In the summer of 2024, the Summit Award judges rolled out 2024 Summit Award information to the public and began accepting nominations for games that fit that criteria. The judges — which include the SDHist board, the SDHist advisory committee and any honorary members as agreed to by the SDHist board — met in October to discuss and narrow down the game nominations. These are the four finalists they selected (in alphabetical order):

The British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire. Designed by Stephen Rangazas, published by GMT Games.

Halls of Hegra. Designed by Petter Schanke Olsen, published by Tompet Games.

Land and Freedom: The Spanish Revolution and Civil War. Designed by Alex Knight, published by Blue Panther LLC.

We Are Coming, Nineveh. Designed by Harrison Brewer, Rex Brynen, Juliette Le Ménahèze, and Brian Train, published by Nuts! Publishing.

The judges also selected two honorable mentions: Match of the Century, designed by Paolo Mori and published by Deep Print Games, and Rising Waters, designed by Scout Blum and published by the Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, Central Michigan University Press.

These games were taught and demonstrated at SDHistCon Summit 2024. Following that, members of the SDHist Board and SDHist Advisory Board met to determine the winner of the 2023 Summit Award, selecting Land and Freedom. The judges praised Land and Freedom for its unconventional design approach (particularly around the semi-cooperative aspect), its novelty of topic, its approachability to those new to historical gaming, and its playability at a range of player counts.

Land and Freedom is designed by Alex Knight and published by Blue Panther LLC. It features cover, counter, map, and card art from José Ramón Faura, with additional player/non-player aid and card art from Ryan Heilman and Knight, development from Heilman, and rulebook work from Heilman, Knight, and Dave Shaw.