We are very happy to share some exciting news from ION Game Design: Dino Dynasty has won a Silver Award in the Game (Board) category at the 2026 Independent Toy Awards in the UK.
This recognition is particularly meaningful to us because the Independent Toy Awards are decided by independent toy retailers across the UK. Rather than being selected by a traditional judging panel, the awards give retailers the opportunity to recognize the products they believe deserve a place in their stores and on their customers’ shopping lists. The awards are now in their 19th year.
For a game like Dino Dynasty, this is a wonderful recognition.
A Dinosaur Board Game About Survival and Evolution
Dino Dynasty is a strategy board game about dinosaurs, survival, evolution, and extinction.
Players take on the role of dinosaur species competing to survive in a changing prehistoric world. Over the course of the game, players must adapt to changing circumstances, develop their dinosaurs, compete for resources, and ultimately try to ensure that their lineage survives while others disappear.
The game is inspired by the fascinating natural history of the dinosaurs, but it is not simply a game about collecting dinosaur species. At its heart, Dino Dynasty is about survival and adaptation, ideas that are central to understanding evolution itself.
That combination of an engaging strategy game and a fascinating subject is exactly the kind of project we love creating at ION Game Design.
Learning Through Play
One of the things that makes Dino Dynasty particularly special to us is the way it can encourage curiosity about the natural world.
Dinosaurs are an obvious source of fascination for children, but the subject also opens the door to much bigger questions: How did species adapt to their environments? Why did some survive while others became extinct? How did ecosystems change over millions of years?
A good educational game does not necessarily need to feel like a lesson. Sometimes the best way to learn is simply to become curious.
With Dino Dynasty, we wanted players to experience the pressures of survival and competition through play, while discovering more about the prehistoric world along the way.
A Silver Award from Independent Toy Retailers
The Silver Award is especially encouraging because the Independent Toy Awards are closely connected to the UK’s independent retail community.
The organizers note that many Silver winners are products that came very close to Gold, with only a small number of votes separating them. They also emphasize that the awards are not simply about marketing reach, but about recognizing products supported by independent retailers.
For an independent publisher like ION Game Design, that makes this recognition particularly rewarding.
Check also out Dino Dynasty -From Armor to Tail-clubs expansion, the mini game Dino Dynasty Battle of the Biomes and the Dinosaur Dynasties Book.
