Spiel des Jahres Nominees Have Been Announced!

There are three different awards given, and their nominees have been announced as of Monday.

Here is the link to the official homepage.

I've played ... um ... Machi Koro.  And Elysium will be in my hands later today.


The Spiel des Jahres is the German Game of the Year.  It's a very prestigious prize, and a lot of Americans are often disappointed by the winner, because they tend to favor family games over hardcore games - a division that was made more-or-less explicit a few years back when they created the Kennerspiel des Jahres for more hardcore games.

The Spiel des Jahres nominees are:
Colt Express is published by Ludonaute, and it is distributed by Asmodee in North America. I've heard it's really good, but I haven't had a chance to try it, yet.
Machi Koro is an engine-builder published by Kosmos games (there's no drawing, so it's not really a deck-builder). It's fun, but I find it a bit too light for my tastes. There are a couple of expansions out (or coming) that improve the game for me.
The Game is not (so far as I know) available in English.

The Kinderspiel des Jahres is the Children's Game of the Year.  I don't know any of these games, and it doesn't look like any of them are available in English. So, other than titles, I know nothing of these games.
Push a Monster
Schats-Rabatz
Spinderella

The Kennerspiel des Jahres is the more hardcore category.
Broom Service hasn't been released in English yet. Looks like it's expected later this year, though.  The audience for hobby games is small enough that this nomination (unlike many other awards) can really boost sales.
Elysium is one I worked on the English translation for. It looks fun, and maybe we can try it tonight.
Orleans isn't in English, yet, either.  Tasty Minstrel ran a Kickstarter for this one, and it's rumored to be due in September.

Because of my lack of familiarity with the nominees, I can't even make an educated guess as to who the winners will be.

There are also a number of recommended games that are (essentially) runners-up.  And - again - I don't know many of the games (even though I recognizes a number of the designers and publishers).

The Kinderspiel winner will be announced in about two weeks on June 8.  On July 6th, the Spiel and Kennerspiel will be awarded, so we won't be in suspense for too long.