Australian Design Group's World in Flames (by Harry Rowlands and Greg Pinder) won the Charlie Roberts Award for the Best 20th Century Boardgame, 1985 at Origins. Other Australians companies were finalists in the Best Graphic Presentation in an Adventure Game (Panther Games) and Best Adventure Game for Home Computers (Strategic Studies Group) categories. Celebrations involved buying rounds of drinks, threatening to buy French champagne, a sushi dinner, and singing "Waltzing Matilda" in German. Breakout's "Wally of the Trip" award for Australian Origins attendee who performed the greatest "acts of gross stupidity, drunkeness, [sic] or foolishness" during the trip went to Nigel Brand of Breakout, narrowly beating Peter Wyche of Panther Games.

Gamemaster at Parramatta (New South Wales) have taken over the game shop in Liverpool, Allen Edwards has opened a new Games World shop in Southland (Victoria), and Jedko has closed their New South Wales operation and now distribute through Venture Games.

Strategic Studies Group have delayed Road to Appomattox (again) until Origins '87 and will instead release a Russian front game in November. Jedko Games are developing a war game called Basic Training aimed at the absolute beginner, Harry Rowlands of Australian Games Design is working on a computer game to be published by 3W, PBM Magic is releasing their first game in September (Magic), SNEDCO closed all their play-by-mail games except Shadow of the Hawk and are switching from human-moderated to computer-moderated games, partner John Campell has left The Missing Tiger while new partner Lindon Flood has joined, and Maelstrom hope to have a Napoleonic game ready for CanCon'87.

American play-by-mail company may be the largest, with 11 major titles, 14 full time employees, and US$360,000 gross revenue in 1985.