JinxO Wins 2026 Spiel des Jahres

Spiel des Jahres: JinxO

On 12 July 2026, more than seven weeks after the Spiel des Jahres jury revealed the nominees for its three awards, the jury anounced the winner of the 2026 Spiel des Jahres: Martin Ang's JinxO. The game debuted in 2024 from Indonesian publisher Tabletoys Games and was released in German as Dito! by Game Factory.

I reviewed JinxO in July 2025 after getting a sample copy from the publisher at SPIEL Essen 24. It's a fabulous party game that's gone over wonderfully with both gamers and the most casual of game players. As I wrote in my review: "JinxO isn't recreating the party game genre; it's 'just' a well-designed, familiar party game that delivers what you probably want in a party game: friendly time spent with others, with high-fives, fun discussions, and gentle disagreements sprinkled into the mix."

The other two nominees for Germany's game of the year award were Cozy Stickerville by Corey Konieczka and Morty Sorty Magic Shop by Markus Slawitscheck.

Kennerspiel des Jahres: Rebirth

For the other two awards, Reiner Knizia's Rebirth from Mighty Boards won the 2026 Kennerspiel des Jahres award — the so-called expert's award — over Boss Fighters QR, co-designed by Michael Palm and Lukas Zach, and Moon Colony Bloodbath, designed by Donald X. Vaccarino.

For an overview of Rebirth, you can check out my review from 2024 — and if you already know the game and like it, during the SdJ ceremony Mighty Boards' David Chircop promised that more is coming

This award "completes the cycle" for Reiner Knizia, who in 2008 won the Spiel des Jahres for Keltis and the Kinderspiel des Jahres for Whoowasit?

Kinderspiel des Jahres: Mooki Island

The 2026 Kinderspiel des Jahres award goes to Florian Sirieix's Mooki Island, which originated from Canadian publisher Scorpion Masqué and which was released by German publisher KOSMOS as Die Insel der Mookies. Scorpion Masqué previously won the 2024 Spiel des Jahres for Luc Rémond's Sky Team, with Annick Lobet's Zombie Kidz Evolution having been nominated for Kinderspiel in 2020.

The other two 2026 Kinderspiel nominees are Boo Party, co-designed by Florian Sirieix and Benoit Turpin, and Verflixt Verzaubert, designed by Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance.