There’s some cloud around the silver and good news of the Organized Play Foundation securing non-profit (tax-exempt) status in the USA, as granted by the IRS, but it looks like good news this Christmas.
The Organized Play Foundation works to help tabletop gamers find local or online games, play together and enjoy the mental health and social benefits those gaming sessions can bring. It can also be excellent news for the retailers, growing a gaming community buying advocates.
The Organized Play Foundation has been synonymous with Pazio and, therefore Pathfinder and Starfinder but this week’s announcement, along with the non-profit status, is that Evil Genius Games is coming on board as the first new corporate partner.
In a post on EN World, Eric W. Brittain, said;
We wish to thank the leadership of Paizo Publishing along with the many volunteers that have made this possible. The initial volunteer program used to grow the Paizo Pathfinder and Starfinder organized play offerings has provided a model for other organized play programs that we are eager to share.
Paizo still has their Organised Play Foundation page up, but the https://www.organizedplayfoundation.org/ website is not currently safe to visit. It’s been hacked or bought by a gaming site.
However, the Evil Genius site for the new E.G.O. Program is live and safe to visit.
Evil Genius’ organized play program, dubbed The E.G.O Program, will launch its inaugural Season on January 24th, 2024. The season will consist of a 10-part adventure focused on REDEMPTION, a secret organization designed to protect the interests of people who aren’t equipped to protect themselves. The plot was created by professional Hollywood screenwriters such as J.B. Ballard, head writer for X-Men ’97. The first season will culminate in a special event at GenCon 2024.
The E.G.O. Program will have a web app called Dispatch, which will allow GMs to schedule sessions and for players to sign up. Dispatch also tracks the games played and character progression.
Faith Elizabeth Lilley, Head of Product and Technology for Evil Genius Games, said;
One of the biggest issues we’ve heard about managing an organized play program is the paperwork. Dispatch skips the paperwork allowing GMs to focus on creating a great gaming experience.”
Evil Genius is a black-owned publisher, with Everyday Heroes as a flagship product and the licenses for Pacific Rim, Kong Skull Island, Highlander, Escape from New York, Total Recall, Rambo, Universal Soldier, and the Crow.
Just this week, Evil Genius launched a complete 9 game bundle on Humble (direct link). Less recently, but just as timely, Evil Genius are also suing Netflix when the streaming giant, Evil Genius says, mishandled the Rebel Moon RPG.
Notably, The Organized Play Foundation remains a separate and non-profit organisation, which means it can carry on no matter should something happen to Evil Genius Games. It also means the volunteers for the OPF are not working for free for Evil Genius but for the organisation and with easy access to the RPG material Evil Genius Games provides.
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