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.

News

November 12, 2008

GAMA greatly appreciates the generosity of all those who have made game donations and those asking us about making new game donations. Currently we are not accepting any game donations. The details of the 2009 Games to Troops donation round have yet to be determined. As soon as we have more information we will gladly pass it on so that all of you who wish to, may participate. Our thanks to those of you who have inquired.

April 23rd, 2008

At the GAMA Trade Show all the Games to Troops game donations were dropped off or arrived and were sorted and packed by the GAMA Senior Volunteers. Everything was done and ready for shipping on Wednesday of the show. Seven pallets were shipped out to a Navy MWR Center in Middleton TN, and will be sent overseas from there. Thanks to all the donors and to all the Senior Volunteers who helped make this program a success!

March/April 2008  

A Games to Troops email was sent out asking for Donation Sponsors and we were soon receiving replies!  Nearly a dozen companies stepped up and offered their great products within days of GAMA's asking.  These products will be collected at GTS and handed over to the Navy for shipment to their appropriate destinations.  Anyone else looking to become a Donation Sponsor can fill out the submissions spreadsheet and contact our Program Director at programs@gama.org.  Everyone is encouraged to bring their donations to the GTS 2008 for collection.  Come be a part of this great program and support the troops. 

Why MWR?

The MWR departments in the military supply troops with recreation buildings, supplies, activities, and more – smaller MWR stations may only be able to provide a Rec. room, while larger MWR stations may have movie theaters, travel agencies, and pool tables. It’s the smaller stations that need us the most, though none of the stations are equipped with what any of us would consider a decent stock of games.

We feel that getting into the official recreation system will provide us with the best chance to make your games available to the greatest number of troops. Each package will stay with its MWR center, providing entertainment to every division that comes through that area, for as long as our troops are there.

What's in it for me?

GAMA plans to include in each shipment (at the request of the service branches) a poster to the MWR locations to advertise what games they have available. Your contribution of 168 copies of a game qualifies your game for a position on the poster.  Your contribution will also be noted in GAMA materials, press releases and on the Games toTroops.org site.

In addition to GAMA's efforts to promote your involvement with this program, MWR provides public recognition, publicity, and honoraria for their sponsors.

A worldwide news release will be prepared by each of the service branches which will identify GAMA and the contributing companies and describe what it is they have done to support service members through MWR. This news release will go out to news media, active service members, reservists (active and inactive), retirees, military civilian employees and family members of active duty service-men and -women.

With each shipment of games to MWR activities, each company will be recognized for their contribution and the service-men and -women who use the products would understand that the games were made a available through sponsorship.

Finally, once all the packages have reached all the MWR activities, GAMA and their contributing partners will be provided with appropriate honoraria (special thanks) for their support.

Is this tax-deductible?

You can deduct the value of your contribution as a marketing expense, but not as a charity gift.

Our arrangement with MWRs makes this a commercial sponsorship, rather than a donation or gift. Because it is a sponsorship, the MWRs will provide our sponsors with national  recognition and marketing exposure in return for the donation. Since you receive something of value in return for the product, this makes the donation a marketing expense rather than a charitable contribution.

You should, of course, check with your accountant or tax advisor for the full details of how this program will work in your financial situation.

How do I sign up?

Send an email to our Program Director at programs@gama.org.  In your email, please list the following:

• Your name
• Phone number
• Company you represent
• The name of the items you are sending
• A description of the items (board game, RPG book, etc)
• The number of items you are sending (we prefer groups of 168, but will accept less)
• The retail value of each item

If you are sending multiple items, please feel free to use our submissions spreadsheet.

There's quite a lot of paperwork to fill out for each service branch, to make sure that the donations are accepted and the games get to our troops. Please make sure to send your complete signup information, so we can get everything rolling as quickly as possible.

Please include a 300 dpi logo file for the game with your submission email, for use on the Games to Troops poster and on Games to Troops related materials.

What kind of games can I send?

Games, game materials, gaming books.  Reading books and comics are also acceptable, but aren't the focus of this program. 

When planning your donation, please keep in mind that your contribution, and the rest of the package, may be the only games the troops have access to, outside of a deck of regular playing cards. So completion is key - please don't send (for example) an RPG suppliment without an accompanying core book, or an individual package of miniatures without the rules or enough figures to play a game.

The usual restrictions on shipping to our forward line troops applies - nothing political, profane, or pornographic. 

Where do I send my contribution?

You can contact our Program Director at programs@gama.org for more information.

Please do not send any Games to Troops materials to the GAMA offices.

Sponsor quotes

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

"Tangent Games is proud to support this wonderful program. We understand that our troops go through many hardships when deployed overseas in defense of our country, and we hope that our small contribution will remind them of home."

Geoff Habiger, Tangent Games

"When I was in the Army overseas in the early 1970's, the local servicemens club had a complete selection of Avalon Hill wargames. I appreciated this very much, and in return am pleased to be able to support our troops by donating games now. I thank GAMA for providing this program and making it easy for me to do so."

Rick Loomis, Flying Buffalo Inc

"Stay safe over there, people. I think about you every single morning when I put on the dog tags I was issued in 1971."

Steve Cole, Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc.

"I think this is a wonderful opportunity for the gaming industry to exprss appreciation for our brave servicemen and women abroad.  As a small publisher, I wouldn't be able to support the troops this widely.  I hope these games will bring plenty of enjoyment!"

John Velonis, Synelix Games

"Columbia games is pleased to support our hard working volunteer troops with Dixie: The American Civil War Card Game and an RPG package for Harn World."

Grant Dalgliesh, Columbia Games Inc 

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.

 

Flying Buffalo Inc.                    

R&R Games, Inc.

Edhellen Armoury

Tangent Games

Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc

Wizards of the Coast

Looney Labs 

Synelix Games 

Columbia Games Inc

Decision Games