Should the ENnies cover CCGs, CMGs and boardgames?

[Psion]

No. I think that having a focus on RPGs let us focus on different aspects of RPGs. You broaden what you cover, you have to lose the detail or it becomes unmanageable, especially for a volunteer operation.

 

[DaveMage]

I tend to lean towards the more radical d20-only stance myself.

I was a major advocate for this once the ENnies started to stray from d20-only, but nowadays there are really only a half-dozen or so companies even making d20 products with any regularity. It'd be a small awards ceremony.

 

[MerricB]

I say no - and partly because it would make the judges jobs untenable.

Knowledge of CCGs is a terribly difficult field, as is CMGs. You need to *play* the games to really get a feel for it, and both categories are pretty much exclusive ones.

Cheers!

 

[Kanegrundar]

Erik is wise. With the RPG arena shrinking year by year, what good would it do to give CCG's, CMG's, Boardgames, and video games a shot at an award tied to RPG's? None. The ENnies need to stay an RPG-centric award ceremony. It helps spread the word about games that many may not know about, but are too damn good to wallow on the sidelines. It gets people curious, and likely leads to many sales for those nominees, which is a good thing, especially with the market dwindling away more and more.

As for the whole "one true game" comment, not everyone plays games across the whole spectrum. As long as people focus on one or two different subsets of games there will always be that division between fans of each genre.

 

[WayneLigon]

Should they go find "their own damn convention" too?

Yes.

Really, I see these comments on ENWorld, Consimworld, and Boardgamegeek all the time. It's as if the RPG, CCG, CMG, miniatures, wargamers and boardgamers were all separate fans

For the most part, they are.

 

[fusangite]

I put it to you that the categories of products reflected in the current ENnies betrays a bias of its roots as awards given by an RPG focussed site, instead of awards reflecting the products sold at, played at, and concerning, in general, the hobby games industry at Gencon - of which RPGs are only a part.

There is room for more than one awards ceremony at Gen Con. Indeed, there is more than one awards ceremony at Gen Con.

If, as you suggest, these non-RP games receive insufficient recognition at Gen Con, the question then becomes whether the more efficient solution to this problem is for the ENnies to expand further or for those interested in a prominent awards ceremony for non-RP games to organize such an event. Given the current length of the ENnies ceremony, the interests of the volunteers who sustain the ENnies and the RP-heavy voter base for the awards, it looks to me like the practical solution to the problem you present is for those interested in non-RP games having their own awards ceremony to approach Peter Adkinson with their proposal for a new event.

So, I'm all for it: I am 100% behind Steel_Wind assembling a fundraising base, voter base and event plan for a non-RP game awards at Gen Con. And I you the best of luck.

 

[Beckett]

When I saw the list of Origins Award winners, I was struck by how few categories were devoted to RPGs. I'm glad that the ENnies are maintaining a RPG focus (and I think it's pretty spiffy that with each year, it becomes clearer that the ENnies are the RPG award, and not just the D20 award).

 

[Holy Bovine]

To answer the basic question of the OP - No, the ENnies should not cover boardgames, CCGs etc. RPGs only, please. If people in those industries want to create an award out of nothing like Morrus did more power to them.

 

[FickleGM]

I'm against this idea, as well. I have no interest in non-RPGs (in relation to this topic).

 

[billd91]

I like board games as much as the next guy (maybe even more) but I'm quite content with the ENnies being RPG-directed. I don't think there's much to be gained for the ENnies branching out. I'd rather see a parallel award given out for board games and other sorts of games.