1. Sponsorship Award

Panda Game Manufacturing (“Panda”) is awarding a total of $110,000 USD in manufacturing credits across twenty (20) winners as part of the “p20 Sponsorship” celebrating Panda’s 20th anniversary.

Credits are awarded as follows:

Winners are selected by a Panda Game Manufacturing committee, with input from confirmed guest judges (see Section 5), evaluated on:

1. Creativity and engagement
2. Market viability
3. Production feasibility
4. Overall presentation quality

Specific weighting of these criteria is at the committee’s discretion.

Quarterly cohorts and fast-track: Entries are evaluated in four quarterly cohorts (see Section 3). The committee may fast-track up to four (4) designers per cohort. Fast-tracked designers receive $2,000 USD of their manufacturing credit when selected. This amount counts toward their final prize, and they remain in the running for the higher tiers. Four (4) additional designers are selected at large across the year. Final placings for all twenty (20) winners are revealed at Gen Con 2027.

2. Eligibility

Open to games and designers meeting all of the following:

Designer

• Age: 18 years of age or older at the time of submission (Panda reserves the right to require proof of age).
• Status: Self-publishing designers, or designers who intend to self-publish. Designers pitching games to third-party publishers are not the audience for this program (see Section 8 for what happens if a designer signs to a publisher mid-process).
• Track record: No more than two (2) prior commercially published or self-published titles at the time of submission.
• Authorship: Designer must be the primary creator of the submitted game. Collaborations are permitted if all co-designers are credited on the submission form.

Game

• Original IP: Must be the designer’s original creation. Games using licensed or third-party intellectual property are not eligible.
• Unpublished: Not commercially released, not self-published, and not under contract with a publisher at the time of submission.
• Playable: Must exist in a physically playable state that demonstrates core mechanics and gameplay flow.
• Rights: By submitting, the designer confirms they retain full rights to the game and all associated assets.

Submissions per designer

• One (1) submission per designer. Updated from the 2025 policy (which allowed two). If a designer enters more than once, only the most recently submitted entry will be considered.

Exclusions

The following are not eligible to enter:

• Panda Game Manufacturing employees, contractors, and their immediate family or household members.
• Confirmed guest judges (Tom Vasel, Ben Rosset) and their immediate family, household members, and direct teams (including The Dice Tower).

Re-entry from prior cycles

• Non-winners from prior cycles (25 in 25 or other giveaways) may resubmit, and are encouraged to do so, provided the entry is a new game or a meaningfully improved version of the prior submission.
• Prior winners (25 in 25 or other giveaways) may not resubmit the same game, even if the manufacturing credit from their earlier win has not been redeemed.
• Prior winners submitting a different, new game are considered on a case-by-case basis (see Section 11).

Geographic scope

• Globally open. Country-level exclusions apply only where legally required (for example, jurisdictions subject to sanctions or local lottery / contest law restrictions). Panda will assess any such case individually and is not publishing a blanket country exclusion list.

Submission completeness

• Submissions must include all required materials (rulebook, video, sell sheet, and any other items specified in the submission form) to be eligible. Incomplete submissions will not be reviewed.

3. Submission window

• Opens: May 20, 2026
• Closes: May 31, 2027
• Quarterly cohorts:
  • Cohort 1: May 20 to August 20, 2026
  • Cohort 2: August 21 to November 20, 2026
  • Cohort 3: November 21, 2026 to February 20, 2027
  • Cohort 4: February 21 to May 31, 2027
• An entry competes in the cohort in which its evaluation completes, not the cohort in which it was submitted.
• Late submissions will not be accepted. Submissions are considered received at the time they are fully uploaded to the submission platform, not the time the designer begins the upload.

4. Winner notification and announcement

• Winners will be contacted via the email address provided on the submission form.
• Fast-tracked designers are announced after each cohort closes.
• Public announcement of all twenty (20) winners and their final placings will be made via Panda’s owned channels (X, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, website, email) on or around Gen Con 2027.
• Submission to the program constitutes consent to be named publicly if selected (see Section 7 on likeness).

5. Judging

The selection committee consists of Panda Game Manufacturing staff and confirmed guest judges:

• Tom Vasel, The Dice Tower
• Ben Rosset, Bamboo Design Studio

Shortlisted designers first have a conversation with the Panda team. In mid-2027, the guest judges review the finalists and help select the top ten (10). The exact mechanics of guest-judge involvement (volume of submissions reviewed, scoring format, scope of recommendation) are set with each judge individually and may evolve during the program.

Panda’s committee holds final decision authority on the twenty (20) winners. Decisions are final and binding (see Section 11).

