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):

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