing game: * A game where the creator is the person who has written at least 50% of the actual game content. * A game where the creator has full control of content and publishing. * A game where the creator is the publisher, with full control over expenses and profits.

Winners

2002

* Indie Game of the Year: ''

Dust Devils A dust devil is a strong, well-formed, and relatively short-lived whirlwind. Its size ranges from small (half a metre wide and a few metres tall) to large (more than 10 m wide and more than 1 km tall). The primary vertical motion is u ...

'' by Matt Snyder * Indie Supplement of the Year: '' Charnel Gods'' by Ron Edwards * Best Free Game: '' Nicotine Girls'' by

Paul Czege Paul Czege is a designer of tabletop role-playing games. His ''My Life With Master'' was the third role-playing game to win the Diana Jones award. He is also the originator of the Czege Principle that states, "When one person is the author of both ...

* Best Use of the d20 License: ''The Kid's Colouring Book o Critters - Celebrity Edition'' by M. Jason Parent * Best Production: '' Children of the Sun'' by Lewis Pollack * Best Support: ''

The Riddle of Steel ''The Riddle of Steel'' (abbreviated as ''TRoS'') is a role-playing game (RPG) created by Jacob Norwood and published by Driftwood Publishing. It is designed for role-playing in a typical sword and sorcery or high fantasy gameworld environment. ...

'' by Jacob Norwood * Best Synergy: ''Dust Devils'' * Most Innovative Game: ''

Universalis ''Universalis'' is a role-playing game (RPG) from Ramshead Publishing that stresses interactive storytelling. The game uses a unique system, based on "coins" that are used to make additions to the game, which allows the entire group to participa ...

'' by Ralph Mazza and Mike Holmes * Indie RPG "Human of the Year": Ron Edwards * Indie RPG Zine of the Year: ''The Shadowrun Supplemental'' * Andy's Choice: '' Charnel Gods'' by Scott Knipe

2003

* Indie Game of the Year: ''

My Life with Master ''My Life with Master'' is an independently published role-playing game written by Paul Czege and published by Half Meme Press (it was first released at the 2003 Gen Con gaming convention). ''My Life with Master'' is a game about role-playing th ...

'' by

* Indie Supplement of the Year: ''JAGS Have-Not'' * Best Free Game: ''

FATE Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

'' by

Fred Hicks Fred Hicks is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Fred Hicks discovered the ''Fudge'' role-playing game system while online and used it for his games based on Roger Zelazny's ''The Chronicles of Amber''. Hic ...

* Best Production: ''My Life with Master'' * Best Support: ''FATE'' * Best Synergy: ''My Life with Master'' * Most Innovative Game: ''My Life with Master'' * Indie RPG "Human of the Year": Luke Crane (spelled as ''Power of the Year'') * Andy's Choice: ''FATE''

2004

* Indie Game of the Year: ''

Dogs in the Vineyard ''Dogs in the Vineyard'' is an independently published role-playing game loosely based on the history of the Mormons. It was written by D. Vincent Baker and published by Lumpley Games. In the 2004 Indie RPG Awards, ''Dogs in the Vineyard'' w ...

'' by

D. Vincent Baker David Vincent Baker is a designer of tabletop role playing games and the owner of Lumpley Games which also hosts the archives of The Forge. His most notable games are ''Dogs in the Vineyard'' and '' Apocalypse World''. ''Dogs in the Vineyard' ...

* Indie Supplement of the Year: '' Monster Burner'' by Luke Crane * Best Free Game: ''

The Shadow of Yesterday ''The Shadow of Yesterday'' (or ''TSoY'') is a narrativist sword and sorcery (with optional elements of heroic fantasy) indie role-playing game, designed by Clinton R. Nixon and published by CRN Games. Notable features A large portion of the ga ...

'' by Clinton R. Nixon * People's Choice - Best Game: '' Dead Inside'' by Chad Underkoffler * People's Choice - Best Supplement: ''Monster Burner'' * Best Production: ''A/State'' by Malcolm Craig * Best Support: ''Monster Burner'' * Most Innovative Game: ''Dogs in the Vineyard'' * Andy's Choice: '' Primetime Adventures'' by Matt Wilson

2005

* Indie Game of the Year: ''

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

'' by Ben Lehman * Indie Supplement of the Year: '' Burning Sands: Jihad'' by Luke Crane * Best Free Game: ''Perfect20'' by Levi Kornelsen * Best Production: '' Artesia'' by

Mark Smylie Mark Smylie is an American comics creator, writer and illustrator. He is best known for his '' Artesia'' epic fantasy comic series.Cornog, Martha (July 1, 2011). "Graphic Novels: Archaia's A-List", ''Library Journal'' 136 (12). Biography Born in ...

