Award Winning Games 2014
Transcrição
Award Winning Games 2014
Award Winning Games 2014 2 Preface Table of Contents 3 Preface by Tom Felber Spiel des Jahres Camel Up 4-5 Nominated Concept6 Splendor7 Recommended Spiele 8 - 12 „Spiel des Jahres“ incentive program 2014 13 Kennerspiel des Jahres Istanbul 14 - 15 Nominated Concordia16 Rokoko17 18 - 21 Recommended Kennerspiele Kinderspiel des Jahres Geister, Geister, Schatzsuchmeister! Nominated Flizz & Miez Richard Ritterschlag Recommended Kinderspiele 22 - 23 24 25 26 - 32 The 2014 Juries33 Previous award winners 34 - 35 Find a game 36 - 37 Index/Impressum 38 Games Designer Grant 39 About „Spiel des Jahres“ 40 Dear games fans, Every year the “Spiel des Jahres” jury dives into a sea of games in order to fish out from the masses of boxes the ones hiding true pearls and to bring them to the surface. This brochure details 25 games that are particularly worthy of recommendation. Different target markets have been identified by three colours: Red, anthracite and blue. Red games will be fun to play for almost everyone, anthracite games are intended for experienced players and blue represents children’s games. This brochure offers advice and guidance to those who aren’t experts but who are interested in board games. With their shortlists, the jury has this year once again attempted to show the entire breadth of experiences made possible by games. There is something for each person’s taste, interest and mood, and for each group and age. It was important for us that these games remain interesting even after being played countless times and are still able to offer new surprises. This brochure proves that the classic analogue game is alive and well. Looking for fresh ideas, the jury is increasingly finding what they are looking for outside the traditional German publishing houses. All the games introduced here have the power to keep bringing a wide variety of people to the gaming table again and again, and to create experiences which will stay in their memories. In this spirit we wish you exciting gaming experiences and lots of fun. Tom Felber Chair of the “Spiel des Jahres” committee 3 Spiel des Jahres: Winner 4 Camel Up 5 • 2 - 8 players • age 8+ • about 30 minutes • about 25 Euros This camel race is completely crazy: When the hump-backed animals land on a space they have to piggyback on top of one another – and the one on the bottom brings the others along for the ride! What’s going to happen? That’s for the players to work out: They’ll be betting on the outcome of the race as well as who’s in the lead along the way, when each camel has moved once. You can win a lot of money if you’ve got a good nose for these things. But it can often go wrong when, against all odds, the camels do what they want. This hectic game works with small and large groups. With six or more players there is obviously much less chance to influence the game but it’s not important because that’s when “Camel Up” goes from a family game to a great party game. by: Steffen Bogen Publisher: eggertspiele Sales: Pegasus Spiele Artwork / Illustration: Dennis Lohausen The jury’s explanation: “Camel Up“ is a family game par excellence. Its intuitive rules mean that all players get involved straight away. And no-one’s left behind: The frantic race stirs up a host of emotions, players of all ages find themselves hoping, worrying and laughing. With the game’s short playing time there’s always chance for a rematch. The well-designed game components are also particularly attractive. At the top of the list is the innovative pyramid dice shaker that creates the atmosphere and makes Camel Up successful as a complete artwork. Spiel des Jahres: Nominated 6 Spiel des Jahres: Nominated Concept Splendor • 4 - 12 players • age 10+ • about 40 minutes • about 30 Euros “Concept” combines a party game with app icons: When it’s your turn to define people, objects or even quotes you don’t need to draw or find the right words. Players take it in turns as two-player teams to place small pieces onto the appropriate pictograms on the game board, in order to accurately describe the required concept or phrase. Everyone else has to guess. Imagination and the possibilities of interpretation lead to lots of creative picture puzzles and fun around linguistic categories. “Concept” thus reveals itself as a refreshingly different guessing game, requiring an engagement with symbols and their definitions. The clear concept of the game is so engaging that