Spiel des Jahres
The Spiel des Jahres is an award for board and card games, created in 1978 with the stated purpose of rewarding excellence in game design, and promoting top-quality games in the German market. It is thought that the existence and popularity of the award is one of the major drivers of the quality of games coming out of Germany. A Spiel des Jahres nomination can increase the typical sales of a game from 500–3000 copies to around 10,000; and the winner can usually expect to sell 300,000 to 500,000 copies.
Award criteria
The award is given by a jury of German-speaking board game critics, who review games released in Germany in the preceding twelve months. The games considered for the award are family-style games. War games, role-playing games, collectible card games, 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.On occasion, the jury has awarded a special prize for more complex games, such as Agricola in 2008 or World Without End in 2010. Prior to 2011, this award was an exceptional award, not necessarily awarded annually. In 2011, however, this practice was formalized when the jury created a new category for more complex games entitled "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
- rule structure
- layout,
- design
2005 awards
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Niagara | Thomas Liesching | Zoch Verlag | Winner |
| Verflixxt | Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling | Ravensburger | Nominee |
| Around the World in 80 Days | Michael Rieneck | Kosmos | Nominee |
| Jambo | Rüdiger Dorn | Kosmos | Nominee |
| Himalaya | Régis Bonnessée | Tilsit Editions | Nominee |
2006 awards
The nominations for the 2006 award were announced on May 28, 2006 and winner on July 17, 2006.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Thurn and Taxis | Karen & Andreas Seyfarth | Hans im Glück | Winner |
| Seeräuber | Stefan Dorra | Queen Games | Nominee |
| Aqua Romana | Martin Schlegel | Queen Games | Nominee |
| Just 4 Fun | Jürgen P.K. Grunau | Kosmos | Nominee |
| Blue Moon City | Reiner Knizia | Kosmos | Nominee |
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
- Complex game: Caylus – William Attia, Ẏstari Games
2007 awards
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Zooloretto | Michael Schacht | Abacus Spiele | Winner |
| The Thief of Baghdad | Thorsten Gimmler | Queen Games | Nominee |
| Jenseits von Theben | Peter Prinz | Queen Games | Nominee |
| Arkadia | Rüdiger Dorn | Ravensburger | Nominee |
| Yspahan | Sébastien Pauchon | Ẏstari Games | Nominee |
2008 awards
The nominations for the 2008 award were announced on May 25, 2008 and the winner on June 30, 2008.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Keltis | Reiner Knizia | Kosmos | Winner |
| Stone Age | Michael Tummelhofer | Hans im Glück | Nominee |
| Witch's Brew | Andreas Pelikan | alea/Ravensburger | Nominee |
| Blox | Wolfgang Kramer, Jürgen P.K. Grunau, Hans Raggan | Ravensburger | Nominee |
| Suleika | Dominique Ehrhard | Zoch Verlag | Nominee |
2009 awards
The nominations for the 2009 award were announced on May 24, 2009 and the winner on June 29, 2009.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Dominion | Donald X. Vaccarino | Rio Grande Games | Winner |
| FITS | Reiner Knizia | Ravensburger | Nominee |
| Finca | Ralf zur Linde, Wolfgang Sentker | Hans im Glück | Nominee |
| Fauna | Friedemann Friese | HUCH & Friends | Nominee |
| Pandemic | Matt Leacock | Pegasus Spiele | Nominee |
2010 awards
The nominations for the 2010 award were announced on May 31, 2010 and the winner on June 28, 2010.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Dixit | Jean-Louis Roubira | Libellud | Winner |
| Identik | William P. Jacobson and Amanda A. Kohout | Asmodee | Nominee |
| A la Carte | Karl-Heinz Schmiel | Moskito/Heidelberger | Nominee |
| Matt Leacock | Pegasus Spiele | Nominee | |
| Fresco | Marco Ruskowski and Marcel Süßelbeck | Queen Games | Nominee |
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-gamer Game of the Year award was given, an award for more complex games.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Qwirkle | Susan McKinley Ross | Mindware Spiele | Winner |
| Asara | Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling | Ravensburger | Nominee |
| Forbidden Island | Matt Leacock | Schmidt Spiele | Nominee |
2012 awards
The nominations for the 2012 awards were announced on May 21, 2012 and the winners on July 9, 2012.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Kingdom Builder | Donald X. Vaccarino | Queen Games | Winner |
| Las Vegas | Rüdiger Dorn | Alea/Ravensburger | Nominee |
| Eselsbrücke | Stefan Dorra and Ralf zur Linde | Schmidt Spiele | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Schnappt Hubi! | Steffen Bogen | Ravensburger | Winner |
| Spinnengift und Krötenschleim | Klaus Teuber | Kosmos | Nominee |
| Die kleinen Drachenritter | Marco Teubner | HUCH! & friends | Nominee |
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 Game of the Year was announced on June 12, 2013.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Hanabi | Antoine Bauza | Asmodée Éditions | Winner |
| Augustus | Paolo Mori | Hurrican | Nominee |
