We finally did it! … We made it to the ENNIES. … Not in any sense of nomination, but in the physical and present sense. So,… technically?
This was the first year we found ourselves at GenCon in Indianapolis, and at the ENNIE Awards ceremony, and we were blown away. Not only was this year an enlightened look into the tabletop RPG industry as a whole, but it also served as a journey into what the most impressive entries were from 2023-2024.
For those who dont know, the ENNIE Awards are an annual fan-based ritual, celebrating the greatest of the latest in the TTRPG space. Each year, the community honors these creators with a ceremony that industry peeps, press members, and respectful fans can sit in and witness first-hand.
There’s a first for everything, and today, we’re going to highlight some of the most prominent award winners from this years ceremony; those that got us most excited to tell you about!
A Quick Disclaimer of How We're Listing These Entries
We chose these entries to broadcast based upon the number of awards, the kind of awards, whether they are stand-alone RPGs or supplements, and other items that made them stand-out to us. … So, it’s relatively arbitrary.
Therefore, please please please please check out the full list of nominations, as they are all fantastic products in their own right, and who knows? Maybe one of these is the ticket for your gaming experience!
Granted, if we were to cover every winner, or every nominee for that matter, this post would take forever to write and publish. Therefore, here’s a quick sum of the items that won an ENNIE that is not part of this deep dive, but of course, might appear in their own review in the future:
- One Shot Wonders
- The Alexandrian (referenced)
- HEXROLL 2E
- LegendKeeper
- If I Were a Lich Man
- Ultraviolet Grasslands 2E
- The Well of All Fear
- Level 1 The Free RPG Day Indie RPG Anthology 2023
- Hexcrawl Toolbox
- CBR+PNK: Augmented
Page Street Publishing, Justin Alexander
- Gold ENNIE for Best RPG Related Product
AKA “So You Want To Be A Game Master: Everything You Need to Start Your Tabletop Adventure for Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, and Other Systems”
Lets kick off this list with one from the writer and editor of the Alexandrian, which won its own Gold ENNIE for Best Online Content. This book is filled with strategies for game hosts to plan their adventures, dungeons, battles, map-building, encounters, and more. It’s quick, practical, and straight to the point. If there was any essential guide for Game Masters in 2024 and beyond, this is it.
Free League Publishing, Francesca Baerald, Niklas Brandt
- Gold ENNIE for Best Cartography
Starter kits and core sets can sometimes be a hit-or-miss affair when it comes to the resources and tools included. Not with Dragonbane!
This classic fantasy RPG is designed with both immersion and speed in mind. Its unique skill system and fast lethal combat is a big plus for those who want something to pick up and play, and it even supports GM-less solo play. However, what makes this product stand out is how much TLC they put into its resources, including a gorgeous setting map! … A great box-set if you want a refreshed take on a classical genre.
Arc Dream Publishing
- Gold ENNIE for Best Long Form Adventure
Combine Call of Cthulu with a modern setting and a government agency keeping the fathomless horrors at bay, and you get Delta Green.
However, not all cosmic evils are equal. Some are too great to ignore, and some yet, are so vile that those which keep the darkness at bay become its own tools for death and hunger.
Delta Green: God’s Teeth is a stunning adventure with no happy ending, and plenty of content warnings! … However, its execution has won it ENNIE for the Best Long Form Adventure, and thats something to say to its legacy.
Grey Wizard Press & Naldobean Games
- Gold ENNIE for Best Family Game
Broken world. Fragments of civilization. Forgotten knowledge and lost treasures. All delivered in a beautifully illustrated, family-friendly package!
BREAK!! Tabletop RPG rides atop a wave of anime/manga and JRPG inspired games that have graced the shores of the tabletop community over the past few years. However, its strength is in how simple and easy-to-learn its rules are, with helpful diagrams and infographics which also warranted its ENNIE nomination for Best Layout and Design. The shattered landscapes of the Outer World await, filled with clever monsters, social encounters, magical items, and the kind of wonderous and dramatic storytelling we’d expect from an anime-style game!
Chaosium, Inc.
- Gold ENNIE for Best Free Game / Product
- Silver ENNIE for Best Cartography
Magic wielding detectives, ghostly visitors, and clever criminals. The magical city of London has plenty of skeletons in its closet, and mysteries to investigate.
Based within the paranormal urban fantasy novel setting of Rivers of London, this free introductory solo-adventure is a great entry point for its magical TTRPG of the same name, employing the Basic Roleplay System used in games such as Call of Cthulu and Runequest. … Desgned for one player, The Domestic takes you on a journey into the world made famous by Ben Aaronovitch, where magic, ghosts, gods and goddesses, and forgotten evils reside in the shadowy corners of London, and it is up to you to unveil their secrets to solve puzzling crimes.
Cloud Curio
- Gold ENNIE for Best Monster/Adversary (Tie)
Many things drive the dramatic premise and tension of a tabletop RPG story. However, some antagonistic forces are far more… monstrous than others.
System agnostic. Deviously devised. Lavishly illustrated. This universal guide for running compelling monsters is a must have for any game master looking to dig into its dark depths. What began as a video series on the MapCrow Youtube channel has evolved into its own devilish tome, filled with lore, backstories, narrative flourish, and workbook pages for developing some of your own monstrous creations!
Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd
- Gold ENNIE for Best Monster/Adversary (Tie)
Warhammer 40k is infamous for being a flagship of grimdark storytelling, so for one of its companions to rise to ENNIE status, you know the threat is real!
