Games to Troops - Game Manufacturers Association

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The troops overseas are never far from our minds and hearts. Many of our service-men and –women are gamers, and rely on game play to help distract them and lift their spirits. If we can’t be with them, we at least want them to know that we’re thinking of them, and that their hobby supports them wherever they might go.

To this end, GAMA tracked down the perfect contacts in all four military branches (Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines) to help us help our industry get packages of games out to our troops in the field. The Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) assisted us in assuring the locations of our forward deployed troops were supplied with gaming packages from the generous members of our industry.

This program began in Southwest Asia – Kuwait, Iraq, Djibouti, Bahrain, and Afghanistan. If successful, GAMA has plans to expand the program in the future until every MWR, foreign or domestic, has a stock of games.

Sponsor quotes

Here's what some of our donating sponsors say about Games to Troops:

"We are donating these games in memory of our father, Robert Blaise Anticole, who served in the United States Army during the 1950's.He passed away in 2005 from cancer. We appreciate the opportunity to honor our father's memory while supplying the troops with an opportunity to enjoy some fun with their colleagues."
Mark and Matthew Anticole, Eye-Level Entertainment, LLP

"This is a great idea and excellent execution."
Keith Blume, Eagle Games

"Thanks very much - this is a *great* program! I know from experience how boring deployment is, and this is a great way for the gaming community to let the troops know that we're thinking about them."
Don Bessinger, 3am Games

"Many of us here at Battlefront have previous military backgrounds and have been on the receiving end of MWR.The opportunity to show our appreciation for their time was much appreciated by us here at Battlefront."
Christopher Frye, Battlefront Miniatures

News

January 3, 2007

We've recieved communication from Lou Kehrli, Navy MWR Recreation Director in Bahrain. He's doing a newspaper article on Games to Troops for his local paper, and promised to send us a copy of the article when it's done, along with some pictures.

From Mr. Kehrli: "Thanks so much for your generosity and all the hard work you and others did to benefit us here in the Middle East. This kind of thoughtfulness really puts smiles on the faces of young Americans far away from home and loved ones. Making it just a little bit easier serving their country through such tough times. It truly makes us feel like we are not forgotten and that the American Spirit is still alive and supporting us here."

December 6, 2006

One of our Origins volunteers, who also happens to be in the Army, dropped by the office today to let us know that he saw our Games to Troops display at Camp Liberty in Baghdad. He was even kind enough to take some pictures of the display for us, which we'll have from him soon.

As the Army shipment was the last to leave the US, we're hopeful that this means that all of the shipments are now at their destinations, and are being enjoyed by the troops. We've reached out to our MWR contacts, to get pictures of the displays and games to share with all of you.

Thanks again to all who donated, and thank you for helping us to support the troops!

Please thank these companies!

Special thanks go to our sponsors, who donated thousands of dollars worth of games and game accessories to our troops. They're the ones who made this program possible. Please take the time to thank these companies the next time you see them at a convention, through postings to discussion boards, or simply by purchasing their products at your friendly local game store.

3am Games

4 J Enterprises, LLC

Atlas Games

Bill Cobb Productions

Boardwalk Design Inc.

Comic Images

Eagle Games

Eye-Level Entertainment, LLC

Flying Buffalo

Game Empire

Gardner Games

Green Ronin Publishing

Grey Ghost Press, Inc.

Hex Games

Hidden City Games

IT GlobalSecure Inc.

Jiggi Games

Joyride Entertainment

Kenzer and Company

Looney Labs

LSA United/G5 Productions

Mayfair Games

Mr. Bigshot Inc.

Mythic Entertainment

Playroom Entertainment

R&R Games, Inc.

Score Entertainment

Seaborn Games

Skirmisher Publishing LLC

Slang Games

Spark Games LLC

ThatWordGame SYZYGY

The CaBil

TriKing Games

Versal Entertainment

Your Move Games

Z-Man Games