* Best Support: ''

Truth & Justice ''Truth & Justice'' is an "indie" tabletop role-playing game designed to emulate the superhero genre. It was created by Chad Underkoffler and published by Atomic Sock Monkey Press. The game allows players to take the role of superheroes and s ...

'' by Chad Underkoffler * Most Innovative Game: ''Polaris''

2006

* Indie Game of the Year: ''

Spirit of the Century ''Spirit of the Century'' is a pulp role-playing game published by Evil Hat Productions, and based on Evil Hat's ''FATE'' system. It is billed as a 'pick-up' game that can be played quickly, with little preparation. Gameplay ''Spirit of the Ce ...

'' by

* Indie Supplement of the Year: '' Dictionary of Mu'' by Judd Carlman * Best Free Game: ''JAGS Revised'' by Marco Chacon * Best Production: ''

Burning Empires ''Burning Empires'' is an EP from VNV Nation. It contains remixes and alternate versions of tracks from their popular album ''Empires'', plus the "Standing" single. It is a limited edition release of 4,700 copies. The album was made available o ...

'' by Luke Crane * Best Support: ''Burning Empires'' * Most Innovative Game: ''Lacuna Part 1, second attempt'' by

Jared Sorensen Jared A. Sorensen is an indie role-playing game designer whose works include ''InSpectres'', '' octaNe'', and ''Lacuna Part I.'' Career Jared Sorensen was a member of the website The Forge, and later became an indie publisher. Sorensen designed ...

2007

* Indie Game of the Year: '' Grey Ranks'' by

Jason Morningstar Jason Morningstar is an American indie role-playing game designer, publishing mostly through Bully Pulpit Games. Morningstar's games often lack a Game Master and are often set in situations that quickly go unfortunately for the player characters. G ...

* Indie Supplement of the Year: '' The Blossoms are Falling'' by Luke Crane * Best Free Game: ''Classroom Deathmatch'' by Jake Diamond and Matt Schlotte * Best Production: ''

Reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...

'' by

Greg Stolze Greg Stolze (born 1970) is an American game designer, writer and novelist, whose work has mainly focused on writing for role-playing games and related intellectual properties. Career Stolze began his career writing role playing games professiona ...

* Best Support: '' The Blossoms are Falling'' * Most Innovative Game: ''Grey Ranks''

2008

* Indie Game of the Year: '' Mouse Guard Roleplaying Game'' by Luke Crane and David Petersen * Indie Supplement of the Year: '' Don't Lose Your Mind'' by

Benjamin Baugh Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...

* Best Free Game: (tie) ''Sea Dracula'' by Jake Richmond and Nick Smith and ''Sufficiently Advanced'' by Colin Fredericks * Best Production: ''Mouse Guard'' * Best Support: ''Mouse Guard'' * Most Innovative Game: ''Sweet Agatha'' by Kevin Allen Jr.

2009

* Indie Game of the Year: '' Kagematsu'' by Danielle Lewon * Indie Supplement of the Year: '' The Day after Ragnarok'' by

Kenneth Hite Kenneth Hite (born September 15, 1965) is a writer and role-playing game designer. Hite is the author of Trail of Cthulhu and Night's Black Agents role-playing games, and lead designer of the 5th edition of '' Vampire: the Masquerade''. Educati ...

* Best Free Game: ''Lady Blackbird: Adventures in the Wild Blue Yonder'' by John Harper * Best Production: ''Lady Blackbird: Adventures in the Wild Blue Yonder'' * Best Support: ''

Fiasco Fiasco may refer to: * a failure or humiliating situation * Fiasco (bottle), a traditional Italian straw-covered wine bottle often associated with Chianti wine Media * ''Fiasco'' (novel), a 1987 science-fiction novel by Stanisław Lem * ''F ...

'' by

* Most Innovative Game: ''

A Penny for My Thoughts ''A Penny for My Thoughts'' is a role-playing game by Paul Tevis, published by Evil Hat Productions in 2009. Description ''A Penny for My Thoughts'' is a storytelling game involving amnesiac characters who ask leading questions of each other to f ...

'' by

Paul Tevis Paul Tevis is an Ennie-award-winning podcaster whose shows Have Games, Will Travel and The Voice of the Revolution discuss games, game design, and gamer subculture. He is an active participant in this subculture, and is a recognizable figure at ...

2010

* Indie Game of the Year: ''

Apocalypse World ''Apocalypse World'' is a post-apocalyptic roleplaying game by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker, published in 2010 with only an implied setting that is fleshed out by the players in the course of character creation. It was the game for which th ...

