Game of the Year (abbreviated GotY) is a title awarded annually by various magazines, websites, and game critics to deserving tabletop games, including board games and card games. Many publications award a single "Game of the Year" award to a single title published in the previous year that they feel represents the pinnacle of gaming achievement that year.
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Organizations and publications that award Game of the Year awards for board games include:
These are winners of the American Tabletop Awards, a US-based board game award selected by a committee of board game media creators for games released in the previous calendar year. [3]
Early Gamers These are winners in the Early Gamers category, a category for games targeted at people new to board games.
| Year | Winner | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 [4] | boop. | Scott Brady | Smirk & Laughter Games |
| 2022 [5] | Happy City | Toshiki Sato, Airu Sato | Gamewright |
| 2021 [6] | Abandon All Artichokes | Emma Larkins | Gamewright |
| 2020 [7] | Draftosaurus | Antoine Bauza, Corentin Lebrat, Ludovic Maublanc, Théo Rivière | Ankama |
| 2019 [8] | Catch the Moon | Fabien Riffaud & Juan Rodriguez | Studio Bombyx |
Casual Games These are winners in the Casual Games category, a category intended for gamers of all experience levels.
| Year | Winner | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 [9] | Turing Machine | Fabien Gridel, Yoann Levet | Le Scorpion Masqué |
| 2022 [10] | Cubitos | John D. Clair | Alderac Entertainment Group |
| 2021 [11] | The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine | Thomas Sing | KOSMOS |
| 2020 [12] | ShipShape | Rob Daviau | Calliope Games |
| 2019 [13] | The Quacks of Quedlinburg | Wolfgang Warsch | North Star Games |
Strategy Games These are winners in the Strategy Games category, a category for games that have additional "complexity, planning requirements, and duration" [14] compared to Casual Games.
| Year | Winner | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 [15] | Planet Unknown | Ryan Lambert, Adam Rehberg | Adam’s Apple Games, LLC |
| 2022 [16] | Cascadia | Randy Flynn | Flatout Games, Alderac Entertainment Group |
| 2021 [17] | Calico | Kevin Russ | Flatout Games |
| 2020 [18] | Wingspan | Elizabeth Hargrave | Stonemaier Games |
| 2019 [19] | Chronicles of Crime | David Cicurel | Lucky Duck Games |
Complex Games These are winners in the Complex Games category, a category intended for "longer-form games that typically appeal to more experienced players". [20]
| Year | Winner | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 [21] | Carnegie | Xavier Georges | Pegasus Spiele |
| 2022 [22] | Lost Ruins of Arnak | Elwen, Mín | Czech Games Edition |
| 2021 [23] | Dominations: Road to Civilization | Éric Dubus, Olivier Melison | Holy Grail Games |
| 2020 [24] | The Taverns of Tiefenthal | Wolfgang Warsch | North Star Games |
| 2019 [25] | Root | Cole Wehrle | Leder Games |
These are winners of the As d'Or Award, which is awarded to the best board game of the year submitted at the Cannes International Game Festival.
| Year | Category | Winner | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année | Akropolis [26] | Jules Messaud | Gigamic |
| 2022 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année | 7 Wonders: Architects | Antoine Bauza | Repos Production |
| 2021 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année | MicroMacro: Crime City [26] | Johannes Sich | Edition Spielwiese |
| 2020 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année | Oriflamme [26] | Adrien Hesling, Axel Hesling | Studio H |
| 2019 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année | The Mind [26] [27] [28] [29] | Wolfgang Warsch | Oya |
| 2018 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année | Azul [26] [30] | Michael Kiesling | Plan B Games |
| 2017 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année | Unlock! [26] [31] | Cyril Demaegd et Thomas Cauët et Alice Carroll | Space Cowboys |
| 2016 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année | Mysterium [26] [32] | Oleg Sidorenko et Oleksandr Nevskiy | Libellud |
| 2015 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année | Colt Express [26] [33] | Christophe Raimbault | Ludonaute |
| 2015 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année Grand Prix | Five Tribes [26] [34] | Bruno Cathala | Days of Wonder |
| 2015 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année Enfant | La Chasse aux Gigamons [26] [34] | Karim Aouidad, Johann Roussel | Elemon Games |
| 2015 | As d'Or Jeu de l'année Prix du Jury | Loony Quest [26] [34] | Laurent Escoffier, David Franck | Libellud |
These are winners of the Board Game Quest Game of the Year Award. This award is presented by the Board Game Quest editorial team, a United States-based board game media outlet, to the best board game of the year.
