The Spiel des Jahres is one of the most prestigious awards for excellence in game design anywhere in the world.  Each year, the best new German family game is chosen for the award.  The nominees for this year's award were announced on May 31.

 

Five games were nominated for this year’s award.  The nominees are:

 

 

 

Dixit from Libellud and Asmodee, designed by Jean-Louis Roubira, is a humorous party bluffing game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Identik from Asmodeee, designed by William P. Jacobson and Amanda A. Kohout, is a party drawing game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A la carte from Mosquito and Heidelberg, designed by Karl-Heinz Schmiel, is a game about French chefs creating mostly random dishes.  This is an updated edition of the game originally released in 1989.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roll Through the Ages – The Dice Game from Gryphon Games and Pegasus Spiele, designed by Matt Leacock—called Im Wandel der Zeiten – Das Würfelspiel in German—is a dice game about building bronze-age civilizations and monuments.

 

 

 

Fresco from Queen Games, designed by Marco and Marcel Ruskowski Susselbeck, pits competing artists in a race to complete the ceiling of a renaissance cathedral.

 

The final winner will be announced on June 28th.