Spiel des Jahres 2017 Nominations Announced

May 22, 2017 by redben

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The nominations for the 2017 Spiel des Jahres have just been released. For those who might not know, the Spiel des Jahres is roughly the equivalent of the Oscars for the board gaming world, especially the ‘Euro Game’ world.

Spiel

The exposure of a Nomination brings can provide a nice spike in sales, and a significant one for the winner. It was winning the 1995 Spiel des Jahres which helped Settlers of Catan become a break-out success, and ultimately cross over into the English-speaking market to kick off a board game revolution.

The main award focuses on family-oriented games and does not consider games which are especially complex, competitive or have a hobby aspect. A separate award, the Kennerspiel des Jahres, was introduced in 2011 for more complex or competitive games.

There is also a third award, the Kinderspiel des Jahres, which as you might guess is for games aimed at a younger audience.

Nominations

To be eligible, a game must have been released in Germany within the last twelve months, and the awards are given out by a panel, who consider the nominees on the following criteria:

  • Game concept (originality, playability, game value)
  • Rule structure (composition, clearness, comprehensibility)
  • Layout (box, board, rules),
  • Design (functionality, workmanship)

So, without further ado, the nominees for the 2017 Spiel des Jahres are...

Kingdomino

Kingdomino

Magic Maze

Magic Maze

Wettlauf nach El Dorado

El Dorado

For the Kennerspiel...

EXIT: The Game

Exit The Game - The Pharaoh's Tomb

Raiders of the North Sea

Raiders of The North Sea

Terraforming Mars

Terraforming Mars

And for the Kinderspiel...

Captain Silver

Captain Silver

Ice Cool

Ice Cool

The Mysterious Forest

The Mysterious Forest

In the main award, board game design legend, Reiner Knizia, could add Wettlauf nach El Dorado to his 2008 Spiel des Jahres award for Keltis (released as Lost Cities in English).

For the Kennerspiel, Terraforming Mars is a game very much on my wishlist, if only it would stay on the shelves long enough for me to get a copy, and Raiders of the North Sea has got my attention also.

Have you played any of these games? Are any now on your wishlist now they have a nomination?

"It was winning the 1995 Spiel des Jahres which helped Settlers of Catan become a break-out success, and ultimately cross over into the English-speaking market to kick off a board game revolution..."

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