The nominees for the most prestigious annual award for board games, the Spiel des Jahres, were announced alongside nominations for the Kennerspiel des Jahres and Kinderspiel des Jahres.
The nominations for Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) are:
The jury also published a “recommended” game list:
- Akropolis by Jules Messaud; published by Kobold Spieleverlag and Gigimic (see “Review: ‘Akropolis’ (Board Game)”)
- Hister; published by Jumbo
- Kuzooka by Leo Colovini; published by Pegasus Spiele (see “Zoo Animals Try to Escape in ‘Kuzooka’”)
- Mantis by Ken Gruhl and Jeremy Posner; published by Exploding Kittens
- QE by Gavin Birnbaum; published by Strohmann Games and Boardgametables.com
- Sea Salt & Paper by Bruno Cathala and Theo Riviere; published by MM-Spiele
- That’s Not a Hat by Kasper Lapp; published by Ravensburger
For the Kennerspiel des Jahres (Enthusiasts Game of the Year):
- Challengers! by Johannes Krenner and Markus Slawischeck; published by 1 More Time Games and Z-Man Games
- Iki by Koota Yamada; published by Giant Roc and Sorry We Are French
- Planet Unknown by Ryan Lambert and Adam Rehberg; published by Strohmann Games and Adam’s Apple Games
Two games got the nod as “recommended” games for enthusiasts:
- Council of Shadows by Martin Kallenborn and Jochen Scherer; published by Alea
- Mindbug by Marvin Hegen, Christian Kudahl, Skaff Elias, and Richard Garfield; published by Nerdlab
For Kinderspiel des Jahres (Children’s Game of the Year):
- Carla Caramel by Sara Zarian; published by Loki
- Gigamon by Johann Roussel and Karim Aouidad; pubished by Mirakulus and Studio H
- Mysterium Kids by Antonin Boccara and Yves Hirschfeld; published by Libellud and Space Cow
Three games were “recommended” for this category as well:
- Douzanimo by Sebastien Decad; published by Djeco
- Mein erstes Abenteuer Band 1 bis 7 by Romeo Hennion, Mathilde Malburet, Jean Philippe Sahut, and Arnaud Boutle; published by Board Game Box
- Rutsch & Flutsch by Joel Escalante and Rafael Escalante; published by Game Factory
Source: ICv2
