A group of tabletop game developers, publishers, and industry organizations are coming together to support the citizens of Ukraine. A new non-profit company called RollVsEvil, created by Modiphius Entertainment founders Chris and Rita Birch, has announced its first event on Mar. 26. Donations will be matched by a private equity firm.
The announcement comes 27 days after Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, drawing international condemnation and displacing one-quarter of the country’s population. In a news release issued Wednesday, organizers said the goal was to “support small groups and charities working directly on the ground” providing “verifiable immediate results and […] changing lives.”
Joining in support of the inaugural event are other like-minded organizations, among them Chaosium, Cubicle 7, The Game Manufacturer’s Association (GAMA), Green Ronin Publishing, Magpie Games, Mantic Games, Mythic Games, Para Bellum, Paizo, Q-Workshop, R. Talsorian Games, Roll20, Steve Jackson Games, Steamforged Games, Titan Forge, and the UK Games Expo.
From today’s announcement:
The first event aims to keep it simple, asking interested gamers to “Just play a game” online or in-person on Saturday, March 26. The group suggests that each player commits a few dollars for playing, and during play, think up interesting ways to encourage donations — maybe pay a few dollars to re-roll the dice or draw another card! It’s up to you — keep it fun and simple, then pay your donations in to our fundraising page at www.rollvsevil.com.
Roll20, a virtual platform for playing tabletop RPGs, will also be offering a free bundle of games to play. Organizers also included examples of several organizations it is currently supporting:
- Funding for a group who are helping vulnerable persons — such as the disabled, LGBTQ+, or senior citizens with pets — to evacuate Ukraine.
- Support for the cities of Lviv and Kyiv in sourcing specific medical supplies directly from international manufacturers.
- Funding and hardware for internet access for a group working with hostels in Poland, where the majority of more than 3.5 million Ukrainian refugees have fled.
- Funding for the A21’s charity campaign on the borders to help combat human trafficking.
- Sourcing donations of supplies such as camping gear, food, and medical supplies and shipping them to a team in Ukraine.
- Supporting the work of icanhelp.host, a tool created by Belarusians who fled persecution in their own country.
RollVsEvil promises transparency as they move forward, and is offering “with evidence, photos, videos and testimonials to demonstrate the effect” of the donations it collects. All donations made to RollVsEvil, up to $130,000, will be matched by Paul and Linda Wedgwood of Supernova Capital.
Source: Polygon
