On May 19, 2026 at 16:00 CET, the Spiel des Jahres jury will announce the three nominees for Germany's 2026 game of the year award — as well as nominees for two secondary awards — during a livestream broadcast on YouTube.
Why the Spiel des Jahres Matters
Why should you care which games are nominated for the Spiel des Jahres? Honestly, you don't have to. If you're reading this article, then you're probably already well-immersed in the world of modern board games and have no trouble finding games that you might enjoy. Heck, you might even have more games than time available to play them, yes?
But most people who play games are not in your situation. They play games sporadically, maybe only at holidays or family gatherings. They discover games sporadically, perhaps at a friend's house or while walking through a toy shop when buying a gift for a young relative. These people play games...but they're not gamers, that is, they don't self-identify as "gamers". Even so, they still play games, and this audience of casual game players makes up the bulk of those who purchase and play games.
The Spiel des Jahres (SdJ) award exists to give these people — specifically, casual game players in Germany — suggestions as to what to play or give as a gift the next time they're at a family gathering or holiday party. As such, the games nominated for the SdJ tend to have few rules so that casual players can get into them easily.
Winners of the SdJ go on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies in a year, with many become permanent additions to the gaming canon — designs that will be referenced and played for decades to come.
The SdJ jury tests games released in Germany throughout the year, observing them being played by as many people as possible to see which games are easy to learn, which games have rulebooks that leave players frustrated, which games they want to play again, which games they talk about, and so on. They use this player experience, along with their own knowledge and gaming history, to choose three titles they think will be ideal for as many casual game players as possible.
Additionally, this jury nominates three other titles for Kennerspiel des Jahres, that is, a connoisseur's game of the year award. These games tend to be somewhat more involved than SdJ titles, but not exclusively for "geek" players. You'd probably be reluctant to introduce one of these games to someone familiar only with, say, Monopoly or Boggle, but if they've played Azul, Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, or CATAN, then they should be okay playing Kennerspiel-level designs. (These days CATAN would be a Kennerspiel-level game due to its length, its rules, and a player's ability to tank themselves.)
A separate jury also nominates three titles for the Kinderspiel des Jahres, the children's game of the year. Again, this jury tests these games with players, specifically those in the target audience so that the games are not assessed in terms of what adults think children would like, but what children actually like.
These nominees will be announced on May 19, 2026, then the jury will test these nine titles more intensely to see which three rise to the top, with the winners to be announced on July 12, 2026.
So What's Going to Be Nominated in 2026?
The short answer is that I have no clue...other than Yoann Levet's Got Five!, which I view as an ideal candidate for Spiel des Jahres: the rules are straightforward (at least in English — I can't assess the German rules); the gameplay is snappy; luck is present in how the game plays out, sometimes in small ways, sometimes large, which opens the game to players of a wide range of experience; more experience helps you play better, but the game is still "fair" for first-timers. (I've praised Got Five! previously and still plan to do a proper review in future.)
For a second candidate, I'll say Alexi Piovesan and Julien Prothière's Take Time, which was my favorite new game of 2025. (review) I've taught this game to folks with almost no game experience, as well as to game group regulars, and it's gone over swimmingly with all. That said, I've been teaching the game each time, so I don't know how first-timers would manage the rulebook on their own. That's one aspect of the SdJ testing in which I don't engage, yet it's a critical consideration since you have to allow for the "from shelf to table" experience.
As for a third candidate, I'm out of suggestions. I've enjoyed both Formidable Farm and INK, but I don't see them as nominees. I frequently describe Yoann Levet (him again!) and Johannes Goupy's Dewan as being Ticket to Ride-like in its simplicity — each turn either draw two cards or play cards to place a hut — so that game would fit the SdJ playstyle, but it seems fiddly compared to recent winners...although the 2025 SdJ winner Bomb Busters certainly matches that description.
Maybe I should go with Paolo Mori and Alessandro Zucchini's Toy Battle, which won the 2026 As d'Or — France's game of the year award — in February 2026. Despite Sky Team winning the 2024 SdJ, I don't see this two-player game getting a nomination...but I also haven't yet played it beyond one confusing experience on Board Game Arena, so what do I know?
Thus, I'll throw out a random third nominee in Matthew Dunstan and Brett J. Gilbert's Happy Holidays. The subject matter is planning a three-week vacation in Europe, which seems on brand for the German audience. The designers have a solid history of smart game design, the game accommodates 1-4 players, and KOSMOS releases have received SdJ awards in the past, with Sky Team, Cascadia, Keltis, and CATAN winning SdJ, and with The Crew, EXIT, and The Legends of Andor winning Kennerspiel des Jahres.
Feel free to tell me why I'm wrong. I tend to be a fan of SdJ-level designs, so I'm happy to hear about ideal candidates since my playing time has been fairly limited the past six months, leaving me in the dark as to the play experience of most releases.
