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Nomination Game of the Year 2020

Ramon Schneider
18.5.2020
Translation: machine translated

The "Game of the Year" is the Oscars for board games and the world's most important award for non-electronic games. The nominations for this year have now been announced.

For over 40 years, the association "Game of the Year e. V." has been honouring the best new board games. The nominations are announced in May and the winners are chosen in July. The award consists of three categories: Game of the Year, Connoisseur Game of the Year and Children's Game of the Year. Three new games, which must not be older than 12 months, are nominated in each of the three categories. The expert jury consists of 10 members who work as game critics for German media.

Game of the year

The following three games have been nominated for Game of the Year 2020:

My City

  • 3 - 4 players
  • From 10 years
  • approx. 30 minutes
Despite constant change, the laying game never loses its accessible core. Each new element fits organically into the game. The level of difficulty increases gently without overwhelming the players.
Jury Spiel des Jahres

Nova Luna

  • 1 - 4 players
  • From 8 years
  • approx. 30 minutes
The players ponder their tile displays in deep meditation. But what can be observed here harbours a highly stimulating intellectual challenge.
Jury Spiel des Jahres

Pictures

  • 3 - 5 players
  • From 8 years
  • approx. 30 minutes
Each set challenges the players in a different way, so the incentive to experiment is enormous. With great aha-moments and amusing attempts at justification by the misunderstood artistic genius. Great creativity with the simplest of means!
Jury Spiel des Jahres

Connoisseur game of the year

Expert games are aimed at more experienced board gamers. They are more complex and usually more time-consuming than conventional board games. The jury has nominated the following three games for this year's award:

The Cartographer

  • 1 - 8 players
  • From 10 years
  • 30 to 45 minutes
Pegasus The Cartographer (German)
Card games
EUR24,99

Pegasus The Cartographer

German

In its structure, «The Cartographer» is completely clear, but leaves room for different game tactics. The varied combinations of royal commissions are a constant challenge.
Jury Kennerspiel des Jahres

The crew

  • 3 - 5 players
  • From 10 years
  • approx. 20 minutes
Hardly any game before has been able to capture the special charm of trick-taking games so succinctly. The senses are casually sharpened for the subtleties of this genre and players are challenged in an original way at the same time. «The» crew is both missionary and mentor. A truly great journey!
Jury Kennerspiel des Jahres

The King's Dilemma

  • 4 - 5 players
  • From 14 years
  • approx. 60 minutes
The narrative strength of the game is enormous: despite only short text sections, it succeeds in creating an immersive and mysterious world. The reduced game system provides the perfect stage for great political theatre.
Jury Kennerspiel des Jahres

Children's game of the year

The third category is aimed at children between the ages of four and nine. The nominated games are characterised above all by their simple game mechanics and target group-appropriate design. The following three games have made it onto the shortlist:

Fotofish

  • 2 - 4 players
  • From 4 years
  • 15 to 20 minutes
Foto Fish gives children an incredibly good feeling on many levels. They have to be fast, but the slow ones are not penalised, they still get a small reward. This creates such a low level of frustration that children literally sink into the small cardboard aquariums and search for the right fish with great concentration from the first to the last minute.
Jury Kinderspiel des Jahres

Speedy Roll

  • 1 - 4 players
  • From 4 years
  • approx. 20 minutes
Many things have been rolled in children's games. Marbles, balls, logs, but until now there has never been a tennis ball. The idea of claiming it as a hedgehog with Velcro-covered apples, mushrooms and leaves stuck to its felty spines is special in itself. But combining all of this with a race in which the hedgehog actually rolls across the table and the «spiked» things determine the distance travelled is what makes Speedy Roll so appealing. Whether cooperatively or against each other, every game tells an exciting story.
Jury Kinderspiel des Jahres

We are the robots

  • 2 - 6 players
  • From 5 years
  • approx. 15 minutes
From the first to the last «Beep» this fascinating assessment game captivates the children taking part. They sit there with high levels of concentration, adjust to each other, learn from each other and practise community, mindfulness and empathy at the same time.
Jury Kinderspiel des Jahres

On 20 July 2020, the Game of the Year award ceremony will take place. Normally, this is celebrated with a ceremony every year. This year, we will have to make do with a livestream. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to finding out which game wins the race and the coveted award. Until then, I'll definitely be taking a closer look at one or two of the nominees and playing them in a cosy atmosphere.

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Riding my motorbike makes me feel free, fishing brings out my inner hunter, using my camera gets me creative. I make my money messing around with toys all day.

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