as the game progresses, you’ll realise that no-one is playing for victory points any more and the question of winning becomes secondary. by: Gaëtan Beaujannot, Alain Rivollet Publisher: Repos Production Sales: Asmodee Artwork / Illustration: Éric Azagury, Cédric Chevalier 2 - 4 players • age 10+ • about 30 minutes • about 30 Euros • As a merchant with a penchant for gems, the players in “Splendor” have joined the precious stone business. You’ll purchase mines, establish transport routes, employ skillful polishers and open jewellery boutiques in the shopping alleys of the Renaissance. And by positioning yourself particularly cleverly, you can win the favour of one of the prominent noblemen and women of the era. With its sturdy poker chips as precious stones and its atmospheric illustrations, as well as the simple game mechanic, “Splendor” quickly creates a sense of theme. Players buy cards to make future investments cheaper and to gain the all-important victory points. You’ll need to recognise good opportunities and have a keen tactical sense to become Europe’s greatest precious stone merchant. by: Marc André Publisher: Space Cowboys Sales: Asmodee Artwork / Illustration: Pascal Quidault 7 Spiel des Jahres: Recommended 8 Spiel des Jahres: Recommended Love Letter Potato Man • 2 - 4 players • age 10+ • about 25 minutes • about 10 Euros You’ve fallen for the princess! Players try to get close to members of the royal court who will deliver love letters to their beloved. On your turn, you’ll choose one of two hand cards and use the action of the character played. So the priest allows you look at another player’s card. The baron challenges a rival to a duel, the king swaps hands with another suitor. In this way, some competitors are eliminated. The last person standing or whoever has the most powerful character in their hand at the end of the round, receives a heart. And each round is over quickly: “Love Letter“ consists of just 16 large-format cards with eight different characters. Whoever collects the required number of hearts will win the heart of the princes. by: Seiji Kanai Publisher: Pegasus Spiele Artwork / Illustration: Andrew Hepworth, Jeffrey Himmelman, Hans-Georg Schneider 2 - 5 players • age 10+ • about 30 minutes • about 7 Euros • The hunt for big potato sacks is a little out of the ordinary because in this trick-taking card game, players don’t follow suit as usual. No, you have to play a suit that’s not already in the trick! This can get a bit chaotic, as the values of the cards in each suit are also different. What’s more, the highest card doesn’t always take the trick: “Potato Man”, the weakest card, can still beat “Evil Potato.” You get the potato sack in the same colour as the trick you win. And even that gets you a different amount of points. Confused? That’s just the beginning! Soon we’ll get past the tricks – just to confirm that each extra player makes the game a little different. by: Günter Burkhardt, Wolfgang Lehmann Publisher: Zoch Artwork / Illustration: Victor Boden 9 Spiel des Jahres: Recommended 10 Spiel des Jahres: Recommended Sanssouci SOS Titanic • 2 - 4 players • age 8+ * • about 45 minutes • about 30 Euros As landscape gardeners, players are designing the gardens of Sanssouci Palace - and each in their own way. Order is all-important in this tile-laying game. Regardless whether pavilions, statues or fountains – for each of the nine different types of attraction there is a space on each player’s game board. But that’s not all: Players need to meet additional requirements when placing the garden tiles. The location of the selected tile in the available supply also determines where it must be added to your own park-jigsaw. Hand cards limit your choice of tiles. So everything’s already been decided? No, as some hand cards can be used as jokers. The player who sees these possibilities and quickly builds paths for the nobles to reach their favourite places will become the best park architect. 