| Year | Winner | Designer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Foundations of Rome [35] | Emerson Matsuuchi | Arcane Wonders |
| 2021 | Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile [36] | Cole Wehrle | Leder games |
| 2020 | Lost Ruins of Arnak [37] | Elwen and Mín | Czech Games Edition |
| 2019 | Wingspan [38] | Elizabeth Hargrave | Stonemaier Games |
| 2018 | Root [39] | Cole Wehrle | Leder Games |
| 2017 | Clans of Caledonia [40] | Juma Al-JouJou | Karma Games |
| 2016 | Terraforming Mars [41] | Jacob Fryxelius | Stronghold Games |
| 2015 | Pandemic Legacy [42] | Rob Daviau, Matt Leacock | Z-Man Games |
| 2014 | Five Tribes [43] | Bruno Cathala | Days of Wonder |
| 2013 | Nations [44] | Rustan Håkansson, Nina Håkansson, Einar Rosén, Robert Rosén | Lautapelit.fi |
The Deutscher Spiele Preis (German for "German Game Prize") is a prestigious award for board games started in 1990 by the German magazine Die Pöppel-Revue, which collects votes from the industry's stores, magazines, professionals and game clubs. The results are announced every October at the Spiel game fair in Essen, Germany. The Essen Feather is awarded at the same ceremony.
| Year | Winner | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Ark Nova [45] | Mathias Wigge | Feuerland Spiele [ de] Campstone Games |
| 2021 | Lost Ruins Of Arnak [45] | Mín & Elwen | Czech Games Edition |
| 2020 | The Crew [45] | Thomas Sing | Kosmos |
| 2019 | Wingspan [46] [47] | Elizabeth Hargrave | Stonemaier Games |
| 2018 | Azul | Michael Kiesling | Plan B Games |
| 2017 | Terraforming Mars | Jacob Fryxelius | Stronghold Games |
| 2016 | Mombasa | Alexander Pfister | |
| 2015 | The Voyages of Marco Polo | Simone Luciani, Daniele Tascini | Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH |
| 2014 | Russian Railroads | Helmut Ohley, Leonhard "Lonny" Orgler | Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH |
| 2013 | Terra Mystica | Jens Drögemüller, Helge Ostertag | Feuerland Spiele |
| 2012 | Village | Inka Brand, Markus Brand | Pegasus Spiele |
| 2011 | 7 Wonders [45] | Antoine Bauza | Repos Production |
| 2010 | Fresco | Marcel Süßelbeck, Marco Ruskowski, Wolfgang Panning | Queen Games |
| 2009 | Dominion | Donald X. Vaccarino | Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH |
| 2008 | Agricola | Uwe Rosenberg | Lookout Games |
| 2007 | The Pillars of the Earth | Michael Rieneck, Stefan Stadler | Kosmos |
| 2006 | Caylus | William Attia | Ystari Games |
| 2005 | Louis XIV | Rüdiger Dorn | Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH |
| 2004 | Saint Petersburg | Bernd Brunnhofer | Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH |
| 2003 | Amun-Re | Reiner Knizia | Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH |
| 2002 | Puerto Rico | Andreas Seyfarth | Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH |
| 2001 | Carcassonne | Klaus-Jürgen Wrede | Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH |
| 2000 | Taj Mahal | Reiner Knizia | alea |
| 1999 | Tikal | Michael Kiesling, Wolfgang Kramer | Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH |
| 1998 | Tigris and Euphrates | Reiner Knizia | Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH |
| 1997 | Löwenherz | Klaus Teuber | Goldsieber Spiele |
| 1996 | El Grande | Richard Ulrich, Wolfgang Kramer | Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH |
| 1995 | The Settlers of Catan | Klaus Teuber | Franckh |
| 1994 | 6 nimmt! | Wolfgang Kramer | AMIGO Spiel + Freizeit GmbH |
| 1993 | Modern Art | Reiner Knizia | Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH |
| 1992 | Flying Dutchman | Klaus Teuber | Parker Brothers |
| 1991 | Master Labyrinth | Max J. Kobbert | Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH |
| 1990 | Hoity Toity | Klaus Teuber | F.X. Schmid |
These are winners of the Diamond Climber Awards, awarded to the best board games of the year by Meeple Mountain, a United States-based board game media outlet. Even though the nominees of 2021 were revealed they haven't announced the winner. No 2022 nominees were given [48]
The Dice Tower (a website, podcast and video network founded by Tom Vasel) has been announcing awards since 2007. [50]
The annual ENnie Awards (previously known as the Gen Con EN World RPG Awards) are annual, fan-based awards for role-playing game products and publishers hosted at Gen Con in Indianapolis, Indiana. The name of the award is derived from the EN World website that hosted the awards from their inception in 2001 until 2018, and retains the name, although is no longer part of EN World. [51] The ENnies were created by Russ Morrissey and Eric Noah and were run and owned by Morrissey until 2018. [52]
These are winners of the Jogo do Ano, awarded to the best board games of the year submitted to Spiel Portugal. [53]
| Year | Winner | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Carnegie [53] | Xavier Georges | Quined Games |
| 2022 | Imperial Steam | Alexander Huemer | Capstone Games |
| 2021 | Imperial Struggle | Ananda Gupta, Jason Matthews | GMT Game |
| 2020 | Barrage | Tommaso Battista, Simone Luciani | Cranio Creations |
| 2019 | Root | Cole Wehrle | Leder Games |
| 2018 | Lisboa | Vital Lacerda | Eagle-Gryphon Games |
