The Coaster proclamation

The authors of books and plays have been well recorded since antiquity (think Homer, Sophocles, and Confucius). But the designers of ancient games like backgammon and chess are lost to history. Well into the 20th century, designers were rarely named on game boxes, and often weren't named at all.

In 1988 a group of German game designers made a pact at the Nuremberg Toy Fair — “None of us gives a game to a company if our name is not written on the box cover!” They all signed their names on a coaster affirming their commitment.

Their collective action made a difference. Most "hobby" (or "designer") games now put the designer’s name on the cover. Several of these designers went on to form Spiele-Autoren-Zunft, which has helped advance the rights of designers in Germany for over thirty years.

TTGDA is founded in this spirit of collective action. Whether you're just starting out, or well-established in the industry, we hope you'll join us.

Advocating for all

In addition to offering specific benefits for individuals, TTGDA is advancing rights, protections, and visibility for all game designers. Here are some of our activities:

• Standardize the information on royalty reports
• Have game designers listed like authors on large online retailers like Amazon
• Define terms like designer, developer, graphic designer, artist, editor, etc, for game credits
• Set an expectation of advances for all aspects of design work, including expansions and exploration
• Establish standards for non-game rights like electronic versions, merchandise, or film/TV.
• Standardize what returns to the designer when licensing rights lapse
• Connect journalists and media writing about tabletop games and game design with appropriate experts
• Work with institutions such as the Strong Museum of Play and Stanford University to preserve tabletop gaming history
  

MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS

TTGDA offers three membership tiers

All memberships renew on the anniversary of join date. Membership dues are a tax-deductible business expense.