The Porters, a game about Black railway workers fighting to unionise, has triumphed in this year’s Zenobia Award
The Porters, a board game exploring the struggle of early 20th Century Black Canadian railway workers to overcome racism and organise unions, has become the second winner of the Zenobia Award – a contest aimed at lifting up game designers from marginalised groups.
The design from Lucas Cockburn, Neco Cockburn and Alex Goss was praised by judges for its clever design, unique and compelling theme, and its showcase of the difficulty of organising a labour movement while having to work a tiring, full-time job.
As the award winner The Porters wins its designers a $1,000 cash prize, and an equal sum in the form of a travel grant to a convention of their choice, in order to show off the game to potential publishers and board game players.
The Zenobia Award was created in 2020 to highlight games from women, people of colour and the LGBTQ community which explore hitherto overlooked or ignored areas of human history, covering political, social, cultural, scientific, economic or military affairs – with the hope of mentoring their designers and bringing those games towards publication.
Akar Bharadvaj, the winner of the inaugural 2021 award with his exploration of the caste system in India via Tyranny of Blood, is now leading the Zenobia Award process himself, alongside a board of industry professionals including COIN series designer Volko Ruhnke, BoardGameGeek writer and podcaster Candice Harris and former Netrunner lead designer Damon Stone.
Bharadvaj said in a blog post that the judges had a “tremendously difficult time” whittling down the 37 semifinalists into just nine finalists, which were revealed in September, and an even harder time selecting the winner.
This year’s runners-up were Melaka: the Forgotten Empire by Effendy Norzaman and Silencio by Luis Salas, both of which will receive a $500 prize.
Melaka, a 4x game with action selection and rondel mechanics, tells the story of the Sultanate of Melaka in the Malay peninsula, where nobles loyal to the Sultan attempt to build a great empire.
In Silencio, meanwhile, players take on the roles of members of a Mexican community attempting to find family members missing due to cartel-related violence.
Bharadvaj added, “If the first Zenobia contest is any indication, many of these games should be going into publication in the next few years.”
Published titles from the debut Zenobia Award included Dutch Resistance: Orange Shall Overcome by Marcel Köhler, Rising Waters by Scout Blum and Tindaya by Lolo Gonzalez.
Other games featured in the debut Zenobia Award which have since been announced for publication include Molly House by Jo Kelly & Cole Wehrle (to be published by Wehrlegig), Publish or Perish: Wiñay Kawsay by Alison Collins (WizKids) and Kartini: From Darkness To Light by Sherria Ayuandini (Ion Game Design).
The major sponsors of this year’s Zenobia Award included Board Game Guides, Fort Circle Games, GMT Games, Leder Games, San Diego Historical Games Convention, Wehrlegig Games and Spielworxx.
