This past week, I learned that the nominations for the 2025 Summit Award and the 2025 Bobby Nunez Memorial Award are open from SDHistCon. These awards have been happening annually since 2022 and are an opportunity for us as gamers to celebrate those designers who are making games that tell the important stories of history through a bit of a different approach than normal conflict simulations. If you have followed The Players’ Aid for any amount of time, you know that we love our hex and counter games but also enjoy exploring all different types of games on different subjects. Remember that the mission of SDHistCon is “to create a diverse and supportive gaming community dedicated to playing, discussing, designing, and promoting historically-based board games. Through this commitment, SDHistCon seeks to serve both the existing historical board gaming community as well as grow it through the addition of new voices and perspectives”.

Below is the text of the press release from SDHistCon:

Nominations are now open for the 2025 Summit Award and 2025 Bobby Nunes Memorial Award! The Summit Award, established by SDHist in 2022, is an annual award recognizing the published game that most broadens the historical gaming hobby through its ease of teaching and/or play, novel topic or novel approach. The past winners are Red Flag Over Paris (2022), for games published in 2021), Votes For Women (2023), for games published in 2022), and Land and Freedom: The Spanish Revolution and Civil War (2024), for games published in 2023).

The Bobby Nunes Memorial Award was established by SDHist in 2024 in honor of our friend and colleague Robert “Bobby Factor” Nunes following his passing that March. It was created to recognize an exceptional piece of gaming media (including but not limited to a video, podcast episode, written article, etc., or a cohesive series thereof) published in the prior calendar year that reflects Bobby Nunes’ enthusiasm for and interest in discussing important cultural issues within the historical gaming hobby, including as editor of the first Conflicts of Interest e-zine. The inaugural award went to Liz Davidson for her Beyond Solitaire podcast interviews.

We’re now looking for your nominations for the 2025 awards! They can be submitted on the form, which is also available here. Nominations will be open through July 7, 2025. One randomly-selected nominator will receive a free game from SDHist!

If you have time and are interested, please consider nominating games and gaming media for these awards! Thank you.

-Grant