Canadian Game Design Award (CGDA) 2023

The Canadian Game Design Award (CGDA) is presented to the designer of an original, unpublished game.

Typically, the contest runs between April and August with two evaluation phases.

In the Initial Evaluation phase, submissions are assessed using 5 key criteria to determine the finalists. Then, designer-provided prototypes are playtested during the Finalist Evaluation phase.

Judges from the FallCon Gaming Society (here in Calgary) and a select group of CGDA supporters from Vancouver Island perform the Finalist Evaluations to decide the eventual winner of the Award.

Contest Timeline

May 1st - Deadline for Submissions

May-June - Initial Evaluation Phase

July 1st - Finalists Announced

July 14th - Prototypes received from Finalists

July-August - Final Evaluation Phase

August 25-27 - The Winner is Announced!

The Canadian Game Design Award Ceremony takes place during the weekend of the FallCon Convention.

Enter Now!

If you are interested in taking part, please see the Rules for more details.

About the CGDA

The FallCon Gaming Society along with its founding counterpart, The Canadian Wargamers Group, has had a rich history of fostering the gaming hobby in Canada since 1985. In 2010, the members of the Society felt it was time to make a further contribution to the hobby by launching an annual Canadian Game Design contest that would highlight and eventually foster homegrown Canadian talent in game design.

Check out our past winners!