The Spiel des Jahres (, ''Game of the Year'') is an award for
board and
card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific.
Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ...
s, 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
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, 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.
Award criteria
The award is given by a jury of German-speaking
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a comp ...
critics from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland,
who review games released in Germany in the preceding twelve months. The games considered for the award are
family-style games.
War games
A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...
,
role-playing games
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
, collectible
card games
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific.
Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ...
, and other complicated, highly competitive, or hobbyist games are outside the scope of the award. Since 1989, there has been a separate award for
children's games
This is a list of games that used to be played by children, some of which are still being played today. Traditional children's games do not include commercial products such as board games but do include games which require props such as hopscotch ...
. The jury is not subject to public scrutiny and members of the public are not offered the opportunity to influence the voting.
On occasion, the jury has awarded a special prize for more complex games, such as
Agricola
Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to:
People Cognomen or given name
:''In chronological order''
* Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85)
* Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mi ...
in 2008 or
World Without End in 2010. Prior to 2011, this award was an exceptional award which was not necessarily awarded annually. In 2011, however, this practice was formalized when the jury created a new category for more complex games called Kennerspiel des Jahres. Along with the nominations, the jury also gives a list of recommended games, and occasionally gives out special prizes for games which will not be considered for the main award. The criteria on which a game is evaluated are:
# game concept (originality, playability, game value)
# rule structure (composition, clearness, comprehensibility)
# layout (box, board, rules),
# design (functionality, workmanship)
The jury does not release its scoring system or provide insight into how the categories are weighted.
Awards and nominees
1999 awards
2000 awards
2001 awards
2002 awards
2003 awards
2004 awards
2005 awards
The nominations for the 2005 award were announced on May 8, 2005, and the winner on June 27, 2005.
2006 awards
The nominations for the 2006 award were announced on May 28, 2006, and the winner on July 17, 2006.
Along with the nominations, the jury also assigned two special prizes for games which it felt were too demanding to count as 'family style' games.
*''Fantasy game:''
Shadows over Camelot –
Serge Laget and
Bruno Cathala,
Days of Wonder
Days of Wonder is a board game publisher founded in 2002 and owned by Asmodée Éditions, 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 includ ...
*''Complex game:''
Caylus –
William Attia
William is a male given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norm ...
,
Ẏstari Games
2007 awards
The nominations for the 2007 award were announced on May 20, 2007, and the winner on June 25, 2007.
2008 awards
The nominations for the 2008 award were announced on May 25, 2008, and the winner on June 30, 2008.
2009 awards
The nominations for the 2009 award were announced on May 24, 2009 and the winner on June 29, 2009.
2010 awards
The nominations for the 2010 award were announced on May 31, 2010, and the winner on June 28, 2010.
2011 awards
The nominations for the 2011 awards were announced on May 23, 2011, and the winners on June 27, 2011. This was the first year the
Connoisseur
A connoisseur (French traditional, pre-1835, spelling of , from Middle-French , then meaning 'to be acquainted with' or 'to know somebody/something') is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts; who is a keen appreciator o ...
-gamer Game of the Year award was given, an award for more complex games.
2012 awards
The nominations for the 2012 awards were announced on May 21, 2012, and the winners on July 9, 2012.
2013 awards
The nominations for the 2013 awards were announced on May 21, 2013, and the Spiel and Kennerspiel winners were announced on July 8, 2013. The Kinderspiel (Children's) Game of the Year was announced on June 12, 2013.
2014 awards
The nominations for the 2014 awards were announced on May 19, 2014. The Children's Game of the Year was announced on June 23, and the Game of the Year and Connoisseur's Game of the Year were announced on July 14.
2015 awards
The nominations for the 2015 awards were announced on May 18, 2015. The Kinderspiel des Jahres winner were announced on Monday, June 8, 2015, and the Spiel and Kennerspiel winners were announced on Monday, July 6, 2015.
2016 awards
The nominations for the 2016 awards were announced on May 23, 2016, and the winners on Monday July 18, 2016.
2017 awards
The nominations for the 2017 award were announced on May 22, 2017. The winner for Children's Game of the Year was announced on June 19, 2017. The winners for Game of the Year and Connoisseur-gamer Game of the Year were announced on July 17, 2017.
2018 awards
The nominations and the special prize for the 2018 award were announced on May 14, 2018. The winner for Children's Game of the Year was announced on June 11, 2018. The winners for Game of the Year and Connoisseur-gamer Game of the Year were announced on July 23, 2018.
2019 awards
The nominations for the 2019 award were announced on May 20, 2019. The winner for Children's Game of the Year was announced on June 24, 2019
2020 awards
The nominations for the 2020 award were announced on May 18, 2020. The award for Children's Game of the Year was announced on June 15, 2020. The winners were announced on July 20, 2020.
2021 awards
The nominations for the 2021 award were announced on May 18, 2021.
2022 awards
The nominations for the 2022 award were announced on May 23, 2022.
All winners
Game of the year
Connoisseurs' game of the year
Children's game of the year
Special awards
See also
*
Deutscher Spiele Preis
__NOTOC__
The Deutscher Spielepreis (, ''German Game Prize'') is an important award for boardgames. It was started in 1990 by the German magazine ''Die Pöppel-Revue'', which collects votes from the industry's stores, magazines, professionals ...
*
International Gamers Award
The International Gamers Awards is an award for strategy board games and historical simulation games.
Per their website, the IGAs ''were created to recognize outstanding games and designers, as well as the companies that publish them. The awards ...
*
As d'Or
*
Origins Award
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, so (for example) the 1979 aw ...
References
External links
Spiel des Jahresofficial website
*
{{Authority control
Game awards
Board game awards
German awards
Awards established in 1978
1978 establishments in West Germany