| 2017 | Great Western Trail | Alexander Pfister | Stronghold Games |
| 2016 | Mombasa | Alexander Pfister | eggertspiele & Pegasus Spiele |
| 2015 | La Granja | Michael Keller and Andreas Odendahl | Spielworxx |
| 2014 | Nations | Rustan Håkansson, Nina Håkansson, Einar Rosén and Robert Rosén | Lautapelit.fi |
| 2012 | Keyflower | Sebastian Bleasdale and Richard Breese | R&D Games |
| 2011 | Ora et Labora | Uwe Rosenberg | Lookout Games |
| 2010 | Troyes | Sébastien Dujardin, Xavier Georges and Alain Orban | Z-Man Games |
| 2009 | Maria | Richard Sivél | Histogame |
| 2008 | Agricola | Uwe Rosenberg | Lookout Games |
| 2007 | Brass | Martin Wallace | Eagle-Gryphon Games |
| 2006 | Imperial | Mac Gerdts | eggertspiele |
The winners of Games magazine's Game of the Year award are chosen by Games editors. [54]
| Year | Game of the Year | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Garden Dice/The Card Expansion | Doug Bass | Meridae Games |
| 2013 | Trajan | Stefan Feld | Ammonit Spiele |
| 2012 | Tikal II: The Lost Temple | Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling | Asmodée Editions |
| 2011 | Jump Gate | Matt Worden | Matt Worden Games |
| 2010 | Small World | Philippe Keyaerts | Days of Wonder |
| 2009 | Tzaar | Kris Burm | Rio Grande Games |
| 2008 | Pillars of the Earth | Michael Rieneck and Stefan Stadler | Mayfair Games |
| 2007 [55] | Vegas Showdown | Henry Stern | Avalon Hill |
| 2006 [56] | Australia | Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling | Rio Grande Games |
| 2005 [57] | BuyWord | Sid Sackson | Face2Face Games |
| 2004 [58] | New England | Alan Moon and Aaron Weissblum | Überplay |
| 2003 [59] | DVONN | Kris Burm | Rio Grande Games |
| 2002 | Evo | Philippe Keyaerts | Eurogames-Descartes USA |
| 2001 | Aladdin's Dragons | Richard Breese | Rio Grande Games |
| 2000 [60] | Torres | Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling | Rio Grande Games |
| 1999 [61] | Fossil | Klaus Palesch | Rio Grande Games |
| 1998 [61] | Quoridor | Mirko Marchesi | Great American Trading Co. |
| 1997 [62] | 25 Words or Less | Bruce Sterten | Winning Moves |
| 1995 [63] | Sharp Shooters | Jeffrey Breslow, Howard J. Morrison, Rouben Terzian | Milton Bradley |
| 1994 [63] | Myst | Robyn Miller and Rand Miller |Broderbund | University Games |
| 1993 [63] | Inklings | Mattel | |
| 1992 [63] | Pipeline | Ryan Courtney | Playco Hawaii |
| 1991 [63] | Trumpet | Phil Orbanes Sr. | International Games |
After the 2019 Golden Geek Awards, it was decided to replace "Board Game of the Year", "Best Strategy Board Game" and "Best Family Board Game" with "Light Game of the Year", "Medium Game of the Year" and "Heavy Game of the Year". Splitting it into 3 different categories. [64] [65]
| Year | Light | Medium | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Cat in the Box: Deluxe Edition | Heat: Pedal to the Metal | Carnegie |
| 2021 | Cascadia | The Crew: Mission Deep Sea | Ark Nova |
| 2020 | MicroMacro: Crime City | Lost Ruins of Arnak | Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion |
The BoardGameGeek Golden Geek Award was originally presented at the BGG.CON event in November, but is currently announced annually in March. The winners of the Golden Geek are selected by the nomination and voting of the user community of BoardGameGeek.com website. [66]
| Year | Winner | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Wingspan [67] | Elizabeth Hargrave | Stonemaier Games |
| 2018 | Root | Cole Wehrle | Leder Games |
| 2017 | Gloomhaven | Isaac Childres | Cephalofair Games |
| 2016 | Scythe | Jamey Stegmaier | Stonemaier Games |
| 2015 | Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 | Matt Leacock, Rob Daviau | Z-Man Games |
| 2014 | Splendor | Marc André | Space Cowboys |
| 2013 | Terra Mystica | Helge Ostertag, Jens Drögemüller | Feuerland Spiele |
| 2012 | Eclipse | Touko Tahkokallio | Lautapelit.fi |
| 2011 | Dominant Species | Chad Jensen | GMT Games |
| 2010 | Hansa Teutonica | Andreas Steding | Argentum Verlag |
| 2009 | Dominion | Donald X. Vaccarino | Rio Grande Games |
| 2008 | Agricola | Uwe Rosenberg | Lookout Games |
| 2007 | Shogun | Dirk Henn | Queen Games |
| 2006 | Caylus | William Attia | Ẏstari Games |
Gra Roku is a Polish award (the name of the award literary means "Game of the Year" in Polish) awarded since 2004 by the Gry-Planszowe.pl portal. [68]
Each year a list of around fifty “expert” management games known as eurogames, chosen and tested by a large number of pre-selectors, brings out eight games among which the Golden Diamond jury establishes a ranking and devotes the prize to the best game of the year category expert to their favorite. [69]
| Year | Diamant d'or | Diamant d'argent | Diamant de bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Ark Nova | Coffee Traders | Imperial Steam |
| 2021 | Beyond the Sun | Praga Caput Regni | Bonfire |
| 2020 | Crystal Palace | On Mars | Barrage |
| 2019 | Underwater Cities | Newton | Prehistory |
| 2018 | Project Gaia | Lisboa | Spirit Island |
| 2017 | Great Western Trail | Terraforming Mars | Yokohama |
| 2015/16 | Mombasa | Tuscany | The Gallerist |
These are the winners of Mensa Select Award, for the five best board games of the year submitted to Mensa Mind Games.