'' by

* Indie Supplement of the Year: ''The Hot War Transmission'' by Malcolm Craig and Scott Dorward * Best Free Game: ''Stars Without Number'' by Kevin Crawford * Best Production: '' Freemarket'' by Luke Crane and

* Best Support: ''

'' * Most Innovative Game: ''

2011

* Indie Game of the Year: '' Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple'' by

Daniel Solis Daniel Solis is an American politician from Illinois. He served as an alderman on the Chicago City Council from 1996 to 2019. He represented Chicago's 25th Ward which includes the Lower West Side. His sister is Patti Solis Doyle, who was Hil ...

* Indie Supplement of the Year: '' Fiasco Companion'' by

and Steve Segedy * Best Free Game: ''Anima Prime'' by Christian Griffen * Best Production: ''Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple'' * Best Support: ''Fiasco Companion'' * Most Innovative Game: ''Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple''

2012

* Indie Game of the Year: ''

Dungeon World ''Dungeon World'' is a tabletop fantasy roleplaying game created by Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel. The game uses the Powered by the Apocalypse engine originally designed for ''Apocalypse World'' and used in ''Monsterhearts'' and other games. Th ...

'' by Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel * Indie Supplement of the Year: '' American Disasters'' (for ''Fiasco'') by

and Steve Segedy * Best Free Game: ''Mythender'' by Ryan Macklin * Best Production: ''Dungeon World'' * Best Support: ''Dungeon World'' * Most Innovative Game: ''Dog Eat Dog'' by Liam Burke

2013

* Indie Game of the Year: ''

Hillfolk ''Hillfolk'' is a tabletop role-playing game designed by Robin Laws and published by Pelgrane Press. It was initially launched via Kickstarter in 2012, with the funding being sufficiently successful that a second book called "Blood on the Snow", ...

'' by

Robin D. Laws Robin D. Laws (born October 14, 1964 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian writer and game designer who lives in Toronto, Canada. He is the author of a number of novels and role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled rolepl ...

* Indie Supplement of the Year: '' Adventures on Dungeon Planet'' by Johnstone Metzger * Best Production: '' Torchbearer (role-playing game)'' by Thor Olavsrud and Luke Crane * Best Support: ''

'' * Most Innovative Game: ''The Quiet Year'' by Joe Mcdaldno

2014

* Indie Game of the Year: ''The Clay That Woke'' by

* Indie Supplement of the Year: ''Deep Carbon Observatory'' by Patrick Stewart, Scrap Princess * Best Free Game: ''Dream Askew'' by Joe Mcdaldno * Best Production: ''A Red and Pleasant Land'' by Zak S. * Best Support: ''Deep Carbon Observatory'' * Most Innovative Game: ''The Clay That Woke''

2015

* Indie Game of the Year: '' Night Witches (role-playing game)'' by

* Indie Supplement of the Year: '' Fiasco Playset Anthology'' by

Bully Pulpit Games Bully Pulpit Games, based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is a small publisher of indie role-playing games. History Their games include ''Fiasco (role-playing game), Fiasco'' and ''Star Crossed (game), Star Crossed''. The publisher is named fo ...

* Best Free Game: ''Sign'' by Hakan Seyalioglu and Kathryn Hymes * Best Production: ''Fall of Magic'' by Ross Cowman * Best Support: ''World-Wide Wrestling Role-Playing Game'' by Nathan D. Paoletta * Most Innovative Game: ''Fall of Magic''

2016

* Indie Game of the Year: ''

Blades in the Dark ''Blades in the Dark'' is a tabletop fantasy role-playing game by John Harper, set in a fictional city of Doskvol, inspired by Victorian London and Gothic fiction. The game was crowdfunded on Kickstarter in 2015, raising US$179,280 from 3,925 ba ...

'' by John Harper * Indie Supplement of the Year: ''Microscope Explorer'' by Ben Robbins * Best Free Game: ''Quill: A Letter-Writing Roleplaying Game for a Single Player'' by Scott Malthouse * Best Production: ''Blades in the Dark'' by John Harper * Best Support: ''Blades in the Dark'' by John Harper * Most Innovative Game: ''#Feminism: A Nano-Game Anthology'' by Edited by Misha Bushyager, Lizzie Stark, and Anna Westerling

2017

* Indie Game of the Year: '' The Watch (role-playing game)'' by Anna Kreider and Andrew Medeiros * Indie Supplement of the Year: ''Itras By: The Menagerie'' by Ole Peder Giaver and others * Best Production:''

Timewatch ''Timewatch'' is a long-running British television series showing documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. It was first broadcast on 29 September 1982 and is produced by the BBC. The ''Timewatch'' brandname is used as a ...

'' by Kevin Kulp and others * Best Support: ''Timewatch'' * Most Innovative Game: ''Alas for the Awful Sea'' by Hayley Gordon, Vee Hendro

Notes

External links

Indie RPG Awards website

previous Indie RPG Awards website (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indie Rpg Awards Awards established in 2002 Indie role-playing games Game awards

Categories

Winners

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Notes

External links