2011 Spiel des Jahres - The Nominees

Earlier this week, in Germany, a jury of board game critics selected and announced the nominations for the 2011 Spiel des Jahres award. The prestigious Spiel des Jahres (translated: “Game of the Year”) has been awarded every year since 1978 to showcase outstanding games that have made their debut in the German market over the preceding year.  Although it is an award that focuses on the German market, the Spiel des Jahres has gained more global exposure and relevance in the past fifteen years as “Euro Style” games began to permeate the hobby, a trend that was quickened by the domestic release of The Settlers of Catan – the 1995 Spiel Des Jahres winner.

Historically, the Spiel des Jahres award has focused on accessible family games which offer a low barrier to entry, yet contain compelling and innovative gameplay.   This centralist view rewards those games which appeal to the masses, but tends to exclude gamers outside of this range, on both sides of the spectrum. In 1989, the Spiel des Jahres made a step to bridge this gulf, by creating a new award to be offered alongside the original.  This award, named the “Kinderspiel des Jahres” (translated: “Children’s Game of the Year”), was created to praise the outstanding children’s game of the year.

For over 21 years, the Spiel des Jahres and Kinderspiel des Jahres have been awarded side by side. But, with the board gaming hobby growing in size, and the market becoming more international, there have been complaints that the Spiel des Jahres is becoming less relevant as time goes on. Many gamers that were introduced to the hobby through Spiel des Jahres winners have found that they have outgrown the simpler mechanics typical of the award. In 2008, perhaps foreshadowing changes to come, a Special Jury Prize for “complex game” was awarded to the meaty worker placement game Agricola. This year, we see the Spiel des Jahres making another fundamental evolution, with the introduction of the “Kennerspiel des Jahres” (Translated: “Aficionados’ game of the year”), a full-fledged award category for complex games.

Games are considered for the trio of awards by a jury panel, based on the following criteria: The originality and playability of the core game ideas; the structure and clarity of the rules; the graphical presentation of the game; and the design and workmanship of the components.  Aside from the main awards, the Jury also issues several “recommendations” for each category. These recommendations are games that the jury feels are outstanding, and deserve recognition, but may not fit the parameters of the greater award.

Because the Spiel des Jahres is based in Germany, many games on the list do not have English translations, and can only be acquired by import. On the flip side, at least one game in this list has been available in North America for several years, and is only now seeing release in Germany. Regardless of when and where it was first published, if a game ends up nominated for, or winning the Spiel des Jahres, it’s almost a certainty that the title will see a global release in the near future.

2011 Spiel des Jahres Nominees (Game of the Year):

Qwirkle –

 

Qwirkle saw its first release in Germany last year, but has been available in North America since 2006. Designed by California native Susan McKinley Ross, Qwirkle is the first nominee for the Spiel des Jahres, and one of two American nominated games this year.

Qwirkle is an abstract tile placement game that contains 108 wooden tiles adorned with various colored shapes. Each of the blocks displays one of six shapes, in one of six colors. Players compete to place tiles that share an attribute, either color or shape, adjacent to each other - striving to create long lines of similar tiles. The longer the chains, the more points the player scores.  Whoever has the most points at the end of the game, wins.

Asara –

From German designers Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling , Asara finds itself the unprecedented position of being the only German designed game nominated for the Spiel des Jahres award this year. Asara has excellent pedigree, however, as neither Kramer nor Kiesling are new to the award. The duo won the award in 1999 and 2000 for “Tikal” and “Torres” respectively, and Kramer has won the Spiel des Jahres three other times prior to 1999.

Asara is a game about building towers, and the underhanded dealings that go on behind the scenes. In the game, players assume the role of architects positioning themselves to acquire the best building materials which they use to construct their towering structures. Players deploy their buyer cards to the board hoping to purchase useful materials to further the construction of their tower. But all is not fair in love and architecture, as players may also take the shady route, and utilize their buyers to bribe officials for better access to the supplies they need.

Forbidden Island -

The second American offering this year is Forbidden Island designed by Matt Leacock. Leacock is best known for his cooperative game Pandemic, which brought players together in an attempt to eradicate virulent disease from the Earth. Forbidden Island shares many of Pandemic’s game mechanics, but streamlines and simplifies them to make a more approachable game that fits well into the parameters of the Spiel des Jahres. Matt Leacock is no stranger to Spiel des Jahres nominations; one of his games has landed on the nomination list for the past 3 years: Pandemic, Roll through the Ages, and Forbidden Island have each been considered for the award. Despite the nominations, Leacock has yet to bring the award home - perhaps 2011 is his year.

