Mischief Toy Store takes home the 2026 Diana Jones Award
In honor of this year’s winners, play and become ungovernable.
Last night, Wednesday July 29, the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming was awarded to Mischief Toy Store, a progressive, independent, local shop in St. Paul, Minnesota that has a long track record of working with the community to resist oppression and facism. Throughout their 11 years in business, they have spoken out about the lack of regulations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the effect of tariffs on small businesses, printed ICE OUT posters amid the occupation in Minneapolis and the greater Minnesota area, and were able to coordinate a mass distribution of ICE alert whistles during the occupation in early 2026.
In January, the owners publicly spoke out against the ICE raids in the wake of the murder of Renee Nicole Good and were immediately targeted by the Department of Homeland Security. In an act that they believed to be retaliatory, Mischief Toy Store was audited by DHS, who demanded employment records going back three years. The state of the audit is currently unknown, but at the time of issuance, the store had three days to comply.
Mischief Toy Store
While an unusual pick for the Award, the committee (of which this author is a part of) highlighted how Mischief Toy Store represents multiple facets of the gaming community and ecosystem. Local game stores are where people go to gather, play, and share space with others. That a store would also become a role model in its own St. Paul community shines a light on the ways that all the local game stores can be using their position as curators of play to support their neighbors in times of need.
Another nominee was Rob Wieland, a longtime tabletop community member and journalist who unexpectedly passed away last year. He was a game designer, an AP host, and a friend to many in the tabletop sphere, including the writers here at Rascal. His work was always curious, and he tirelessly supported the independent game design community, whether through interviews or through coverage. His advocacy will be remembered, and many of his friends hosted an Actual Play event at last year’s Gamehole Con, where proceeds would be donated to his family.
Amid the tariffs and constant economic upheaval of last year, Diana Jones Award nominee Price Johnson, the COO of Cephalophair games, was a part of the GAMA delegation that went to Washington, DC to advocate on behalf of the games industry as a whole. He had previously attempted to speak with his representatives in California, and although he tried to go in person to discuss his issues, he was only ever able to speak with an aide. He additionally took a pay cut to help reduce the effect tariffs would have on his employees.
The two games nominated include Molly House, a board game by Jo Kelly with Cole Wehrle & Ricky Royal, from Wehrlegig Games; and Trench Crusade, a miniatures game by Mike Franchina, James Sherriff, and Tuomas Pirinen, from Factory Fortress. Last year, Caelyn Ellis wrote an interview with Franchina and Prinen, where Franchina described the game as “all the things I loved crammed into one, sort of like a love letter to 13-year-old me.” The elevator pitch, as Ellis writes, is “World War I, but with demons”, and the imaginative science-fantasy setting melds magic and space exploration in the same breath. The real trick of Trench Crusade is that the rules are available for free, and the game is totally playable without any sort of “official” minis or add-ons. This hasn’t stopped the monetary success of the game, as evocative miniatures and bound copies of the rules were crowdfunded on Kickstarter to the tune of $3.3 million.
This year’s finalists include what has become a trendy mix of thinkers, games, and ways in which the committee can restate its progressive ideals. While my (or, rather, Rascal’s) opinion on awards shows hasn’t changed, Mischief Toy Store is deserving of accolades, laurels, and praise for their work within their community and as an example of the ways in which everyday acts of kindness and resistance can occur at any time — and should occur more often.
[Disclosure: The author served as a volunteer member of the 2026 Diana Jones selection committee.]
