Here Are The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners for 2019!

Bigger, better and more annual than before, the third Bit Awards took place this year on February 1. Hosted by Overwatch voice actor Carolina Ravassa, the awards showcase the best in gaming from the New York City area, working with Playcrafting. There's no limit to the games entered, and there are spots for tabletop, XR, mobile and console games, among others.

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The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners - Tabletop Game of the Year

Honors the best tabletop game (card games, board games, etc.).

• Clear the Decks by Crispy Games Company
• Saturday Morning Games by Plausible Studio (Our Preview)
• Gladius by Victoria Cana and Alexandre Uboldi - Winner
• Hero: Tales of the Tomes by Jimmy Ellerth Entertainment
• Smack Talk Showdown by Double Turn Games
• Status Report! by Offcut Games

Victoria Cana and Alexandre Uboldi are no strangers to fierce competition. Gladius is a card game for 2 - 5 players, playing as privatus in Ancient Rome. Players take turns betting on the outcome of gladiator competitions in order to turn the biggest profit and win the game.

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The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners - Best Student Game

Honors the best game made primarily by students in an educational program.

• Anyball by Team Anyball (NYU Game Center)
• Flight Simulator by Hosni Auji (NYU Game Center)
• Into the Dark: Narakan by Orc Punk (Playcrafting)
• King of the Hat by Business Corp. Incorporated (Dawson College)
• Roll Control by Andrew Simon Thomas (Playcrafting)
• Seasons (季节) by David Su and Dominique Stars (MIT)

King of the Hat by Business Corp. Incorporated from Dawson College won for best student game this year. Self-described as a "Fast-paced, hat based, mulitplayer game" the object is to crush your friends and become the King of the Hat.

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The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners - Rising Pixel Award (San Francisco)

The Rising Pixel award is given to one member of each Playcrafting community (San Francisco, Boston, and New York) who has made exceptional contributions to the video game industry.

Don Bellenger of Oakland, California was the recipient of the first Rising Pixel Award of the night. Founder and creative director of SUPERSCARYSNAKES, as well as a mentor at Gameheads, he's currently managing and directing progress on the indie title Black Future '88.

The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners - Rising Pixel Award (Boston)

Caroline Murphy of Boston was the second Rising Pixel awardee of the night. CEO and co-founder of BostonFIG, where she works with Boston's indie gaming industry to foster a community of developers, she also is a member of the board of directors of Be Epic, Inc.

The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners - Rising Pixel Award (New York)

Sam Eng, the developer behind the newly-released game Zarvot, was the last Rising Pixel awardee of the night. Known for his work with Playcrafting, he teaches Unity workshops and meet-ups, and is apparently thought of by his peers as a very peculiar type of cube.

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The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners - Game Changer

From her humble beginnings working on Civilization II at Microprose Software to her appointment as Executive Director of IGDA, Jen MacLean has been a constant force of change in an ever-chaotic industry. Named one of the "Game Industry's 100 Most Influential Women" by Next Generation, her current work with IGDA is working to bring game development to more people than ever before and focuses on making the industry more accessible to everyone.

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The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners - Best XR Game, Presented by Bose

Honoring the best game made for VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), or MR (Mixed Reality).

• Cubism by Thomas Van Bouwel
• HOST by Garrett Fuselier
• Jupiter & Mars by Tigertron
• Mister Mart by Studio217
• The Rig by Sunset Division
• The Take by Stuido Studios

Stuido Studios game The Take is a new VR take on the golden age of comics where players are spies competing against each other. Filled with colors, sound bubbles and interactive objects and traps, there's much to do and explore.

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The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners - Best Style

Honors excellence in-game audio and/or visuals.

• 0°N 0°W by Colorfiction
• Ambition: A Minuet in Power by Joy Manufacturing Co.
• Evergate by Stone Lantern Games
• Hamsterdam by Muse Games
• Jupiter and Mars by Tigertron (An Interview & Preview)
• Punch Planet by Sector-K Games

Who doesn't love hamsters? Better yet, hamsters with style. It's no wonder Muse Games' Hamsterdam won the Best Style award this year, with the game focusing on brawling mechanics as a young, stylish hamster with a blue jacket, named Pimm, fights through the city against the evil chinchilla mob boss to save his grandfather.

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The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners - Player's Choice Award

The public can vote for their choice in the Player's Choice Award category at this link.

• GRIS by Nomada Studio (Our Review)
• KungFu Kickball by WhaleFood Games
• Swimsanity! by Decoy Games - Winner
• Tornado Roulette by Luis Delacruz
• Where Shadows Slumber by Game Revenant (Our Review)
• Zarvot by snowhydra games

Swimsanity!, previously shown at Play NYC by Decoy Games, swept the Player's Choice category if the thunderous applause in the auditorium was anything to go by. A multi-player underwater shooter that's been in development for quite some time, Swimsanity! is set to be released in early 2019 on Steam.

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The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners - Mobile Game of the Year

Honors the best game made for mobile devices.

• Hamsterdam by Muse Games (Our Preview)
• Imposter Drawster by Up at Night
• Into the Dark: Narakan by Orc Punk (An Interview & Preview)
• Mew and Me by Mew and Me
• Repertoire by Playful People (Our Preview)
• Sound Sky by HIGHKEY Games

The strategic and puzzle-solving game Into the Dark: Narakan by Orc Punk was this year's winner for mobile game of the year. In it, you play as a night exploring a (what else) dark forest, searching for a child calling your name. Are you brave enough to face your fears?

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The 3rd Annual Bit Awards Winners - PC/Console Game of the Year

Honors the best game made for PC, console, web or arcade.

• Dungeonhaven by Cold War Game Studios
• Evergate by Stone Lantern Games
• KungFu Kickball by WhaleFood Games
• LampLight City by Grundislav Games (Our Review)
• Punch Planet by Sector-K Games (Our Preview)
• Swimsanity! by Decoy Games (An Interview & Preview) - Winner

After winning the Player's Choice award, it's no surprise that Swimsanity! walked away with the best PC/Console Game of the Year award as well. Check out our interview with Decoy Games and our preview of Swimsanity! for more on this winner.

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And that wraps up the 2019 Bit Awards!

What games were your favorites this year? Who would you have nominated for a Bit Award? Let us know in the comments below!