Games for Change, a leading voice for social change in video games, is getting way into tabletop

polygon.com:

Games for Change, the leading voice for video games that promote positive social change, spent the last few years just like the rest of us — getting way into board games and tabletop RPGs. The nonprofit marks its 20th anniversary this July, and to celebrate, it will give out the inaugural Best Board or Tabletop Game for Impact award at its marquee Games for Change Festival in New York City. Polygon is pleased to announce the four finalists alongside an interview with the organization’s president, Susanna Pollack.

While Games for Change has long championed serious games across multiple platforms — including mobile, console, and even virtual reality devices — Pollack said that the drive to engage properly with tabletop experiences is the result of a grassroots effort.

“There was so much community demand for this,” Pollack said. “We felt that at this time we wanted to celebrate that. And there were just so many exciting projects coming in, and Kickstarter has been giving a life to so many amazing ideas, and it was coming in so many directions that we said this is the year that we want to acknowledge it and start really building the community within Games for Change to embrace this culture and this type of game experience.”

Another major driving factor, she said, was the work of its major financial partners — including tabletop giant Hasbro, which publishes many different board games as well as Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.

“They’ve [been] becoming more involved in our community,” Pollack said, including the Rhode Island-based gaming giant alongside partner organizations like Niantic (Pokémon Go), Epic Games (Fortnite), and Riot Games (League of Legends). “They’re seeing the potential of, in their sense, big