The Diana Jones Awards (named after the burned remains of a copy of the Indiana Jones RPG) take place the night before Gen Con in Indianapolis each year. The nominees this year included Rob Weiland, an EN World columnist who passed away earlier this year.
The original trophy was a pyramid containing the remains of that Indiana Jones book. In 2021, the trophy was lost in transit, and a new trophy was introduced in 2022. The award is chosen by an anonymous committee of industry professionals, and winners have included game designers, retailers, board games, unions, conventions, and even a concept or two.
This year the award was won by MIschief Toy Store from Minnesota.
Nominees for 2026
- Molly House, A board game by Jo Kelly with Cole Wehrle & Ricky Royal, from Wehrlegig Games
- Price Johnson, A game company executive with Cephalofair Games
- Rob Wieland, a game designer and journalist
- Trench Crusade, a miniatures game by Mike Franchina, James Sherriff, and Tuomas Pirinen, from Factory Fortress
- Mischief Toy Store, a friendly local game store St. Paul, MN
The Diana Jones Award committee is pleased to announce the 2026 award goes to Mischief Toy Store.
Mischief Toy Store,
Mischief Toy Store made headlines in 2020 for requiring masking and then distributing free Black Lives Matter lawn signs during the George Floyd riots in the Twin Cities. They got nationwide attention again in 2025 for joining a lawsuit against US tariffs. Then, just hours after criticizing ICE in that national TV interview, they were targeted with a surprise audit but resisted turning over their employee records to DHS. They started printing ICE OUT posters to distribute as fast as they could, and organized a network of 3D printing hobbyists to distribute thousands of ICE alert whistles. Amid the chaos in Minnesota, they had to suspend online ordering, and their website directed folks to support local immigrant rights organizations instead. They’ve worked exceptionally hard to make space at the gaming table for everyone, in the midst of upheaval.[Note that although the winner won the award for political actions, this is NOT the forum to discuss those topics. There's a whole internet where you can do that, but not here.]
