Leder Games To Disassociate From GAMA, Will Return Origin Awards

In a statement on their websiteLeder Games, the publisher of Root, have announced they will no longer associate with the tabletop industry trade organization GAMA until the organization changes its ways.

The company said it will pull out of all future GAMA events. They will also return their Origins awards and remove the Origin’s emblem on future printings. They have also requested a refund from Origins Online and will donate double that amount to the Black Visions Collective

The company said it will continue this until GAMA “introduces new and diverse voices in the upcoming election and provide an actionable plan on how they can uplift those voices and provide a safe platform to hear those voices.”

The company issued the action after GAMA’s statement on the Black Lives Matter movement and its notification of the cancelling of Origins Online. Leder said the statement has omissions that highlight some of the challenges facing efforts to make the hobby more inclusive. 

The company said:

  1. Their apology has no mention of the BIPOC members of the industry who stood up to them. It also fails to note that those voices were the catalyst for their decision to cancel Origins Online. 
  2. Their plan to make amends by asking attendees and publishers to forfeit their Origins Online payments shows a lack of initiative and imagination. As our industry’s governing body, we expect GAMA to take the lead without waiting for the initiation of others.
  3. There is no actionable statement on how they can work on uplifting the BIPOC community or an attempt to broaden their board or staff, nor does it recognize the board’s failures in this regard.

Leder said the statement was a collaboration of the entire company and is supported and signed by owner Patrick Leder. 

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