And The Winner is...

Few games win awards, but all of them offer great fun. And the “Game of the Year” awards ceremony provides thrills every year. The categorization of awards for families, children, and experienced players has proven effective, but the games aren’t always easy to categorize. The lines between them are sometimes blurred. This also applies to the title we’re focusing on here. 

In Rebirth by Frosted Games, Scotland is brought back to life. The land lies fallow, and its reconstruction involves building historic castles and traditional cathedrals. Because the game takes modernity into account, ecological and economic parks are also created. This is achieved through a simple tile-placement system in which players compete to build the largest landscape farms and construct historical sites in a timely manner. Mission cards introduce an element of chance as players must arrange specific objectives on the board. Once you’ve explored Scotland a few times, the board is flipped over and the game is played on an Ireland map. The gameplay here is more challenging. Extra bonus tiles are introduced. Most importantly, however, the mission cards are face-up, creating a race to claim these rewards. This is more strategic than the resettlement of Scotland.

Designer: Reiner Knizia, Illustrations: Anna Przybylska & Kate Redesiuk

Nominated for the Kennerspiel des Jahres award.

Games for the family, for everyone

Cozy Stickerville by Unex?ected Games, published by Asmodee, reimagines cooperative gameplay. A meadow landscape featuring a river and rocks must be populated. Players constantly make small decisions based on game cards or events described in a story booklet. New stickers are placed on the game board. This allows the group to decide whether to plant or cut down a tree. The tree yields apples for food or its trunk and branches for lumber. And so it goes. Trophies are awarded for achieving intermediate goals. Ultimately, the quality of the village’s development is determined over ten rounds. As the name suggests, the pace is relaxed and leisurely. Over 800 stickers are what make this game special. It’s very innovative. 

Author: Corey Konieczka, Graphic Design: InkVoltage

Nominated for Game of the Year.

Strohmann’s  Hot Streak is a crazy race with betting options. Mascots from major sports teams take the starting line: a hot dog, a deep-sea fish, a bear, and Queen Mum are all in the mix. The race has its own set of rules. Sometimes a contestant changes lanes, sometimes someone runs in the opposite direction, and a third stumbles and crawls toward—or away from—the finish line. The race is driven by cards. Everyone gets to tweak the deck a bit and, based on these changes, bet on potential winners. Unusual bets are also possible: Will someone be disqualified? Cheering creates a lively atmosphere. Without it, the race fizzles out. 
Author: Jon Perry, Illustrations: Cécile Gariépy

On the Game of the Year shortlist.

In Piatnik’s  The Hanging Gardens, players build pyramid-shaped facades. Everywhere, colorful flowers bloom, exotic trees thrive, and domesticated wild animals are on display. Decorations enhance the overall look. Each player acquires tiles from a shared supply. This is no trivial task, as the structure must be well-proportioned and feature numerous highlights. Some players display a lion, while others crown their building with a courtship-displaying peacock. Colorful flowering vines, exotic trees, and bubbling springs must be incorporated in a well-coordinated manner. Currency is scarce and should be invested wisely. To top it all off, there are royal objectives. Whoever fulfills certain requirements first earns bonus points. So there’s also a race for the king’s favor built into the game. All in all, a family game in the best sense of the word.

Authors: Grégory Grard & Matthieu Verdier, Illustrations: Miguel Coimbra

Ninja training with Master Makatsu from Amigo. Graduates must master timing and strategy while maintaining the highest level of concentration. Even the smallest mistakes are not forgiven, neither by opponents nor by the master himself. Each player has a set of ninja cards. You must use them to survive three rounds of play, or “years of training.” In each round, only one card is played per player during two placement rounds. These cards come in three colors with different values. Whoever has the highest-value card of a given color on the table receives penalty points. The twist is that a few cards remain in your hand and are saved for the showdown. These points add up, and in the end, it becomes clear who had the right instinct to hold onto good card values for the final battle. This game concept is unusual and innovative.

Authors: Reiner Kinizia, Illustrations: Sonja Müller

On the Game of the Year shortlist.

The communicative creative game Dito! from Game Factory is suitable for families with older children or even for groups consisting solely of adults. The goal is to make associations—and to do so in coordination with fellow players. A simple prompt is read aloud, and everyone writes down three terms on their own notepad that come to mind—preferably ones that others have also written down. There are no wrong or right answers, only appropriate ones. This type of game isn’t entirely new. What sets this one apart, however, is the scoring system, which adds a bit of strategy to the game. The spaces for writing down answers can earn bonus points if you’re strategic about what you write. On top of that, there are 200 categories—a colorful mix ranging from pop culture to classical music. The game is fun even with just three players, but the more people who join in, the more lively the game becomes. 
Authors: Martin Ang, Illustrations: UNTAI Studio

Nominated for Game of the Year

Children's Games for Little Ones and the Very Young

Pegasus’s  Boss Fighters QR features powerful enemies. The group of heroes must get past them. They can’t do it alone. But with good teamwork and strategic support, they can succeed. Unfortunately, the dungeon boss isn’t exactly dumb. He has some surprising tricks up his sleeve. Players must recognize these and counter them effectively. In this hybrid game, animated monsters appear on tablets or smartphones. The app tracks progress and scores. Players face the enemy using game cards and effective coordination. The cards are scanned via a QR code—it works brilliantly. That’s how the virtual monsters are defeated. A special appeal lies in the cunning of each of the ten opponents. They possess a specific combat ability that is initially unknown. Players must identify this ability and react accordingly. This may well be the most interesting form of a game to date that combines both worlds—digital and analog. 

Authors: Michael Palm & Lukas Zach, Illustrations: Bartomiej Kordowski & KRASS Kollektiv

Nominated for Game of the Year for Connoisseurs

In Artengarten by Feuerland, players build their zoos using every trick in the book. Their own open space is gradually filled with hexagonal tiles. The park isn’t just home to animals, but also buildings and projects. Added to this are the diverse synergy effects, all of which are thematically logical. When males and females of certain animal species are paired together, there are benefits. As a project, experts can work for your own zoo, providing support in subsequent turns when animals from the expert’s field of knowledge are selected. These are just two of numerous interdependencies. Then there is an extremely sophisticated turn mechanism in which one of four action tiles is selected; using it reduces its effectiveness, but boosts the others. Both mechanisms require not only tactical decision-making but also a significant amount of strategy. This makes the game a connoisseur’s game. 
Authors: Matthias Wigge, Illustrations: Felix Wermke

On the Connoisseur Game of the Year recommendation list.

The timeless story is brought to life once again in The Lord of the Rings: The Fate of the Fellowship by Z-Man Games, distributed by Asmodee. The One Ring must be destroyed in Mount Doom, in the heart of Mordor. This task falls solely to Frodo, accompanied by his faithful companion Sam. The hobbits set out from the Shire. They encounter elves, dwarves, men, and wizards. The journey is dangerous. Hordes of orcs swarm everywhere. The mighty Nazgûl threaten from the air, and the fiery eye of Sauron is ever-present. So far, so familiar from the books and films. Now there is an epic board game that brilliantly recreates the heroes’ quest, both visually and in terms of gameplay. Due to a complex mechanism in which the level of danger constantly rises, the adventure must be tackled cooperatively. Thanks to a wealth of new tasks and challenges, every game is different, but always offers the feeling of experiencing a satisfying adventure. 
Authors: Matt Leacock, Illustrationen: Cory Godbey, Jared Blando (Card)