The Major Fun Award Program

The History of the Awards

The Major Fun Award was developed by Bernie DeKoven to identify games that are:

easy to learn (5-15 minutes)
played in under an hour
fun enough to play over and over again
easy to store
made to last
uniquely fun
tend to make people laugh
deep enough to withstand a lot of changes

Major Fun Award-winning games prove to be easy to:

adapt to younger and older players
tune to different play preferences and abilities
make more or less complex, longer or shorter, sillier or more serious

In Bernie DeKoven's Deep Fun programs, he uses games to help people share and build energizing, supportive relationships - friends, couples, family members, neighbors, communities, coworkers, teams, teachers and students, patients and healers. Games give people a way to do serious things without taking them seriously. Major Fun Award-winning games are key components of his toolkit, which helps explain why he developed the Major Fun program.

Award Types

There are three kinds of awards that Bernie offers.

The Major Fun Award is the primary award level. Games and toys that receive this award have proven themselves to be adaptable, enjoyable, quality products that make our world a better place.
The Keeper Award is given to those games found to be especially successful in helping people practice principles of playfulness. These games have already shown themselves to be Major Fun, but also prove to be exceptionally flexible, easy to learn, and easy to adapt to a wide range of audiences and play styles.
The Defender of the Playful Award is a recognition given to other people who have created something valuable, and meaningfully fun, have demonstrated a passion for playfulness, and have somehow been able to make it available to a wide range of audiences.

Submitting Your Games for Review

Manufacturers who are interested in submitting their games should send TWO COPIES of each game submitted to the following address:

Bernie (Major FUN) DeKoven
915 N. Lesley Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46219
+1 317.357.9227

Fees for having a game considered vary, depending on the size of the company and the number of games to be reviewed.

Small companies (3 games or fewer) $100-200
Medium companies (less than 10 games) $500-$750
Larger companies (more than 10 games) $1,000-$1,500
Games that are requested by Major FUN are reviewed without charge.

Please make checks payable to: Bernie (Major Fun) DeKoven

Why 2 copies? This way we can loan a copy to our Tasters, and see the condition of the game when it comes back. If it looks well-used (and still well-usable,) then we know we should take the game seriously! It has been played a lot. It has been played lovingly. We then play test the other copy in a more formal Games Tasting.

Testing Procedures

Games that receive an award are selected during "Games Tastings" which are weekly gatherings attended by a random collection of local game-players: sometimes teens, sometimes adults, sometimes kids. We start with a pile of games - some unopened, some favorites from previous Tastings, in no particular order.

When we play a game for he first time, we rarely play a whole game through (that's why we call it a "tasting"), unless we are having too much fun to stop! Those games, the ones we really don't want to stop playing, or the ones we want to play again, become candidates for a Major Fun Award.

Sometimes we change and vary the rules. Sometimes we spend more time studying the rules to see if there's anything we missed. It's informal, it's not very scientific, but it's FUN and surprisingly accurate. The winning games are reviewed by Major FUN himself. The games we keep bringing back are considered for a Keeper Award. There are no negative reviews, so, if you submit a game and it doesn't get reviewed, it's because, FUN-wise, it wasn't found to be, shall we say, Major.

If it is found to be Major Fun as we think it will, we write a draft review which we email you for corrections and final approval. We publish the review and forward you electronic copies of our seal to use online and off.

Award Winners

Award-winning games are granted the right to use the Major Fun seal on packaging, descriptive materials and on the manufacturer's websites. A full review of the game will be published on this website, MajorFun.com, along with appropriate pictures, logos, and hyperlinks. Each Major Fun Award online review is also classified into and labeled for the various categories for which it is deemed most appropriate.

Before a review goes online, a draft copy is sent to the game publisher for corrections and comments. Reviews are then posted on the Major Fun site, Amazon.com, Board Game Geek, Examiner.com, and other related print and online game resources.

Major Fun will make himself reasonably available to act as a personal spokesperson for any award-winning game.