| Year | Winner | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Trekking Through History [70] | Charlie Bink | Underdog Games |
| 2023 | Mille Fiori | Reiner Knizia | Devir Games |
| 2023 | Gartenbau | David Abelson, Alex Johns | 25th Century Games |
| 2023 | Akropolis | Jules Messaud | Hachette Boardgames |
| 2023 | boop | Scott Brady | Smirk & Dagger Games |
| 2022 | Atheneum: Mystic Library [71] | L'Atelier | Renegade Game Studios |
| 2022 | Genotype: A Mendelian Genetics Game | John Coveyou, Paul Salomon, Ian Zang | Genius Games LLC |
| 2022 | Life of a Chameleon | Nathan Jenne, Jake Jenne | Last Night Games |
| 2022 | Miyabi | Michael Kiesling | HABA |
| 2022 | Shifting Stones | J. Evan Raitt | Gamewright |
| 2021 | Bermuda Pirates [72] | Jeppe Norsker | FoxMind Games |
| 2021 | ClipCut Parks | Shaun Graham, Scott Huntington | Renegade Game Studios |
| 2021 | Gates of Delirium | Jordan Goddard, Mandy Goddard | Renegade Game Studios |
| 2021 | Gridopolis | Gridopolis Games | |
| 2021 | Ishtar: Gardens of Babylon | Bruno Cathala, Evan Singh | IELLO USA |
| 2021 | Kodama 3D | Daryl Andrews, Erica Bouyouris | Indie Boards and Cards |
| 2021 | Mental Blocks | Jonathan Gilmour, Micah Sawyer | Pandasaurus Games |
| 2021 | Stripes | Maxine Ekl | Breaking Games |
| 2021 | Village Pillage | Peter C. Hayward, Tom Lang | Jellybean Games |
| 2021 | WHO KNOWS WHO | Digby Doo | |
| 2019 | Architects of the West Kingdom [73] | Shem Phillips, S J Macdonald | Renegade Game Studios |
| 2019 | Gizmos [73] | Phil Walker-Harding | CMON |
| 2019 | Gunkimono [73] | Jeffrey D. Allers | Renegade Game Studios |
| 2019 | Planet [73] | Urtis Šulinskas | Blue Orange Games |
| 2019 | Victorian Masterminds [73] | Antoine Bauza, Eric M. Lang | CMON |
| 2015 | Trekking the National Parks | Charlie Bink | Bink Inc LLC |
| 2015 | Letter Tycoon | Brad Brooks | Breaking Games |
| 2015 | Lanterns: The Harvest Festival | Christopher Chung | Renegade Game Studio |
| 2015 | Dragonwood :A Game of Dice & Daring | Darren Kisgen | Gamewright Inc. |
| 2015 | Castles of Mad King Ludwig | Ted Alspach | Bezier Games |
| 2014 | Euphoria | Jamie Stegmaier | Stonemaier Games |
| 2014 | Gravwell: Escape from the 9th Dimension | Corey Young | Cryptozoic Entertainment |
| 2014 | Pyramix | Tim Roediger | Gamewright |
| 2014 | Qwixx | Steffen Benndorf | Gamewright |
| 2014 | The Duke | Jeremy Holcomb | Catalyst Game Labs |
| 2013 | Forbidden Desert | Matt Leacock | Gamewright |
| 2013 | Ghooost! | Richard Garfield | Iello |
| 2013 | Kerflip | Damon Tabb | Creative Foundry Games |
| 2013 | Kulami | Andreas Kuhnekath | Foxmind Games |
| 2013 | Suburbia | Ted Alspach | Bezier Games |
| 2012 | Coerceo | Erik Gortzen | Coerceo Company |
| 2012 | Iota | Gene Mackles | Iota |
| 2012 | Mine Shift | John Forte, Jr | Mindware |
| 2012 | Snake Oil | Jeff Ochs | Snake Oil, LLC |
| 2012 | Tetris Link | (uncredited) | TechnoSource |
| 2011 | Instructures | Jane Mathews | Jane's Games |
| 2011 | Pastiche | Sean D MacDonald | Gryphon Games |
| 2011 | Pirate vs Pirate | Max Winter Osterhaus | Out of the Box |
| 2011 | Stomple | Greg Zima | GaZima Games |
| 2011 | Uncle Chestnut's Table Gype | Paul E Nowak and Christopher Nowak | Eternal Revolution |
| 2010 | Anomia | Andrew Innes | Anomia Press |
| 2010 | Dizios | Nicholas Cravotta | MindWare |
| 2010 | Forbidden Island | Matt Leacock | Gamewright |
| 2010 | Word on the Street | Jack Degnan | Out of the Box |
| 2010 | Yikerz! | (uncredited) | Wiggles 3D Incorporated |
| 2009 | Cornerstone | Matt Mette | Good Company Games |
| 2009 | Dominion | Donald X. Vaccarino | Rio Grande Games |
| 2009 | Marrakech | Dominique Ehrhard | Fundex |
| 2009 | Stratum | Jose' L Navas | Family Games America, Inc |
