A MAZE. / Berlin 2019

8th International Games and Playful Media Festival

Award Categories

Most Amazing Game Award (3000€)

The Grand Prize of the A MAZE. Awards goes to the most relevant, forward-thinking interactive and playful content. We premiere the best work overall - in terms of art, innovation, music, story and interaction. The prize is dedicated to the masterpiece of the award selection that shows us a path we never walked before.

  • Winner 2018
    Attentat 1942 by Charles University / Czech Academy of Sciences (CZ)
  • Winner 2017
    Everything by David O'Reilly (US)
  • Winner 2016
    Cosmic Top Secret by Trine Laier, Mads Lyngvig Jespersen, Lise Saxtrup, Bjørn Svin (DK)
  • Winner 2015
    Curtain by Llaura McGee (IE)
  • Winner 2014
    Perfect Woman by Lea Schönfelder (DE) and Peter Lu (US)
  • Winner 2013
    Spaceteam by Henry Smith (CA)
  • Winner 2012
    Proteus by Ed Key (UK) and David Kanaga (US)



Human Human Machine Award (1000€)

This award goes to the best game that can be played by two or more people in the same room (local multiplayer), and includes some digital element – fully analog games won’t be accepted.

  • Winner 2018
    Tuned Out by Shallow Games (US)
  • Winner 2017
    Word After Word by Jonah Warren (US)
  • Winner 2016
    Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes by Steel Crate Games, Inc. (CA)
  • Winner 2015
    Crawl by Powerhoof (AU)
  • Winner 2014
    Nidhogg by Messhof (US)



Long Feature Award (1000€)

This is the award for complex games and developing virtual reality worlds. Those are the ones, who challenge your life by offering immersive storytelling and much more than 2hrs gameplay.

  • Winner 2018
    The Norwood Suite by Cosmo D (US)
  • Winner 2017
    Orwell by Osmotic Studio (DE)



Digital Moment Award (1000€)

Poems, statements, experiments, short experiences – expressions of socio-critical messages, personal or comedic life situations and feelings through an interactive medium. Maybe a sensual mechanic, a toy that gives the player a surprising twist in their experience.

  • Winner 2018
    Genital Jousting - Story Mode by Free Lives (SA)
  • Winner 2017
    Everything is going to be OK by Nathalie Lawhead (US)



Explorer Award (1000€)

Go, where nobody has gone before! This is the award for all forms of experiences beyond the boundaries of contemporary ways to play or develop games. Here, we are exploring alternative controllers, interactive installations, creative coding experiments, robotics and tech performances, as well as interdisciplinary teams, collaborations with science, makers, engineers, researchers, theater and writers.



Audience Award

The winner will be voted out of the 25 nominees by the public during the course of the festival. Every visitor gets 3 pink dots to vote for their favourite game at A MAZE. / Berlin.

  • Winner 2018
    Wobble Garden by Robin Barumgarten
  • Winner 2017
    VinylOS by Josef Who? and Jonas Bo! (AT)
  • Winner 2016
    Genital Jousting: A MAZE. Grand Prize Winning Game by Team Swaffelen (NO/ZA)
  • Winner 2015
    Line Wobbler by Robin Baumgarten (DE)
  • Winner 2014
    Choosatron by Jerry Belich (US)



Humble New Talent Award

Outside of the competing nominees, the Humble New Talent Award highlights important new voices in the culture of games. Nominees are choosen by A MAZE. and will not be awarded for one game, but their work and thoughts in general.

  • Winner 2018 : Bahiyya Khan (SA)






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DISCONTINUED AWARDS:

Collider Award (1000€)

Mash everything! Foster interdisciplinary productions! This is the award for all forms of experiences created in collaboration with science, makers, engineers, researchers, theater and writers. It also includes alternative controllers, interactive installations and creative coding experiments, robotics and tech performances.

  • Winner 2018
    fountain by Philipp Stollenmayer (DE)
  • Winner 2017
    FRU by Through Games (NL)



WTF?! Award (1000€)

The award for games that transport no compromises, reckless art, subversive fun and provoking progression. A MAZE./ is looking for the best glitch, punk, alt.ctrl and art games.

Winner 2016
Lieve Oma by Florian Veltman (FR)
Winner 2015
Line Wobbler by Robin Baumgarten (DE)
Winner 2014
Fjords by Kyle Reimersgartin (US)



Other Dimensions Award (1000€)

Quite a number of independent game developers and digital artists are discovering this adventurous technology as a new way of expression. A MAZE. features that passionated evolution and is looking for the total embodiment in the beauty of an other dimension.

Winner 2016
Diorama No.3 - The Marchland by The Shoebox Diorama (NL)
Winner 2015
Pixel Ripped by Ana Ribeiro (BR)
Winner 2014
Choosatron by Jerry Belich (US)