	Loading The Major Fun Award Program The History of the Awards The Major Fun Award was developed by Bernie DeKoven to identify games that are: easy to learn (5-15 minutes) played in under an hour fun enough to play over and over again easy to store made to last uniquely fun tend to make people laugh deep enough to withstand a lot of changes Major Fun Award-winning games prove to be easy to: adapt to younger and older players tune to different play preferences and abilities make more or less complex, longer or shorter, sillier or more serious In Bernie DeKoven's Deep Fun programs, he uses games to help people share and build energizing, supportive relationships - friends, couples, family members, neighbors, communities, coworkers, teams, teachers and students, patients and healers. Games give people a way to do serious things without taking them seriously. Major Fun Award-winning games are key components of his toolkit, which helps explain why he developed the Major Fun program. Award Types There are three kinds of awards that Bernie offers. The Major Fun Award is the primary award level. Games and toys that receive this award have proven themselves to be adaptable, enjoyable, quality products that make our world a better place. The Keeper Award is given to those games found to be especially successful in helping people practice principles of playfulness. These games have already shown themselves to be Major Fun, but also prove to be exceptionally flexible, easy to learn, and easy to adapt to a wide range of audiences and play styles. The Defender of the Playful Award is a recognition given to other people who have created something valuable, and meaningfully fun, have demonstrated a passion for playfulness, and have somehow been able to make it available to a wide range of audiences. Submitting Your Games for Review Manufacturers who are interested in submitting their games should send TWO COPIES of each game submitted to the following address: Bernie (Major FUN) DeKoven 915 N. Lesley Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46219 +1 317.357.9227 Fees for having a game considered vary, depending on the size of the company and the number of games to be reviewed. Small companies (3 games or fewer) $100-200 Medium companies (less than 10 games) $500-$750 Larger companies (more than 10 games) $1,000-$1,500 Games that are requested by Major FUN are reviewed without charge. Please make checks payable to: Bernie (Major Fun) DeKoven Why 2 copies? This way we can loan a copy to our Tasters, and see the condition of the game when it comes back. If it looks well-used (and still well-usable,) then we know we should take the game seriously! It has been played a lot. It has been played lovingly. We then play test the other copy in a more formal Games Tasting. Testing Procedures Games that receive an award are selected during "Games Tastings" which are weekly gatherings attended by a random collection of local game-players: sometimes teens, sometimes adults, sometimes kids. We start with a pile of games - some unopened, some favorites from previous Tastings, in no particular order. When we play a game for he first time, we rarely play a whole game through (that's why we call it a "tasting"), unless we are having too much fun to stop! Those games, the ones we really don't want to stop playing, or the ones we want to play again, become candidates for a Major Fun Award. Sometimes we change and vary the rules. Sometimes we spend more time studying the rules to see if there's anything we missed. It's informal, it's not very scientific, but it's FUN and surprisingly accurate. The winning games are reviewed by Major FUN himself. The games we keep bringing back are considered for a Keeper Award. There are no negative reviews, so, if you submit a game and it doesn't get reviewed, it's because, FUN-wise, it wasn't found to be, shall we say, Major. If it is found to be Major Fun as we think it will, we write a draft review which we email you for corrections and final approval. We publish the review and forward you electronic copies of our seal to use online and off. Award Winners Award-winning games are granted the right to use the Major Fun seal on packaging, descriptive materials and on the manufacturer's websites. A full review of the game will be published on this website, MajorFun.com, along with appropriate pictures, logos, and hyperlinks. Each Major Fun Award online review is also classified into and labeled for the various categories for which it is deemed most appropriate. Before a review goes online, a draft copy is sent to the game publisher for corrections and comments. Reviews are then posted on the Major Fun site, Amazon.com, Board Game Geek, Examiner.com, and other related print and online game resources. Major Fun will make himself reasonably available to act as a personal spokesperson for any award-winning game.