The Play Creators Awards finalists have officially been announced, highlighting some of the very best names and titles in toys and tabletop gaming. The great news is, some of Zatu's incredible Distribution titles and staff are included in the mix!
The even greater news is, some of these nominated games will be available to try and buy at the upcoming UKGE at the end of May! What better way to prepare for the UK's biggest gaming convention of the year than to discover these amazing titles and their nominations...
Game Designer of the Year (Party Games)
This category celebrates the amazing minds of designers who bring board games to life, transforming an initial idea into a playable experience. Designers Jon Gracey, Viv Egan, and Matthew Hancock are nominated for the fun and family-friendly party game, You Know It!
Published by Invisible Typewriter, it's a trivia party game where players must answer questions correctly as well as earning points by betting on how many players will know the right answer.
Game Designer of the Year (Licensed Games)
Alongside some fantastic nominations in this category are Game Designers Arnaud Perez and Yannick Beaulé for their impressive style with a licensed game, PAC-MAN Craze Maze. From No Loading Games, PAC-MAN Craze Maze sees players build their own mazes shaping paths filled with fruits, dots, power pellets, and ghosts.
With it's nostalgic theme and quick playtime, PAC-MAN Craze Maze is perfect for fans and families who are looking for a fun and tactile tile-placement game.
Debut of the Year
This category sees the most Zatu Distribution titles amongst all categories this year, celebrating amazing innovators who saw their first product land on shelves in the past 12 months.
Firstly, Benjie Talbott is nominated for for Tenby, inspired by the real seaside town in Wales, UK. Benjie himself is from Tenby, adding a lovely personal touch that creates such a cosy and heartfelt feeling to this game.
The aim is to create the best town you can using cards - add terraces, piers, and iconic town landmarks into your streets to have the best Tenby town!
Secondly, Pablo Clark is nominated for the 2025 tabletop jewel, The Old King's Crown.
One of the standout games of last year, TOKC combines astonishing artwork, strategy, and dynamic game play to create a visceral and enthralling card-driven conquest for power. Safe to say, if you haven't had the chance to play it yet, it's got to go on your list.
In addition, TOKC has already won BoardGameGeek's Golden Geek Award for Artwork & Presentation!
Pablo Clark is the leading designer and principal artist for TOKC, and also works as an illustrator and freelance artist.
Thirdly, Dan Linden is nominated for Offshoots, the unique tabletop game of balance, tension, and excitement. Players work together to build a huge tree from green leaves, however, as the tree becomes bigger, it also becomes more and more unstable...
This is a fantastic game to play with friends and family, and is sure to bring out creativity and competition.
Unsung Hero - Rory Kelly
And finally, in the Unsung Hero category aimed to highlight inventor talent, is Zatu's very own Head of Distribution, Rory Kelly!
Safe to say, this year sees a stacked line-up of incredible minds within the tabletop space, and we want to wish everyone who received a nomination a huge congratulations and good luck!
The winners will be announced on Tuesday 23rd June 2026 at London's Under the Bridge venue - stay tuned!
