Nuovo Award
The former IGF chairman Brandon Boyer described the Nuovo finalists as experimental games that attempted to distinguish themselves from established conventions, and would not fit in any of the other IGF award categories. Nominations for the award are made by the IGF's judges. Eight finalists are chosen by an elected jury from among the nominees and a few others are given honorable mentions if they receive insufficient votes to become finalists. The winner is decided from among the finalists by jury voting. Jury members include notable game developers and previous winners and finalists, including individuals such as Jason Rohrer, Paolo Pedercini, Ian Bogost, and Daniel Benmergui. In the fourteen years since the award's debut, 105 games have been nominated as finalists, while 84 games have been chosen as honorable mentions. Sixteen games have won the award, the first being the platformer Between (2009), while the latest to be awarded is Anthology of the Killer (2024).
Recipients
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Jason_rohrer_2012.png/150px-Jason_rohrer_2012.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Daniel_Benmergui%2C_Gamelab_2018_%2842441621474%29.jpg/150px-Daniel_Benmergui%2C_Gamelab_2018_%2842441621474%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Nathalie_Lawhead_-_Independent_Games_Festival_2015_%28cropped%29.jpg/150px-Nathalie_Lawhead_-_Independent_Games_Festival_2015_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Bennett_foddy_gdc_2018_cropped.jpg/150px-Bennett_foddy_gdc_2018_cropped.jpg)
Year | Winner | Developer | Finalists | Honorable mentions | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Between | Jason Rohrer |
|
— | |
2010 | Tuning | Cactus |
|
— | |
2011 | Nidhogg | Messhof |
|
|
|
2012 | Storyteller | Daniel Benmergui |
|
|
|
2013 | Cart Life | Richard Hofmeier |
|
||
2014 | Luxuria Superbia | Tale of Tales |
|
|
|
2015 | Tetrageddon Games | Nathalie Lawhead |
|
|
|
2016 | Cibele | Star Maid Games |
|
|
|
2017 | Oiκοςpiel, Book I | David Kanaga |
|
||
2018 | Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy | Bennett Foddy |
|
|
|
2019 | Black Room | Cassie McQuarter |
|
|
|
2020 | The Space Between | Christoph Frey |
|
|
|
2021 | Blaseball | The Game Band |
|
|
|
2022 | Memory Card | Lily Zone |
|
|
|
2023 | Betrayal at Club Low | Cosmo D Studios |
|
|
|
2024 | Anthology of the Killer | Thecatamites |
|
|