Spiel des jahres board games

Elfenland is set in the mythical world of the elves. A group of fledgling elves you are charged with visiting as many of the twenty Elfencities as they can over the course of 4 rounds. To accomplish the task they will use various forms of transportation such as unicorns, rafts or pigs.

For 2 — 6 players with games running about 60 minutes. Buy Mississippi Queen on Amazon. In Mississippi Queen, players race their paddleboats down the Mississippi, picking up passengers along the way. Twists are revelead as the game goes on. For 3 — 5 players, games will last about 45 minutes each. Buy El Grande on Amazon. In El Grande, players take on the roles of Grandes in medieval Spain. After every third round, the regions are scored, and after the ninth round, the player with the most points is the winner.

In Settlers of Catan, players try to be the first one to ten points by building settlements, cities, and roads. On each turn dice are rolled to determine what resources the island produces.

Players collect these resources cards —wood, brick, sheep, grain, or stone—to build up their civilizations. For 3 — 4 players with game durations around 45 minutes. This game on the list of Spiel des Jahres winners that is still played today is responsible for ushering in modern boardgaming. Buy Manhattan on Amazon.

In Manhattan, players construct a skyline of skyscrapers over several districts, or city blocks, of Manhattan Island. Ultimately, each player seeks to have built the tallest buildings in the most city blocks of the Island. It is all about area control and hand management. For 2 — 4 players with games running around 45 minutes each. It is a great mix of things for 2 — 6 players at a quick 20 minutes a game.

Buy Um Reifenbreite on Amazon. Each player takes control of a four-member racing team, and the goal is to score as many points as possible for the whole team. Movement is primarily handled by dice, however a limited card set partially replaces die results. For 2 — 4 players with games going 60 — 90 minutes. Buy Wacky Wacky West on Amazon. Every time someone tries to build over a precious outhouse, the town votes! You try to enlist your supporters to vote with you to stop or encourage the play of certain tiles.

For 2 — 4 players with games at 30 — 45 minutes each. Players buy or steal various pieces of junk in the form of cards, trying to form the largest and oldest collection. The trick is in guessing what your opponents are likely to do, and planning your choice accordingly. This entry on the list of Spiel des Jahres winners was designed by Klaus Tauber. For 3 — 6 players with games running about 45 minutes. This game revolves around the placement of multi-national customers in a restaurant.

The board shows many different tables, each with four chairs around them. The tables are grouped by nation, so the Chinese like to sit with other Chinese. For 2 — 4 players, with games lasting 45 — 60 minutes. Buy Barbarossa on Amazon. In Barbarossa, wizards are devoted to the creation of riddles and riddle solving tournaments. Players using modeling clay to make objects that can be guessed by the others. You then take turns to move around the board either by rolling a die or spending gems to choose a move.

The spaces landed on determine actions. Either the other players receive victory points, or you can ask a letter of an object.

For 3 — 4 players at about 60 minutes a game. Buy Auf Achse on Amazon. In Auf Achse, players are delivering loads of commodities to various European cities. Supply cities and demand cities are determined through card play, and players attempt to get delivery contracts by bidding against one another.

Movement is accomplished by rolling a die and then moving little rubberized trucks around an abstracted map. For 2 — 6 players with 60 minute games. Buy Top Secret Spies on Amazon. For 2 — 7 players and minute games. In Sherlock Holmes CD, you are presented with a mystery to solve, and it is then up to you to trace the threads of evidence through the byways and mansions of 19th century London. You will interview suspects, search the newspapers for clues, and put together the facts to reach a solution.

For 1 — 8 players, it is going to take 1 — 2 hours. Buy Railway Rivals on Amazon. This is a classic simple railway racing game, where you draw the railway lines on hex-board, using a pen and wipe off board. The game goes through phases; initially you draw tracks and earn money for linking cities.

When a number of cities are joined, you start racing, the cities being chosen randomly. For 2 — 6 players, games are about 90 minutes long. Buy Scotland Yard on Amazon. In Scotland Yard, one of the players takes on the role of Mr. Their job is to move from point to point around the map taking taxis, buses or subways.

The detectives players move around similarly in an effort to move into the same space as Mr. For 3 — 6 players with games lasting approximately 45 minutes. Fun fact, out of all the best board game of the year winners, this had the most designers. Buy Enchanted Forrest on Amazon. One treasure is hidden under each tree in the forest. As you move from tree to tree, you get to peek at the treasures you find.

Can you remember where each one is hidden? When the king asks where one of the treasures is, players race to reach the castle with the right information. Games last about 30 — 60 minutes. This early winner on the list of Spiel des Jahres winners has been published and republished under many names. Focus is an abstract strategy game in which players attempt to make moves and capture pieces in such a manner that their opponents have no moves remaining. A 3D puzzle ball game for 2 — 4 players that will run about 45 minutes.

Similar to the Rummy cards — you try to get rid of all your tiles by forming numbers into runs of 3 tiles or more, or 3 to 4 of a kind. The colors of the numbers on the tiles are like card suits. This game starts slow, but when the players start putting more and more tiles in play, the options for your upcoming turns can become more complex. For 2 — 4 players with an approximate minute play clock. This is a best board game of the year still played today.

Buy Hare and Tortoise on Amazon. Hare and Tortoise is a cunningly designed race to the finish in which your fuel carrots needs to get you just to the finish line. You also have three lettuce cards you must spend during the course of the race. The farther you move, the more carrots you spend, and there are a variety of ways to gain or lose carrots as you go around the track.

For 2 — 6 at 45 minutes. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

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Press ESC to close. Board Game History. Tagged in: Awards , Spiel des Jahres. Show Comments. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Share Article:. History of Playing Cards August 3, The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.

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The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Source: Spiel des Jahres. Nominated: L. Reef Sherlock: Death on the 4th of July. Santorini Woodlands. Nominated: Das Amulett by Alan R. Moon and Aaron Weissblum. Ray and Michael K. Kodys Regatta by Frank Thibault.

Jean Vanaise. Spiel des Jahres The Spiel des Jahres Game of the Year , the most prestigious award for board and card games , is awarded annually by a jury of German game critics. Previous winners Year.