| 2009 | Tic-Tac-Ku | Mark Asperheim and Cris Van Oosterum | Mad Cave Bird Games |
| 2008 | AmuseAmaze | Ethan Goffman | HL Games |
| 2008 | Eye Know | Paul Berton and George Sinclair | Wiggles 3D Inc |
| 2008 | Jumbulaya | Julie Archer and Karl Archer | Platypus Games |
| 2008 | Pixel | Ariel Laden | Educational Insights |
| 2008 | Tiki Topple | Keith Meyers | Gamewright |
| 2007 | Gemlok | Donald Meyer | Pywacket Games |
| 2007 | Gheos | Rene' Wiersma | Z-Man Games |
| 2007 | Hit or Miss | Garrett J. Donner, Brian S. Spence, and Michael S. Steer | Gamewright |
| 2007 | Qwirkle | Susan McKinley Ross | MindWare |
| 2007 | Skullduggery | K. Allegra Vernon | Outset Media Games |
| 2006 | Deflexion (aka Khet) | Luke Hooper, Michael Larson, and Del Segura | Deflexion |
| 2006 | Hive | John Yianni | Smart Zone Games |
| 2006 | Keesdrow | Donald Meyer | Pywacket |
| 2006 | Pentago | Tomas Floden | Mindtwister USA |
| 2006 | Wits & Wagers | Dominic Crapuchettes | North Star Games |
| 2005 | DaVinci's Challenge | Paul Micarelli | Briarpatch |
| 2005 | Ingenious | Reiner Knizia | Fantasy Flight Games |
| 2005 | Loot | Reiner Knizia | Gamewright |
| 2005 | Niagara | Thomas Liesching | Rio Grande Games |
| 2005 | Zendo | Kory Heath | Looney Labs |
| 2004 | 10 Days in Africa/USA | Alan Moon and Aaron Weissblum | Out of the Box |
| 2004 | Basari | Reinhard Staupe | Out of the Box |
| 2004 | The Bridges of Shangri-La | Leo Colovini | Uberplay Entertainment |
| 2004 | Rumis | Stefan Kogl | Educational Insights |
| 2004 | Yinsh | Kris Burm | Rio Grande Games |
| 2003 | Blokus | Bernard Tavitian | Educational Insights |
| 2003 | Cityscape | Sjaak Griffioen | Out of the Box |
| 2003 | Fire & Ice | Jens-Peter Schliemann | Out of the Box |
| 2003 | Octiles | Dale Walton | Out of the Box |
| 2003 | TransAmerica | Franz-Benno Delonge | Rio Grande Games |
| 2002 | Curses! | Brian Tinsman | Play All Day Games |
| 2002 | Dvonn | Kris Burm | Rio Grande Games |
| 2002 | The Legend of Landlock | Edith Schlichting | Gamewright |
| 2002 | Muggins! | (uncredited) | Muggins Math |
| 2002 | Smart Mouth | Theo Coster, Ora Coster, and Theora Design | Binary Arts |
| 2001 | Brainstrain | DJ Calhoun | Chuckle Games Company |
| 2001 | Dao | Jeff Pickering and Ben VanBuskirk | Playdao.com |
| 2001 | Metro | Dirk Henn | Queen Games |
| 2001 | Shapes Up! | (uncredited) | Educational Insights |
| 2001 | The Poll Game | Eric Martin and Jeff Snow | Thepollgame, LLC |
| 2000 | 3 Stones | Andy Daniel | Enginuity Games |
| 2000 | Finish Lines | Joan Moravick | Games For All Reasons |
| 2000 | Imaginiff | Jack Lawson and Andrew Lawson | Buffalo Games |
| 2000 | Time's Up! | Peter Sarrett | R&R Games |
| 2000 | Zertz | Kris Burm | Schmidt International/Rio Grande Games |
| 1999 | Apples to Apples | Matthew Kirby | Out of the Box |
| 1999 | Bollox (Bōku) | Rob Nelson | Cadaco |
| 1999 | Doubles Wild | Andy Daniel | Enginuity Games |
| 1999 | Fluxx | Andrew Looney | Looney Labs |
| 1999 | Quiddler | Marsha Falco | Set Enterprises |
| 1998 | Avalam | Philippe Deweys | Great American Trading Company |
| 1998 | Cube Checkers | Gillespie and Rolling | DCP Limited |
| 1998 | Kram | Mark Blazczyk | Du Botting Originals |
| 1998 | Spy Alley | William Stephenson | Spy Alley Partners |
| 1998 | Wadjet | Dee Pomerleau | Timbuk II |
| 1997 | Hattrick! | Björn Holmér | US Games Systems |
| 1997 | Quoridor | Mirko Marchesi | Great American Trading Company |
| 1997 | Rush Hour | Nob Yoshigahara | Think Fun (Binary Arts) |
| 1997 | Sagarian | Jason Yearout | Sagarian |
| 1997 | Stops | Don Kimball | Stops |
| 1996 | Pirateer | Scott Peterson | Mendocino Game Company |
| 1996 | Quadwrangle | Maureen Hiron | Great American Trading Company |
| 1996 | Rat-a-Tat Cat | Ann and Monty Stambler | Gamewright |