Set within the dangerous galaxy of W40k, the tabletop RPG known as Wrath and Glory allows you to battle among the stars however you want, providing a series of popular archetypes and character builds. Such a campaign has no shortage of threats, and this supplement is a perfect addition to your game mastering arsenal. Its pages are full of battlezone hazards, waaaghing Orks, deadly Necrons, Genestealer hybrids, Kroot beasts, ancient Aeldari, and much more!
… FOR THE EMPEROR!
H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society
- Gold ENNIE for Best Production Values
At first glance, a leather wallet may seem like a “puzzling” ENNIE winner, but just like the city of Arkham, Massachusetts, there is more than meets the eye!
Few product in the TTRPG space provide an experience that is equal parts mysterious and tactile. The Arkham Investigators Wallet is a brilliant prop collection to elevate your Call of Cthulu games. Packed with various cards, coins, permits, tickets, and other items, its the perfect immersive tool that also comes with its own 1920’s adventure to run! … If your dreadful fate finds itself within the depths of Lovecraft Country, its best to come prepared.
Looking to receive updates on NEW articles, NEW resources, and NEW random name generators from Chaotican Writer? Subscribe to the weekly newsletter and get a FREE 11-page Fantasy NPC Generator PDF!
Chaosium Inc.
- Gold ENNIE for Best Writing
- Silver ENNIE for Best Long Form Adventure
“A Solo 1990’s Adventure Beyond Signal Range” – Play Call of Cthulu like never before in this modern-era scenario deep in the Dakota Black Hills!
Claiming the top spot for Best Writing, Alone Against the Static allows you to play as either Alex or Charlie on a misfortunate weekend getaway as you delve into the deep wilderness beyond the edge of civilization. Meaningful choices will determine your fate as they navigate a fathomless host of darkness, along with a struggling marriage. Its a tale of heartbreak, grief, and isolation. Best for mature audiences.
Mousehole Press
- Silver ENNIE for Best Cover Art
- Silver ENNIE for Best Production Values
Play a witch on a motorcycle riding through a majestic home village of your own creation in this magical solo RPG inspired by Kikis Delivery Service.
Another fabulous entry into the solo RPG realm, Koriko evokes the wonder of a Studio Ghibli film while providing you the agency to create your own witch, and the community in which they live. Described as a bubbling cauldron of simple rules and writing prompts, it serves as a creative and deeply immersive experience that is gorgeously designed, packaged, and delivered!
Two Little Mice
- Silver ENNIE for Best Game
- Silver ENNIE for Best Product of the Year
Invoking the best of the action film genre, this full-throttle tabletop RPG puts you in the drivers seat of a Directors Cut of dramatic heists, stunts, and gunplay!
Ohhh yeeah! Whether you’re an action movie aficionado, a gun-fu enthusiast, or just a regular Holiday watcher of Die Hard, Outgunned is here to give you that fix. … From James Bond to John Wick, this cinematic RPG pulls the best tropes from the genre, pitting your characters against terrible odds as they pursue their mission, whether it be catching criminals, conducting heists, or getting sweet revenge. Double silver in Best Game and Product of the Year is the same as precious gold in our eyes!
Free League Publishing
- Gold ENNIE for Best Supplement
- Silver ENNIE for Best Cartography
Unlocking the open-world potential of the ALIEN RPG, this complete module provides the tools needed to run a frontier campaign as explorers and colonists.
Regardless if you are a fan of the ALIEN franchise, theres little dispute that the allure of space exploration mixed with terrors in the darkness is a stunning combination of themes. Where ALIEN RPG provides a cinematic designed for single play sessions, Building Better Worlds throws open the door to a vast universe of exploration. Expanded character options, new ships and gear, frontier worlds, deadly expeditions, and plenty of Xenomorphs to scream about into the silence of empty space.
Rowan, Rook and Decard
- Gold ENNIE for Best Cover Art
- Gold ENNIE for Best Interior Art
- Gold ENNIE for Best Short Form Adventure
Vampire commandos dropping into Nazi-occupied Paris in coffins is the kind of anti-fascist ultraviolent saga that only Grant Howitt and Will Kirkby can cook up!
From the creator of Honey Heist, Goblin Punks, and The Witch is Dead, this single short form adventure in one-to-three sessions pits an undead mission force against the Nazis on a quest to drink Hitler’s blood. The out of pocket premise is matched only by the the hyper-talented art of Will Kirkby. Every piece of art meticulously illustrated, and every interior panel and design unique with no re-used assets. Its a blood-crazed fever dream set within a masterful and beautiful book.
The Arcane Library
- Gold ENNIE for Best Game
- Gold ENNIE for Best Layout and Design
- Gold ENNIE for Best Rules
- Gold ENNIE for Product of the Year
Quadruple gold winning Shadowdark RPG is a dark fantasy tabletop game that lights a torch bright enough to overshadow ENNIE winners of years past.
A throwback to old-school fantasy experiences of decades past, Shadowdark RPG takes the best of the classic era and revives it with modern TTRPG game design that is fast, elegant, and deadly. Giving a gritty revamp of the wilderness and dungeon delving experience, your adventuring parties survival rests upon careful planning, a balanced team, stocked inventory, and plenty of torches to keep the darkness at bay. … At least, for as long as they can stay lit.
Super excited to tell you about these and other TTRPGs. Please be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the weekly newsletter for regular updates. … Also, please check out
- Dread TTRPG: My Memories of Terror
- Beyond Demons and Devils: 9 Fiendish Monsters in Dungeons and Dragons
- Honey Heist: A TTRPG about BEARS!
- How the IGDN Supports Diverse Voices in Tabletop Gaming - November 13, 2024
- Storytelling: Three Act Structure, and How it Works! (Act Two) - September 30, 2024
- 5 Awesome Fantasy Map-Making Tools on Steam - September 9, 2024