In Forbidden Island, players take on the role of adventurers and treasure seekers attempting to retrieve priceless artifacts from a remote island ruin. Unfortunately, as soon as the players land on the island, it starts sinking. Players must use their limited movement and actions to travel around the board, collect and trade cards, and retrieve the four priceless treasures, all while trying to keep the island from sinking. The board is represented by double-sided tiles that are flipped over when flooded, and eventually removed as they ultimately sink. As time progresses, the island begin to sink faster and faster, keeping players on their toes, and increasing the level of intensity. There are many ways to lose in Forbidden Island, but only one way to win: All four treasures must be collected, and all players must make it back to the helicopter to escape the island.

2011 Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominees (Aficionado's Game of the Year):

7 Wonders -

The first nominee for the Kennerspiel des Jahres is 7 Wonders, a title that Nerdbloggers has previously reviewed and given great marks. France is represented in the Kennerspiel des jahres this year by designer Antoine Bauza, whose previous design work brought the gaming community the excellent cooperative game Ghost Stories.

7 Wonders is a civilization building game centered around the concept of card drafting. Players start with a deck of cards and take turns choosing a card from the deck before passing the remainder to the player sitting next to them. This process repeats until the cards have all been distributed. Each player attempts to collect a set of cards that will generate resources, military power, and scientific advancement to acquire the most victory points. Each round of play builds upon the previous, giving the players an opportunity to grow their civilization, and to ultimately build one of the 7 wonders of the world.

Strasbourg -

German designer Stefan Feld is nominated for his game Strasbourg. Feld was also awarded two jury recommendations this year for Die Burgen von Burgund and Luna.

Strasbourg is a game about gaining prestige for your family in 15^th century France. Players grow in notoriety by placing their family members into various crafting guilds. The players must wisely use their influence points to place family into the various levels of the guilds, and out maneuver their opponents. Everything comes with a price however, and the cost of admission to the guilds must also be met. Whoever can best plan and execute their strategy will come out with the most fame to win the game.

Lancaster -

Matthias Cramer, the German designer that released the critically acclaimed Glen More in 2010, is receiving the 2011 Kennerspiel des Jahres nomination for his game Lancaster.  

In Lancaster, players take on the role of Lords under the reign of Henry V during the 15^th century. Players must deploy their knights to assist the crown in its conflict with France, as well as influence new laws in parliament to best benefit the player’s own interests. Players jockey for favor by choosing the most advantageous placement for each of their knights, both to increase his own favor, and knock his opponents down.

2011 Kinderspiel des Jahres Nominees (Children's Game of the Year):

Da ist der Wurm drin -

Designed by Carmen Kleinert, Da ist der Wurm drin (Translated:  “There’s a worm in it”), is a tile placement game about worms in the garden. Players take turns rolling dice, and placing the indicated worm segments into one of the many tracks on the game board. The placement of a worm segment on a track pushes the previously laid worm segments under a covered section of the game board where they are hidden. Players take turn pushing worm segments into the board, and betting on which worm’s head will pop out of the other end first.

Magician’s Kitchen -

German design duo Thomas Daum and Violetta Leitner bring magic to the children’s game category with Magician’s Kitchen. Magician’s Kitchen is a dexterity game that has players place ingredients for potions upon one of their wooden apprentice pawns. The potion ingredients are represented by marbles, and players must push their pawn with a small wooden wand, keeping the marble ingredients balanced during the precarious trip to the cauldron in the center of the game board. Magnets are hidden under the game board in random positions that can cause the apprentice pawns to stumble, so players must be extra careful that they don’t spill their magical cargo.

Monster-Falle -

Inka Brand and Markus Brand are nominated for Monster-Falle, a cooperative dexterity game where players must capture silly monsters. Players draw a card with an illustration of the monster they need to capture, and must use sliders along the side of the board to drag the monster into the hole in the center of the board. Players navigate various obstacles on the way to the hole, and hope that they can capture the monsters before the sand timer runs out.

Comments

[JodyRay]

I believe Feld has became the hottest designer on the planet in the last three years. I can not wait to play ANY of them, I own Year of the Dragon, Macoa and Notre Dame, yet they all have eluded the table so far.