| 1996 | 6 nimmt! | Wolfgang Kramer | US Games Systems |
| 1996 | Touche' | Wayne Bobette | Wayne Bobette Enterprises |
| 1995 | Continuo | Maureen Hiron | US Games Systems |
| 1995 | Duo | Maureen Hiron | US Games Systems |
| 1995 | Quixo | Thierry Chapeau | Great American Trading Company |
| 1995 | The Great Dalmuti | Richard Garfield | Wizards of the Coast |
| 1995 | Word Spin Scramble | Geospace Products Co, Inc | |
| 1994 | Char | Frank Bechter | Bechter Productions, Inc. |
| 1994 | Chung Toi | W. Reginald Chung | House of Chung Enterprises |
| 1994 | Down Fall | Western Publishing, Inc. | |
| 1994 | Magic: The Gathering | Richard Garfield | Wizards of the Coast |
| 1994 | Pyraos (aka Pylos) | David G. Royffe | Great American Trading Co. |
| 1993 | Farook | Stewart M. Lamle | Amuse, Inc. |
| 1993 | Inklings | Mattel | |
| 1993 | Overturn | Ron and Pat Dubren | Pressman |
| 1993 | Quadrature | Mark Steere | Mark Steere Games |
| 1993 | Quarto! | Blaise Muller | Gigamic |
| 1992 | Kinesis | Adam Byer | Cherry Street Games |
| 1992 | Q4 | Abalone Games Corp | |
| 1992 | Terrace | Anton Dresden | Siler/Siler Ventures |
| 1992 | Traverse | Michael Kuby, John Miller | Educational Insights |
| 1992 | Why Not? | Herman Erikson | Our Game Company |
| 1991 | Clue: The Great Museum Caper | John Labelle, Thomas and Dave Rabideau | Parker Brothers |
| 1991 | Lapis | Suzanne Gautier | Pango, Inc |
| 1991 | Master Labyrinth | Max J. Kobbert | International Playthings |
| 1991 | Pyramis | Murray J. Gould, James R. Longacre | Abalone Games Corp |
| 1991 | Set | Marsha J. Falco | Set Enterprises |
| 1990 | Abalone | Michael Lalet, Laurent Levi | Abalone Games Corp |
| 1990 | Scattergories | Milton Bradley | |
| 1990 | Taboo | Brian Hersch | Milton Bradley |
| 1990 | TriBond | Ed Muccini, Tim Walsh, Dave Yearick | Big Fun A Go-Go |
| 1990 | Trivial Pursuit: Genus Edition | Scott Abbot, Chris Haney | Parker Brothers |
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year; for example, the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins. Categories for the Origins award can vary from year to year, and there is not a "Game of the Year" per se.
The Origins Award is commonly referred to as a Calliope, as the statuette is in the likeness of the muse of the same name. Academy members frequently shorten this name to "Callie".
This award is for Game of the Year in Spain, "Premio al Juego de mesa del año" (Premio JdA), by an independent jury of game industry representatives.
| Year | Winner | Designer | Spanish publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | SCOUT | Kei Kajino (梶野 桂) | Gen X Games |
| 2022 | Hibachi | Marco Teubner | Arrakis Games |
| 2021 | Kingdom Builder | Donald X. Vaccarino | Devir |
| 2020 | La Tripulación | Thomas Sing | Devir |
| 2019 | El Dorado | Reiner Knizia | Ravensburger |
| 2018 | Azul | Michael Kiesling | Plan B - Asmodee |
| 2017 | Dice Forge | Régis Bonnessée | Morapiaf |
| 2016 | Pandemic Legacy | Rob Daviau & MAt Leaock | Devir |
| 2015 | Colt Express | Christophe Raimbault | Ludonaute - Asmodee |
| 2014 | Jaipur | Sébastien Pauchon | GameWorks - Asmodee |
| 2013 | Las Leyendas de Andor | Michael Menzel | Devir |
| 2012 | Santiago de Cuba | Michael Rienack | Ludonova |
| 2011 | La Isla Prohibida | Matt Laacock | Devir |
| 2010 | Fauna | Friedemann Friese | Homoludicus |
| 2009 | Dixit | Jean-Ñouis Roubira | Morapiaf |
| 2008 | Agricola | Uwe Rosenberg | Homoludicus |
| 2007 | Los pilares de la Tierra | Michael Rieneck & Stefan Stadler | Devir |
| 2006 | Exploradores | Reiner Knizia | Devir |
| 2005 | ¡Aventureros al tren! | Alan R. Moon | Edge Entertainment |
These games are winners of the Spiel des Jahres, a German board game award widely considered the most prestigious in the industry.
