Spiel De Jahres Nominees

The nominees for the Spiel De Jahres, Germany’s award for Family Game of the Year, have been announced. Many consider the Spiel De Jahres to be the most significant game award in the world.

The award was created in 1978 to reward excellence in game design, and to promote top-quality games in the German market. The award is given by a jury of German boardgame critics, who review games released in Germany in the preceding twelve months.

The games considered for the award are family-style games. Other games like war games; role-playing games; collectable card games; and other complicated, highly-competitive, or hobbyist games are outside the scope of the award. The committee awards a separate award for best children's game.

The criteria on which a game will be evaluated are, generally speaking: Game idea & originality; Rule structure & clarity; Presentation (art and parts); and Game mechanics.

All of the nominees this year are translated to English by a game maker called Rio Grande Games - so congratulations to them. All are currently available unless otherwise indicated.

The nominees for this year's Spiel De Jares are:

• Arkadia, $44.95, 2-4 players, Ages 10+, 45-60 minutes

• Jenseits von Theben, $44.95, 2-4 players, Ages 10+, 45-60 minutes, Available in July

• Thief of Bagdad, $34.95, 2-4 Players, Ages 8+, 60 minutes

• Yspahan, $49.95, 3-4 players, Ages 12 +, 90 minutes

• Zooloretto, $39.95, 2-5 players, Ages 8+, 45 minutes

Here's the Rio Grande Games page, if you'd like more information on these and other great Rio Grande games.