Discover how the Diana Jones Award honors excellence in gaming, its unique connection to an iconic Harrison Ford character, and the mystery of the trophy that vanished without a trace.
What is the Diana Jones Award?
The Diana Jones Award (DJA) for Excellence in Gaming is a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by author and game designer Matt Forbeck. Matt’s annual celebration has long served as an “unofficial” kickoff to Gen Con and has awarded individuals, products, companies, events, movements, and concepts that have best exemplified excellence in the hobby gaming world.
The Missing Trophy
Just before the 2021 ceremony, the Diana Jones Award committee learned that the one-of-a-kind trophy bearing the DJA name had been mysteriously lost in the mail.
The Diana Jones trophy was originally created as a keepsake in the UK offices of TSR in the mid-1980s to commemorate the end of TSR’s license to publish The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game.
The trophy itself was a lucite pyramid containing the burnt remains of the last unsold copy of the game; all that remained legible of the title was “diana Jones”—now the namesake for the award.
The 2019 winner, Alex Roberts, had shipped the trophy from Canada to Maurice Broaddus, a 2020 honoree, the previous September. It never arrived at its destination in Indianapolis.
It is unlikely to be recovered.
Perhaps the trophy now sits in a box inside a warehouse somewhere, as forgotten and unappreciated as the Ark of the Covenant at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
(If anyone locates the missing trophy, please contact the Diana Jones Award committee immediately. They would appreciate its safe return, although a replacement has been made in the meantime.)
Unexpected and Exciting Moments
In 2025, something unique and unexpected happened during the awards ceremony. Two nominees tied and now share the award. Designers Matt Leacock and Matteo Menapace’s Daybreak, a cooperative board game about stopping climate change, tied for the winning votes with Rose Estes, author of the Endless Quest books.
Past winners of the DJA include industry icons like Ajit George and Eric Lang, best-selling games such as Coyote & Crow and Starcrossed, and significant movements including Black Excellence in Gaming.
Elevating Rising Voices in the Community
In addition to honoring the year’s best achievements, the DJA established the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming: Emerging Designer Program in 2021.
The Emerging Designer Program elevates the voices of rising designers, specifically highlighting creators from marginalized communities through an all-expenses-paid trip to Gen Con.
The 2025 program winners included Ashraf Braden, designer of Legends of Uganda; Lyla McBeath Fujiwara, project lead for the Cosmere RPG; Elliot Davis, creator of The Time We Have and co-founder of Many Sided Media; and Marceline Leiman, designer of the 2025 hit release High Tide.
The Emerging Designer Program inhabits Hall C inside the Indiana Convention Center during Gen Con, offering full game-play sessions and quick demos of creators’ work.
Be sure to visit the DJA team at Gen Con this year and say hello, meet some of the industry’s rising stars, and play some games!
Learn More
The DJA committee is thankful for the opportunity to give back to the wonderful tabletop hobby community and to come together every year during Gen Con. Learn more at dianajonesaward.org.
