Voting Opens for the 2020 Charles S. Roberts Awards

In June 2020, I announced the exciting return of the Charles S. Roberts Awards thanks to director Tim Tow and his team bringing them back after seven years of no activity. I'm happy to announce the CSR Awards are back again! Voting is officially open for the 2020 Charles S. Roberts Awards, and ballots can be submitted online or mailed (Charles S. Roberts Awards, PO Box 6834, Bellevue, WA 98008) through July 31, 2021.

The CSR Awards aim to honor and acknowledge great conflict simulation games and the creators behind them. Rules and details for voting, as well as 2020's nominees and winners, can be found on the CSR Awards website. The voting format remains the same as in prior years, with the largest number of votes per category determining the winner and the next four highest becoming the nominees.

Although the focus is on wargames, any game that has a historical or conflict simulation element qualifies, so pretty much any game or publication released in 2020 is eligible as long as it fits in one of these categories:

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Milieu Awards
• Best Ancients to Medieval Era Board Wargame (wargames set from before Antiquity to the Middle Ages through 1453)
• Best Early Gunpowder Board Wargame Renaissance, Sengoku Jidai, 18th Century, Post-1453 AD to 1793 (wargames set after 1453 to 1793)
• Best Napoleonic Era Board Wargame (wargames set in the Napoleonic Wars era between 1793 and 1815)
• Best Late Gunpowder to Pre-World War 1 (Excluding American Civil War) Era Board Wargame (wargames set after 1815 up to 1914, excluding the American Civil War)
• Best American Civil War Board Wargame (wargames set in the American Civil War 1861-1865)
• Best World War 1 Era Board Wargame (wargames set between 1914 to 1933)
• Best World War 2 Era Board Wargame (wargames set in the period of World War 2 from 1934 to 1945)
• Best Post-WW2, Cold War, & Hypothetical Era Board Wargame (wargames set after World War 2)
• Best Science-Fiction or Fantasy Board Wargame (wargames set in a science fiction or fantasy setting)

Format Awards
• Best Solitaire/Cooperative Board Wargame (wargame designed to be played by one player or more players in cooperation)
• Best Magazine Board Wargame (wargame published with a wargame magazine)
• Best Amateur / Print-and-Play Board Wargame (wargame that is download only and not available for commercial sale)
• Best Postcard/Small format Board Wargame
• Best Postcard/Small format Board Wargame (Up to 100 playing pieces and map not to exceed 8.5" (21.6cm) x 11.7" (29.7 cm), U.S. letter sized or A4 page)
• Best Expansion or Supplement for an Existing Board Wargame (wargame that is a supplement to an existing wargame and not a stand-alone game on its own)
• Best Board Wargame Playing Components (Graphical presentation of a wargame's playing components)
• Best Board Wargame Map Graphics (Graphical presentation of a wargame's playing board(s))
• Best Board Wargame Rules (Complete presentation of a wargame's rules)
• Best Original Box Cover Art (Original artwork for a wargame's box cover)

Computer Game Awards
• Best Pre-20th Century Era Computer Wargame (Computer historical wargames set before the 20th century)
• Best Modern Era Computer Wargame (Computer historical or hypothetical wargames set in or after the 20th century)
• Best Science-Fiction or Fantasy Computer Wargame (Computer wargames set in a science fiction or fantasy setting)
• Best Computer Wargame Expansion (Expansions to existing computer wargames)
• Best Computer Game Assist Module (Specific game modules developed for online play of board wargames. This category is not intended for full implementations of board wargames which fall under the previous categories.)
• Best Computer Game Graphics (Graphical presentation of a computer wargame)

Publication and Broadcast Awards
• Best Professional Wargame Magazine (wargame magazine that is published regularly in print format and available through retail distribution
• Best Amateur Game Magazine (wargame magazine that is published regularly in non-print format other than print on demand and is not available through retail distribution
• Best Individual Historical or Scenario Analysis (article analyzing the history within a wargame or a new scenario for an existing wargame in print or web format)
• Best Game Review, Analysis Website, Webcast, or Podcast (wargame review or analysis website, webcast, or podcast. Not necessarily a single episode, though single episodes can be nominated and count as a vote for a website. Voting for more than one episode counts as one vote for a website, webcast, or podcast.)
• Best Military History Book (published book that has military historical content that is of value to wargamers)

Individual Awards
• Best Board Wargame of the Year (wargame that is best of the year across all milieus and formats)
• James F. Dunnigan Design Elegance Award (wargame or person that has made the most impact in the calendar year)
• Clausewitz Award HALL OF FAME* (individual who has made significant contributions to the wargame industry who has not been previously awarded)

Since the 2020 CSR Awards, the following new categories were added:

____• Best Ancients to Medieval Era Board Wargame
____• Best Early Gunpowder Board Wargame
____• Best American Civil War Board Wargame
____• Best World War 1 Era Board Wargame
____• Best Military History Book

In addition, the best game review article category was changed to best game review site, blog, podcast or webcast rather than focusing on a single article, and the small format game has its map-size criteria increased to an A4 or 8" x 11" sheet as the maximum size, so this allows for microgames, while keeping the playing piece limit to 100.

As per usual, the more people who participate in voting, the better. Now that I've got some more wargaming under my belt, I'm excited to be actually be able to contribute to the CSR voting process this year, even if only for a few categories. If you're interested in voting or learning more about the Charles S. Roberts Awards, be sure to check out its website. I'm looking forward to checking out the results of the 2020 CSR Awards and discovering some new games to get into!