Jump to:

• What is International Games Month?
• Why is International Games Month important?
• Becoming an International Games Month sponsor
• My XP as an International Games Month sponsor
• Tips for sponsoring International Games Month

What is International Games Month?

Every year, The American Library Association’s (ALA’s) Games & Gaming Roundtable (GameRT) hosts the International Games Month (IGM) event to help libraries build up their supply of games available to patrons.

Libraries apply to be awarded games donated by sponsors. Games are distributed to libraries based on a lottery system, and the list of libraries + contact information is sent to the sponsors so they can send games to winning locations.

Why is International Games Month important for libraries and the community?

This event helps community and school libraries refresh or create a gaming library with recent content for patrons to use, play, or start a club with. Many libraries get regular book donations, but game donations (especially new ones with all the pieces) can be harder to come by, so this creates an amazing opportunity to support this particular aspect of our library resources and those who use them.

Becoming an International Games Month sponsor

International Games Month relies on sponsors to provide games in order to support the libraries that are requesting gaming materials. Sponsors can donate physical game copies, digital game copies, discounts, or funds to the event, meaning there’s different ways to support that can fit different budgets and means (i.e. if you can’t provide physical copies due to printing costs, digital copies are also accepted).

To sign up, you’ll need to fill out the form here, indicating what level of support you’d like to provide.

As a quick summary:

Bronze tier: donation of 5 games, a 20% discount code, or $100

Silver tier: donation of 20 games, a 30% discount code, or $500

Gold tier: donation of 50 games, a 50% discount code, or $1k

Benefits (all tiers): Credit with a bio on the IGM sponsor page (found here) and thank you shoutout in the GameRT monthly email

Benefits (gold): same as the “all tiers” benefits PLUS a featured blog spot on the GameRT website

My experience sponsoring International Games Month

I was a sponsor for International Games Month 2024, was a late add in 2023 (missed the deadline but got a late list to donate to), and I’ve signed up again for the 2025 cycle because it was seriously a wonderful experience previous years. I want my games and books out there in the world, and this not only gave me the opportunity to do that in an easy way, but it circled back too.

Instead of needing to research libraries that were looking for donations (because not every library wants games), I just got a list from the org of dozens of libraries that had applied and were actively seeking materials…. and it had all the contact information and addresses organized! The event did all the collection and prep work, so I just needed to address envelopes or send emails with the digital codes on afternoon.

Then, once libraries got their donations, some contacted me back! I either got confirmation that it was added to the collection or had someone geek out about how excited they were to have my work… and I know now that my book it out in libraries all over the place for people to use. It’s definitely a bucket fill moment for an author.

Tips for sponsoring International Games Month

If you’re thinking of joining and want some tips on how to best support or make things a bit easier on yourself, here’s some advice from my XP and some ideas I’ve had and want to try this or next year (and that I hope can help you too):

Include in crowdfunding campaigns: Create a library donation add-on in your crowdfunding campaigns and use that to generate funds to donate physical copies to the event and covering shipping costs.

Clear old inventory: If you have stock of an old edition of a book or sales have dropped, donating your extras can be a great way to clear your inventory. Many libraries will still want older editions, and this gives your game a life out in the world.

Spring cleaning: If you have games that you don’t play anymore, if you’re willing to let them go (which, no pressure… I understand sentimental value), ask about donating those as well and clear up some space for new games while letting others enjoy some of your past adventures.

Digital copies: If you don’t have physical copies of your games or funds are tight and you can’t print and ship extras, donate digital codes! I provided a mix of physical and digital copies last year, based on my budget, and digital copies were so easy to distribute by just using the IGM contact list that they provided, and I had no printing or shipping cost associated with sending digital copies.

Discount codes: If budgets are tight but you want to still provide physical copies, giving a discount code that brings the price down to the printing cost can hit a happy balance between still doing something for the event but not tugging your funds. Libraries usually have a purchasing budget for new materials, so giving a discount code will encourage them to get your game, covers your printing cost, and doesn’t deplete all the library funds.

For more details, check out the IGM event on the GameRT website here!

I hope this article gives you a good idea of what IGM is and how you can help! It’s a wonderful opportunity to assist the community while getting your name out there, and there’s many opportunities to engage too. If you join the event because of this article, please let me know, and… as always, happy gaming!

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