Speelgoed van het Jaar

Speelgoed van het Jaar - The Netherlands - since 2003















The Dutch Speelgoed van het Jaar (Toy of the Year) verkiezing is not a game award; it's a toy award. Quite a few games are nominated though, and even become winners. The award is probably more known then the Nederlandse Spellenprijs, even more reason to add it to this list. Nominees include games such as Cranium, Coda, Exago, St. Petersburg, Flaschenteufel, Niagara, Pirates of the Spanish Main, Shear Panic and more.

Since 2003 - five categories.

Ages 0-4

2008 No winning game
2007 No winning game
2006
Koetje Boe
2005 No winning game
2004 No winning game
2003 No winning game

Ages 4-6 No winning games
Ages 6-8 No winning games

Ages 8-12

2008 No winning game
2007
Het Huis Anubis
2006 No winning game
2005 No winning game
2004 No winning game
2003 No winning game

Ages 12 and up

2008
De Lama's
2007
Livequiz
2006
Wildlife DVD bordspel
2005
Carcassonne - The City
2004 No winning game
2003
Cut and Run



Dutch Game Award 2006

The Nederlandse Spellenprijs (Dutch Game Award) 2006 nominees are announced.

A mix of card-, family- and advanced games are in the running for Dutch Game of the Year. Games have to be published in Dutch between 01-06-2005 and 31-05-2006; that's why - for example - Tichu is in this list. The nominees are:

Attention Pirates! (Ravensburger)
Caylus (Quined / White Goblin Games)
Hey! That's My Fish! (Phalanx Games)
Manila (999Games)
Reef Encounter (Quined / White Goblin Games)
Skyline of the World (The Game Master)
Through the Desert (PS Games)
Tichu (999Games)

Public voting starts at the Ducosim September event and runs from September 2 - September 30. The winner is announced on October 2nd and the award will be presented at the SpellenSpektakel fair (27-29 October).

Vuoden Lastenpeli - Children

Vuoden Lastenpeli is the Finnish Children's Game of the Year Award. Games are not to strictly bound to categories, as publishers submit the games themselves. There are 3 categories in total:

- (Family) Game of the year (since 1994)
- Children's Game (since 1994)
- Adult Game (since 1999)

Children's Game of the Year:

Vuoden Aikuistenpeli - Adult

Vuoden Aikuistenpeli is the Finnish Adult Game of the Year Award. Games are not to strictly bound to categories, as publishers submit the games themselves. There are 3 categories in total:

- (Family) Game of the year (since 1994)
- Children's Game (since 1994)
- Adult Game (since 1999)

Adult Game of the Year:

2009 Dominion
2008
Modern Art
2007
Thurn and Taxis
2006
Pentago
2005
Alhambra
2004 (no award)
2003
Cranium
2002
Fits
2001
Quarto!
2000 (no award)
1999
Alcatraz

Thanks to
Mikko Saari.



Meeples' Choice Awards

Meeples' Choice Awards - by Spielfrieks - United States - since 2001







Awarded in May by Spielfrieks group voting

From the Meeples' Choice website:

"In 1995, the release of Settlers of Catan helped reinvigorate boardgaming in the United States. The popularity of this game led many boardgame fans to further explore other games released by German game companies. In January of 2000, the Spielfriek discussion group was founded by Stephen Glenn and Mark Johnson. Spielfrieks is a internet discussion group, with over 1,000 members devoted to boardgames.
In 2001, a series of retrospective polls from the membership of Spielfrieks were conducted. Awards spanning back to 1995 were awarded. The Meeples' Choice Award is given to the three most popular boardgames released in each year. Going forward, voting is open to every member of the Spielfriek discussion group. The votes are taken each May, and are limited to games released from the prior year."







Spiel des Jahres 2006: Thurn und Taxis

Thurn und Taxis from Karen and Andreas Seyfarth has won the Spiel des Jahres 2006. Kinderspiel des Jahres was won by Guido Hoffmann for Der schwarze Pirat.

The Sonderpreis was announced earlier this year for Caylus and Shadows over Camelot.

Spiel des Jahres 2006

The Spiel des Jahres will be announced this Monday morning (July 17). I should've listed the nominees, but it's a little late now. You can find them here and here.

Winners & such next week.

Bruno Faidutti's Game of the Year

Each year Bruno Faidutti picks his Game (or Games) of the Year and writes a summary about the past year in gaming and designing. His pick for this year is Hey! That's My Fish by Phalanx.

From his site:

"This small game can look unimpressive at first sight, but there's much more in it than it seems, and it appeals to all kind of gamers, be it children, casual or hardcore gamers. Hey! That’s my Fish! is a nearly abstract game with penguins moving to and fro on the ice floe, trying to catch the most fishes before the ice melts down. Pinguins are dumb. The rules are clever and simple, the components are cute, and game itself is much more subtle than it first looks. With three or four players, it’s nasty and fast paced. With two players, it’s fast paced and brain burning. Simple, elegant and deep – Hey! That’s my Fish! is a future classic."

Faidutti also makes a list of recommended games (which is quite long), making it a good 'Year in Review'. Check it out at his site.

Meeples' Choice Awards 2005

Spielfrieks' 2005 Meeples' Choice Awards are announced:

Caylus
Louis XIV
Shadows over Camelot

I'll put the 1995 - 2005 overview up soon.

Total list of 2005 contestants are in this GeekList by Larry Levy.

Larry Levy:

"Every year, the spielfrieks user group votes on our three favorite games that debuted in the previous calendar year. We have dubbed these the Meeples Choice Awards. The vote is conducted in two stages. First, everyone selects their ten favorite games from a list of 150 titles. We use this to narrow the selections down to 24 finalists. Then, everyone picks their three favorites from the finalists and the three top vote getters are the MCA winners for the year. 130 people voted in the first round and 195 in the finals."