Manifesto Games passed along word today that PeaceMaker has once again been recognized for its excellence, both as a game and as an instrument for social change. On June 10, PeaceMaker won the Games for Change "GaCha" Award for Best Transformation Game. This juried award is given to the game that engages players in entertainment that focuses on an important social issue, and whose aims and outcomes include the ability to foster a powerful intellectual or behavioral transformation in users.

The award-winning game, which simulates the Mid-East peace process, was created by a mixed American, Israeli, and Palestinian team. PeaceMaker incorporates actual news footage and events, can be played in any one of three languages, and has three difficulty levels: calm, tense, or violent. The game allows the player to try his or her skills of diplomacy and leadership by playing as either the Israeli Prime Minister or the Palestinian President. By reacting to in-game events, from diplomatic negotiations to military attacks, it challenges players to succeed as a leader where others have failed; to experience the joy of bringing peace to the region - or the agony of plunging the Middle East into disaster.

The team behind PeaceMaker, Impact Games, was founded by the international team of American Eric Brown and Asi Burak, who is from Israel. They met at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where they both earned a Masters of Entertainment Technology. Eric also holds a B.F.A. in painting with focused studies in education and computer graphics from Washington University in St. Louis. Asi is a former Senior Art Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, and he was a Captain in the Israeli Intelligence Corps. More information about PeaceMaker and the team can be found at www.PeaceMakergame.com .