6. Prize conditions

Manufacturing credit

• The credit is awarded to the submitted game and is non-transferable to other individuals, other games, or other entities.
• The credit cannot be exchanged for cash, in whole or in part.
• The credit must be used exclusively for manufacturing services provided by Panda Game Manufacturing.
• The credit can only be used for final mass production invoices (and not for deposit payments, or prototypes). This includes the $2,000 USD fast-track credit.
• Panda reserves the right to review and approve the scope, game type, and use of awarded sponsorship funds, including production minimums and specifications.

Behind the Board video (1st place only)

• Format, length, and distribution of the “Behind the Board” feature are determined by Panda. Winner agrees to participate in good faith (interviews, B-roll, asset access) for the production of the video.

China factory trip (1st place only)

• Trip includes round-trip economy airfare from the winner’s primary residence, accommodation, and ground transport during the factory visit, to a maximum value to be set in writing at award time.
• Travel dates to be agreed mutually between Panda and the winner. The trip cannot be exchanged for cash.
• Winner is responsible for obtaining a valid passport and any required visas, vaccinations, and travel insurance. Panda will assist with documentation as needed.
• Tax implications of any travel or non-cash prize are the responsibility of the winner.

7. IP, likeness, and confidentiality

• IP retention: The designer retains all intellectual property rights in the submitted game and its associated assets. Panda receives evaluation rights only: the right to review, score, and discuss the submission internally and with confirmed judges for the purposes of running the program.
• Confidentiality: Panda will treat submission contents as confidential within Panda and with confirmed judges, and will not share submitted materials with third parties outside the judging process without the designer’s written consent. Submission does not create a formal NDA between Panda and the designer; designers concerned about confidentiality should consider what they share.
• Likeness (finalists and winners): Shortlisted designers, finalists, and winners agree to be named publicly and to permit Panda to use their name, likeness, photograph, and recorded video and audio for campaign communications across owned and earned channels, in connection with the P20 Sponsorship, for the duration of the campaign and reasonably thereafter for archival use.
• No publisher relationship: Submission does not create any agreement, contract, partnership, or obligation between Panda and the designer regarding publication, distribution, or marketing of the game. Panda is a manufacturer, not a publisher.
• Independent Development Acknowledgment: Panda reviews and produces hundreds of game concepts annually, and our guest judges are active industry professionals. By submitting your design, you acknowledge that overlapping themes, mechanics, or components may naturally and coincidentally occur within the industry. While Panda will treat all submission materials with strict professional care and will not share operational files with unrelated third parties, you agree that the independent development of similar concepts by Panda, our clients, or our judges shall not constitute a breach of your ownership or intellectual property rights.

8. Mid-process publisher signing

If a designer signs the submitted game to a publisher during the submission, evaluation, or post-selection period, the designer must inform Panda in writing within fourteen (14) days of signing.

Panda will assess on a case-by-case basis. Continued eligibility depends on factors including, but not limited to, whether the signing publisher manufactures with Panda and whether the manufacturing credit can still be applied to production of the submitted game. Panda reserves the right to withdraw or modify the award in light of a publisher signing.

9. Data collection and protection

By entering, designers consent to Panda collecting and processing the personal data they submit (including name, email address, country of residence, and any other information requested on the submission form) for the purposes of:

• Administering the P20 Sponsorship program
• Contacting applicants regarding their submission and any next steps
• Public announcement of winners (subject to Section 4)

Personal data will be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for designers in the European Union and the European Economic Area, and in accordance with applicable data protection law for designers elsewhere.

Personal data will not be shared with third parties outside the judging process, and will not be used for marketing purposes without the designer’s explicit, separate consent.

10. Disqualification

Panda reserves the right to disqualify any submission, at any stage of the program, where:

• Eligibility criteria (Section 2) are not met
• Submission materials are incomplete, fraudulent, or misrepresented
• The designer attempts to circumvent these rules or manipulate the selection process (including the creation of duplicate accounts, false credits, or impersonation)
• The designer behaves in a manner that, in Panda’s reasonable judgment, brings the program or Panda into disrepute

Disqualified individuals may, at Panda’s discretion, be barred from future Panda-hosted programs, contests, and sponsorships.

11. Organizer’s discretion

Panda Game Manufacturing reserves the right to interpret and enforce these terms at its discretion. Panda may, in its sole discretion and at any time:

• Modify or clarify any provision of these terms (with notice to entrants where the change is material)
• Extend or shorten the submission window
• Adjust the announcement date and format
• Cancel, suspend, or modify the program in the event of circumstances outside Panda’s reasonable control

All decisions by Panda regarding selection, prize allocation, and program administration are final and binding.