One of tabletop gaming’s biggest award shows has officially wrapped up, with the winners of the 2026 Origins Awards now confirmed at Origins Game Fair!
Hosted by GAMA and the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design, the annual awards celebrate some of the standout tabletop releases from the past year across board games, RPGs, miniatures and more. This year’s winners included everything from cosy strategy games to major licensed releases and long-running miniature systems.
And while some categories featured expected names, there were definitely a few surprises in the final lineup too!
Big Winners Revealed
Among the biggest winners was The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship from Z-Man Games, which picked up Cooperative/Solo Game of the Year.
Meanwhile, Speakeasy from Eagle-Gryphon Games won Heavy Strategy Game of the Year, while Winter Rabbit by Absurdist Productions took home the award for Light Strategy Game of the Year.
Party Game of the Year went to Hot Streak by CMYK, continuing the strong run party games have been having across the tabletop industry over the last few years.
Elsewhere, Railroad Tiles by Horrible Guild picked up Gateway Game of the Year, a category that usually highlights titles aimed at newer or more casual players.
RPGs And Miniatures Featured Too
The awards were not just focused on board games either!
Land Eem by Exalted Funeral won Roleplaying Game of the Year, while Call of Cthulhu: The Sutra of Pale Leaves - Twin Suns Rising from Chaosium claimed the award for RPG Supplement of the Year.
Miniatures also had a strong showing, with Blood Bowl Third Season Edition winning Miniatures Game of the Year for Games Workshop.
Games Workshop picked up another trophy as well thanks to Festus, The Leech Lord from Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, which won Miniature of the Year.
Some Categories Were Missing
One of the more noticeable things about this year’s Origins Awards was the smaller category lineup compared to previous years.
As with last year’s event, the awards focused almost entirely on games themselves rather than recognising individual artists, media creators or industry personalities.
There were also no dedicated categories this year for trading card games, gaming accessories or collectible games, despite those areas remaining a huge part of the tabletop market overall.
Interestingly, no traditional blind-pack or booster-based products won awards this year either.
That said, Riftbound: Proving Grounds by UVS Games and Riot Games did win Fixed Constructible Game of the Year. While Riftbound itself is a trading card game, the winning product was specifically the fixed starter-style release rather than a randomised booster product.
A Wide Mix Of Games
One thing the 2026 lineup did highlight was just how broad tabletop gaming has become.
The winners ranged from accessible party games and beginner-friendly titles all the way through to heavyweight strategy games, miniatures and RPG supplements. Smaller publishers also managed to stand alongside much larger companies throughout the awards.
That variety has become a big part of modern tabletop gaming, especially as publishers continue trying to reach both hobby players and more casual audiences at the same time.
The Origins Awards may have changed a bit over the last couple of years, but they still remain one of the biggest annual events in the tabletop calendar, especially for publishers hoping to spotlight standout releases from the past year.
Full Winners List
- Gateway Game of the Year: Railroad Tiles by Horrible Guild
- Party Game of the Year: Hot Streak by CMYK
- Light Strategy Game of the Year: Winter Rabbit by Absurdist Productions
- Heavy Strategy Game of the Year: Speakeasy by Eagle-Gryphon Games
- Cooperative/Solo Game of the Year: The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship by Z-Man Games
- Roleplaying Game of the Year: Land Eem by Exalted Funeral
- RPG Supplement of the Year: Call of Cthulhu: The Sutra of Pale Leaves - Twin Suns Rising by Chaosium
- Miniatures Game of the Year: Blood Bowl Third Season Edition by Games Workshop
- Miniature of the Year: Festus, The Leech Lord for Warhammer: Age of Sigmar by Games Workshop
- Paint/Hobby Accessory of the Year: Goblin Hobbies Stampin' Plates by Goblin Hobbies
- Fixed Constructible Game of the Year: Riftbound: Proving Grounds by UVS Games and Riot Games
- Randomized Constructible Game of the Year: Gudnak: Expansion Bundle by Chaotic Great Games
