Every hobby needs new voices, and one of the tabletop world's nicer traditions just handed three of them a serious leg up. The Diana Jones Award committee has named its 2026 Emerging Designer Program winners: Glaiza Champion, J Strautman and Kodi Gonzaga.
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See how it worksEach designer collects a prize package worth more than 6,500 US dollars, headlined by an all-expenses-paid trip to Gen Con this summer, plus industry memberships, prototyping credit at The Game Crafter and a demo slot on Gen Con TV. For a designer still finding their feet, that is the kind of boost that turns a side project into a career.
All three work in the indie tabletop RPG and story-game scene, the corner of the hobby where a designer's voice matters more than a big production budget. Glaiza Champion, a Filipino-American designer, makes intimate story games including Beef and Meet Your GelCub. Toronto's J Strautman, who also tours as a musician, is behind Contact and A Fool's Errand. Los Angeles designer Kodi Gonzaga's credits include Down the Road Through the End of the World.
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Start organising for freeRunning since 2021, the programme exists to amplify up-and-coming creators, with a focus on designers from marginalised communities. Past winners have gone on to ship acclaimed work, so these are names worth filing away.
Heading to Gen Con yourself? Organise a meetup at the show and you might catch one of these games in the wild.
Sources: Diana Jones Award | BoardGameWire