These are winners of Kennerspiel des Jahres, an expansion of the German Spiel des Jahres board game award starting in 2011. It translates to "connoisseur/expert game of the year" and is meant for more experienced gamers.
| Year | Winner | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Challengers! [74] | Johannes Krenner, Markus Slawitscheck | 1 More Time Games, Z-Man Games |
| 2022 | Living Forest | Aske Christiansen | Pegasus Spiele, Ludonaute |
| 2021 | Paleo | Peter Rustemeyer | Hans im Glück |
| 2019 | Wingspan [79] [78] | Elizabeth Hargrave | Stonemaier Games |
| 2018 | Die Quacksalber von Quedlinburg | Wolfgang Warsch | Schmidt Spiele |
| 2017 | EXIT: The Game | Inka Brand and Markus Brand | Kosmos |
| 2016 | Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King | Andreas Pelikan and Alexander Pfister | Mayfair Games |
| 2015 | Broom Service | Andreas Pelikan and Alexander Pfister | alea, Ravensburger |
| 2014 | Istanbul | Rüdiger Dorn | Pegasus Spiele |
| 2013 | Legends of Andor | Michael Menzel | Fantasy Flight Games |
| 2012 | Village | Inka Brand and Markus Brand | Pegasus Spiele |
| 2011 | 7 Wonders | Antoine Bauza | Repos Production |
The Kinderspiel des Jahres is awarded annually to the best children's game by a jury of German game critics. This award is to children's games what the Spiel des Jahres is to family games.
2001 was the first year that the Kinderspiel des Jahres was officially awarded. Prior to that year, it was a subcategory of the Spiel des Jahres awards known as the Sonderpreis "Kinderspiel" ("Special Prize for Best Children's Game"). Since the intent behind both awards is the same, it is customary to refer to the 1989–2000 Sonderpreis winners as having won the Kinderspiel des Jahres.
| Year | Winner | Designer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Mysterium Kids | Antonin Boccara, Yves Hirschfeld | Libellud, Space Cow |
| 2022 | Magic Mountain | Jens-Peter Schliemann, Bernhard Weber | Amigo |
| 2021 | Dragomino | Bruno Cathala, Marie Fort, Wilfried Fort | Pegasus games |
| 2020 | Speedy Roll | Urtis Silinskas | Piatnik |
| 2019 | Valley of the Vikings [80] [78] | Marie and Wilfried Fort | Haba |
| 2018 | Funkelschatz | Lena und Günter Burkhardt | Haba |
| 2017 | Ice Cool | Brian Gomez | Brain Games |
| 2016 | My First Stone Age | Marco Teubner | -- |
| 2015 | Spinderella | Roberto Fraga | -- |
| 2014 | Geister, Geister, Schatzsuchmeister! | Brian Yu | -- |
| 2013 | Der verzauberte Turm | Inka Brand and Markus Brand | -- |
| 2012 | Schnappt Hubi! | Steffen Bogen | -- |
| 2011 | Da ist der Wurm drin | Carmen Kleinert | -- |
| 2010 | Diego Drachenzahn | Manfred Ludwig | -- |
| 2009 | Das magische Labyrinth | Dirk Baumann | -- |
| 2008 | Wer war's? | Reiner Knizia | -- |
| 2007 | Beppo der Bock | Klaus Zoch and Peter Schackert | -- |
| 2006 | Der schwarze Pirat | Guido Hoffmann | -- |
| 2005 | Das Kleine Gespenst | Kai Haferkamp | -- |
| 2004 | Spooky Stairs | Michelle Schanen | -- |
| 2003 | Viva Topo! | Manfred Ludwig | -- |
| 2002 | Maskenball der Käfer | Peter-Paul Joopen | -- |
| 2001 | Klondike | Stefanie Rohner and Christian Wolf | -- |
| 2000 | Arbos | Martin Arnold and Armin Müller | -- |
| 1999 | Kayanak | Peter-Paul Joopen | -- |
| 1998 | Chicken Cha Cha Cha | Klaus Zoch | -- |
| 1997 | Leinen los! | Alex Randolph | -- |
| 1996 | Vier zu mir! | Heike Baum | -- |
| 1995 | Karambolage | Heinz Meister | -- |
| 1994 | Loopin' Louie | Carol Wiseley | -- |
| 1993 | Ringel-Rangel | Geni Wyss | -- |
| 1992 | Galloping Pigs | Heinz Meister | -- |
| 1991 | Piraten-Abenteuer | Wolfgang Kramer | -- |
| 1990 | My Haunted Castle | Virginia Charves | -- |
| 1989 | Gute Freunde | Alex Randolph | -- |
The Spiel des Jahres is an award for board and card games, created in 1978 with the purpose of rewarding family-friendly game design, and promoting excellent games in the German market. It is thought that the existence and popularity of the award was one of the major drivers of the quality of games coming out of Germany, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. A Spiel des Jahres nomination can increase the typical sales of a game from 500–3,000 copies to around 10,000, and the winner can usually expect to sell as many as 500,000 copies.
