After more than a year of board game design, mentorship, and judging, the second iteration of the Zenobia Award for historical board games has chosen its winners!
Winner – The Porters
For the grand prize of $1000 dollars and a travel grant of matching value to a game convention of their choice, the judges and board selected The Porters, by Lucas Cockburn, Neco Cockburn, and Alex Goss. This game covers the story of Black porters on Canadian railways working to organize unions. Judges praised the clever design, the unique and compelling theme, and the game’s original balance of organizing a labor movement all while having to work a tiring, full-time job.
First Runner Up – Silencio
Silencio by Luis Salas considers a very modern dynamic. In the game, members of a Mexican community attempt to find family members missing due to cartel-related violence. Judges applauded the balance between complexity and depth, and how the gameplay engaged with the difficult theme.
Second Runner Up – Melaka: the Forgotten Empire
Melaka by Effendy Norzaman tells the story of the Sultanate of Melaka in the Malay peninsula, where nobles loyal to the Sultan attempt to build a great empire. Judges praised the game’s unique take on the 4X genre, action selection, and rondel mechanics, modeling exploration while vying for the Sultan’s favor.
Finalists and Advancing Proposals
Congratulations also to all the finalists and advancing proposals of the second Zenobia Award, and a thank you to all the games submitted to the award this year. The finalists again were:
- Aguirre
- House of Wisdom
- Melaka – The Forgotten Empire
- Obraje
- An Outstreched Hand
- The Porters
- The Pursuit of Aguinaldo
- Sabotage The Raj
- Silencio
And the graphic below has all of the advancing proposals of the 2024 contest.
