The Take My Money Award

What is it

This Award recognises a game mechanic or original design that demonstrates a fun and engaging experience. Finalists will do a live digital presentation session to a set of publishers. The purpose of this award is to promote healthy and polished game design through Australia.

Dates

• Submission: Now – Sun 18th May 2025.
• Finalists selection: 19th – 24th May 2025.
• Live pitching: Sat, 31 May at 10AM – 11AM.
• All times AEDT / GMT+10

Eligibility

• Open to anyone aged 18 years and above.
• Your game must be unpublished. Crowdfunding and self-publishing counts as being published.
• If you are selected as a Finalist, you must be available for the live presentation.

Submission Details

• Each game must be submitted using the official form.
• $15 AUD entry fee per game. No submission limit.
• TGDA current members get 1 free entry – join now!
• You must submit a rulebook (explaining the rule clearly – setup and gameplay images always help), a sell sheet and a 2-5 minute video. These will need to be uploaded and the link filled out in the form. Broken links will disqualify your entry.
• Note on AI use: Usage of AI will NOT disqualify you. Please disclose any use of AI, how it is used, and its permanance. Below are some examples that demonstrates this disclosure.
  • Example 1: Using AI art for the prototype with the intention of using human artists for the final product.
  • Example 2: Using AI art for the prototype and final product.
  • Example 3: Using AI for other means eg assistance with the rules, reviewing the rulebook, brainstorming concepts, etc.

Prizes

• Submissions are evaluated on: fun factor and novelty.
• Finalists are shortlisted by the TGDA Committee.
• All Finalists get live feedback during their pitching to judges.
• The top-scoring Finalist will get $100 AUD cash prize.
• You will earn a TGDA badge of honour that you can use in future promotions of your game.
• You will be listed on this page as the winner for the year that you entered, and will have a link back to your game/company.

Who is the Judging panel?

The judging panel will be made up of publishers that are active the industry and that do not have a connection or entry in the competition. Judges from various backgrounds are selected to keep the subjectiveness as low as possible with the results will be averaged out.

For 2025, the judges are

Submission Deadline:
Sun, 18th May 2025
Winner Announced:
End of May
Criteria for the competition:

• Be a TGDA current member or pay the $15 AUD entry fee
• Create a video 5 minutes or less that contains:
  • Brief description of the game / theme
  • Description of the concept / mechanic
  • Showing how it works
• Games Rulebook
• Sell Sheet
• Filling out the appropriate competition form – button below.

If any of the above criteria are not met, this will disqualify you from the competition.