Klaus Teuber was a German board game designer best known as the creator of Catan. Originally working as a dental technician, he began designing games first as a hobby then as a full-time career.
Reiner Knizia is a prolific German-style board game designer. He was born in West Germany in 1957 and earned a doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Ulm before designing games full time. He is frequently included on lists of the greatest game designers of all time. Many of his hundreds of designs are considered modern classics, and many have won or been nominated for significant gaming awards, including the Spiel des Jahres and the Deutscher Spiele Preis. His notable designs include Amun-Re, Blue Moon City, Ingenious, Keltis, Lord of the Rings, Medici, Modern Art, Ra, Taj Mahal, Tigris and Euphrates, and Through the Desert. Many of his designs incorporate mathematical principles, such as his repeated use of auction mechanics.
Quarto is a board game for two players invented by Swiss mathematician Blaise Müller. It is published and copyrighted by Gigamic.
Days of Wonder is a board game publisher founded in 2002 and owned by Asmodee Group since 2014. Days of Wonder distributes its games to 25 countries. It specializes in German-style board games and has branched out to include some online games. Days of Wonder has published games in several languages including English, Dutch, French, German, Russian, and Greek. Days of Wonder was co-founded by Eric Hautemont, Mark Kaufmann and Yann Corno.
Sleeping Queens is a children's card game invented by Miranda Evarts and first manufactured by Gamewright in 2005. Players play cards to awaken sleeping queens and to steal or put to sleep the awakened queens of their opponents.
Rüdiger Dorn is a German-style board game designer who is married and has three children. He lives in Pfofeld near Nuremberg.
Habermaaß GmbH is a German toy manufacturing company based in Bad Rodach, Bavaria. The company defines itself as an “Inventor for inquisitive minds”, offering a broad selection of products such as wooden and textile toys, home furnishings and accessories for babies and children. The company was owned and runed by Klaus Habermaaß and the managing director Harald Grosch.
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and tabletop role-playing games published in 2008. For video games, see 2008 in video gaming.
Marrakech is a board game designed by Dominique Ehrhard in which players are competing carpet traders in the city of Marrakech. It was first published in 2007. Its German edition has been renamed Suleika.
Concept is a deduction party board game released in 2013. The game was designed by Alain Rivollet and Gaëtan Beaujannot and published by Repos Production. It has collected multiple awards and nominations including the Jeu de l'Année prize in Cannes in 2014.
Blue Orange is a French board game company based in Pont-à-Mousson, France. The company is often called Blue Orange international or Blue Orange Europe and mistaken for Blue Orange Games.
Colt Express is a railway-themed family board game designed by Christophe Raimbault, Illustrated by Ian Parovel and Jordi Valbuena, published in 2014 by Ludonaute and distributed by Asmodee.
Kingdomino is a 2016 tile board game for 2-4 players designed by Bruno Cathala and published by Blue Orange Games. In this 15-20 minute, family-oriented game, players build a five by five kingdom of oversized domino-like tiles, making sure as they place each tile that one of its sides connects to a matching terrain type already in play. The game was critically successful and won the 2017 Spiel des Jahres award, and was followed by several spin-offs and expansions.
Azul is an abstract strategy board game designed by Michael Kiesling and released by Plan B Games in 2017. Based on Portuguese tiles called azulejos, in Azul players collect sets of similarly colored tiles which they place on their player board. When a row is filled, one of the tiles is moved into a square pattern on the right side of the player board, where it garners points depending on where it is placed in relation to other tiles on the board.
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and tabletop role-playing games published in 2019. For video games, see 2019 in video gaming.
Renegade Game Studios is an American game company based in Escondido, California that creates and publishes board games, card games and role-playing games. In 2020, they also began producing jigsaw puzzles using art from their games.
Cartographers is a roll and write board game designed by Jordy Adan and published in 2019 by Thunderworks Games. It is part of the Roll Player universe. In the game, players aim to draw terrains based on drawn cards that award points based on the relevant letter cards. The game received positive reviews, and was nominated for the Kennerspiel des Jahres, but lost to The Crew. It was also runner-up to Parks for the Best Family Game of the 2019 Board Game Quests Awards. An app for solitary play was released in 2020.
Dragomino is a children's tile-laying board game designed by Bruno Cathala, Marie Fort, and Wilfried Fort and published by Blue Orange Games. It is based on Kingdomino.
MicroMacro: Crime City is a cooperative tabletop crime-solving hidden object game designed by Johannes Sich and published in 2020 by Edition Spielwiese. The game received positive reviews and won the Spiel des Jahres in 2021. A sequel to the game, MicroMacro: Crime City – Full House was released in August 2021.