| Qwixx | Steffan Benndorf | GameFactory | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| The Enchanted Tower | Inka and Markus Brand | Schmidt Spiele | Winner |
| Gold am Orinoko | Bernhard Weber | Haba | Nominee |
| Mucca Pazza | Iris Rossbach | Zoch Verlag | Nominee |
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.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Camel Up | Steffen Bogen | Pegasus Spiele | Winner |
| Concept | Gaëtan Beaujannot and Alain Rivollet | Repos Production | Nominee |
| Splendor | Marc Andre | Space Cowboys | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Geister, Geister, Schatzsuchmeister! | Brian Yu | Mattel Games | Winner |
| Flizz & Miez | Klemens Franz, Hanno Girke, Dale Yu | Stadlbauer | Nominee |
| Richard Ritterschlag | Johannes Zirm | Haba | Nominee |
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 while the Sdj and KdJ winners were announced on Monday, July 6, 2015.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Colt Express | Christophe Raimbault | Ludonaute | Winner |
| Machi Koro | Masao Suganuma | Kosmos | Nominee |
| The Game | Steffen Benndorf | Nürnberger Spielkarten Verlag | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Spinderella | Roberto Fraga | Zoch Verlag | Winner |
| Push a Monster | Wolfgang Dirscherl, Manfred Reindl | Queen Games | Nominee |
| Schatz-Rabatz | Karin Hetling | Noris-Spiele | Nominee |
2016 awards
The nominations for the 2016 awards were announced on May 23, 2016. The winners were announced on Monday July 18, 2016.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Codenames | Vladimír Chvátil | Czech Games Edition | Winner |
| Imhotep | Phil Walker-Harding | Kosmos | Nominee |
| Karuba | Rüdiger Dorn | Haba | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Stone Age Junior | Marco Teubner | Hans im Glück | Winner |
| Mmm! | Reiner Knizia | Pegasus Spiele | Nominee |
| Leo muss zum Friseur | Leo Colovini | Abacus Spiele | Nominee |
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 19th, 2017. The winners for Game of the Year and Connoisseur-gamer Game of the Year were announced on July 17, 2017.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Kingdomino | Bruno Cathala | Pegasus Spiele | Winner |
| Magic Maze | Kasper Lapp | Pegasus Spiele | Nominee |
| Wettlauf nach El Dorado | Reiner Knizia | Ravensburger | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Exit - Das Spiel | Inka Brand and Markus Brand | Kosmos | Winner |
| Räuber der Nordsee | Shem Philips | Schwerkraft | Nominee |
| Terraforming Mars | Jakob Fryxelius | Schwerkraft | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Ice Cool | Brian Gomez | Amigo | Winner |
| Captain Silver | Wolfgang Dirscherl and Manfred Reindl | Queen Games | Nominee |
| Der Mysteriöse Wald | Carlo A. Rossi | Iello | Nominee |
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.| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Azul | Michael Kiesling | Next Move/Plan B Games | Winner |
| Luxor | Rüdiger Dorn | Queen Games | Nominee |
| The Mind | Wolfgang Warsch | Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| The Quacks of Quedlinburg | Wolfgang Warsch | Schmidt Spiele | Winner |
| Ganz schön clever | Wolfgang Warsch | Schmidt Spiele | Nominee |
| Heaven & Ale | Michael Kiesling and Andreas Schmidt | eggertspiele | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Funkelschatz | Lena und Günter Burkhardt | Haba | Winner |
| Emojito | Urtis Šulinskas | Huch! & friends | Nominee |
| Panic Mansion | Asger Harding Granerud and Daniel Skjold Pedersen | Blue Orange | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 | Matt Leacock and Rob Daviau | Z-Man Games | Sonderpreis |
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| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Just One | Ludovic Roudy and Bruno Sautter | Repos Production | Winner |
| L.L.A.M.A. | Reiner Knizia | Amigo Spiele | Nominee |
| Werewords | Ted Alspach | Ravensburger | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Wingspan | Elizabeth Hargrave | Stonemaier Games | Winner |
| Carpe Diem | Stefan Feld | alea/Ravensburger | Nominee |
| Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game | Ignacy Trzewiczek, Przemysław Rymer and Jakub Łapot | Portal Games/Pegasus Spiele | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Tal der Wikinger | Marie and Wilfried Fort | Haba | Winner |
| Fabulantica | Marco Teubner | Pegasus Spiele | Nominee |
| Go Gecko Go! | Jürgen Adams | Zoch | Nominee |
2020 awards
The nominations for the 2020 award were announced on May 18, 2020| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| My City | Reiner Knizia | Kosmos | Nominee |
| Nova Luna | Uwe Rosenberg and Corné van Moorsel | Edition Spielwiese and Pegasus Spiele | Nominee |
| Pictures | Daniela y Christian Stöhr | PD-Verlag | Winner |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale | Jordy Adan | Pegasus Spiele | Nominee |
| Die Crew | Thomas Sing | Kosmos | Winner |
| The King’s Dilemma | Lorenzo Silva, Hjalmar Hach and Carlo Burelli | Horrible Guild and HeidelBÄR Games | Nominee |
| Game | Designer | Publisher | Award |
| Foto Fish | Michael Kallauch | Logis | Nominee |
| Speedy Roll | Urtis Šulinskas | Piatnik | Winner |
| Wir sind die Roboter | Reinhard Staupe | NSV | Nominee |