The Diana Jones Award has been quietly handing out one of tabletop gaming's most respected honours since 2001, and this year's shortlist is a good excuse to check out some of the most interesting things happening in the hobby. Five finalists are in the running, and the winner is announced at a ceremony in Indianapolis on 29 July, the traditional curtain-raiser to Gen Con.
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See how it worksTwo board games make the cut. Molly House, designed by Jo Kelly with Cole Wehrle and Ricky Royal, is a game about the gender-defying "mollies" of early 18th-century London and the raids that threatened them, published through Root designer Wehrle's Wehrlegig Games. Alongside it is Trench Crusade, the grim alternate-history miniatures game where humanity fights the forces of Hell in a nightmarish 1914, which has built a devoted following since its own crowdfunding run.
The other three finalists show how broadly the award reads "excellence in gaming", because it has always celebrated the people, shops and moments that shape the hobby, not just the games themselves. Mischief Toy Store, a shop in St Paul, Minnesota, is recognised for taking a public stand on tariffs and immigrant rights. Price Johnson of Cephalofair Games, the studio behind Gloomhaven, is nominated for campaigning against 2025's tariff hikes. The fifth finalist is the late Rob Wieland, a designer and journalist honoured for mentoring others and raising money for charity before his death in 2025.
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Find events near youUnlike the Spiel des Jahres or the ENnies, the Diana Jones Award does not stick to a single category, which is exactly what makes its shortlist such a good reading list. If any of these have passed you by, now is a fine time to catch up before the winner is named.
Sources: Diana Jones Award | BoardGameWire