1 - 5 players • age 8+ • about 30 minutes • about 20 Euros • The Titanic is sinking but this time we’re stepping in to help. Our task in this enthralling, co-operative card game is to save as many passengers as possible. To do this, we have to bring them to the lifeboats in the correct order – in 1912 it was all about rank – each passenger must be in the boat corresponding to his travel class. Like in patience, we have to lay face-up cards on top of one another in the correct order. Passengers queue up on the deck of the sinking ship but the space gets smaller and smaller. Each mistake causes time to tick away and another page in the booklet acting as the game board is turned over, towards total submersion. Will we make it in time? Only if we can agree with each other and cleverly use our special abilities as officers, stewards or wireless operators. * Our recommendation: For ages 10 and up by: Michael Kiesling Publisher: Ravensburger Artwork / Illustration: Julien Delval, Harald Lieske by: Bruno Cathala, Ludovic Maublanc Publisher: Ludonaute Sales: Heidelberger Spieleverlag Artwork / Illustration: Sandra Fesquet 11 The “Spiel des Jahres” incentive programme. Spiel des Jahres: Recommended 12 Voll Schaf • 2 - 4 players • age 7+ • about 15 minutes • about 23 Euros Today’s modern flocks of sheep are taking their fate into their own hooves. If the pasture becomes too small, they arrange their own borders for themselves. In this fast and entertaining tactical game, players split their towers of sheep however they wish and move the newly created troop in a straight line across the pasture – until it is stopped by another animal or the end of the pasture. The half that is left behind continues grazing on the old field. So little by little, movement opportunities become scarcer, units more divided and enemy battalions more closed in. The variable game board constantly creates new challenges in this easily accessible abstract game full of woolly fun and sheep (sorry steep) challenges. by: Francesco Rotta Publisher: HUCH! & friends Artwork / Illustration: Sabine Kondirolli, Andrea Femerstrand The “Spiel des Jahres” committee supports projects related to gaming, such as events, games promotions, exhibitions, book publications and media projects. Anyone interested can make an application with a project and request an incentive grant. Since the start of the incentive programme in 2012, 77 projects in Germany, Austria and Switzerland have been given over 130,000 Euro in financial support, for example the following projects in 2014: The event „Weimar total verspielt“ Board game café on the Akademie Remscheid games market BasGame 2014: Basel’s 1st Tabletop Day The incentive programme will continue in 2015. Details and an application form can be found on our homepage under the menu tab: “Wir fördern.” The deadline for applications is 30.11.2014. 13 Kennerspiel des Jahres: Winner 14 Istanbul 15 • 2 - 5 players • age 10+ • about 60 minutes • about 35 Euros The traders of Istanbul have their sights set on rubies.They can collect the jewels by trading goods and earning money with the help of their four assistants. Haggling at the tea house or at the black market is of course a part of it as well. If you’ve got enough material on your wheelbarrow you can visit the mosque, supply the Sultan or shop at the jeweller’s. The sequence of actions needs to be thought out carefully, however, as once they’ve entered a place, the assistants have to stay there until you pick them up later. Otherwise you’ll lose some room for manoeuvre. An encounter with your competitors can also be expensive. Due to the variable set-up of the 16 place tiles, every game challenges players to find the best tactical route through the bazaar. by: Rüdiger Dorn Publisher: Pegasus Spiele Artwork / Illustration: Andreas Resch, Hans-Georg Schneider The jury’s explanation: Istanbul’s simulated business dealings at a bazaar are so effective and varied that players can only dream of them. Like at a real oriental market, traders rush around to be quicker than their competitors. But don’t lose sight of the bigger picture! The innovative tower of merchant and assistant discs will help with that, they give this pleasantly quick strategy game a fascinating turn mechanic. Kennerspiel des Jahres: Nominated 16 Kennerspiel des Jahres: Nominated Concordia Rokoko • 2 - 5 players • age 12+ • about 90 minutes • about 43 Euros Harmony rules throughout the Roman empire and the economy is flourishing: Merchant families use road and waterways to expand around the Mediterranean. In this strategy game, they establish settlements for cloth, wine, grain and more. Characters such as prefects or winegrowers help them with this.These cards can only be re-used when the tribune allows players to take them back into their hand. Through purchasing new character cards and expanding into different provinces, each merchant defines their own specific rhythm of play. And because we’re living in antiquity, the gods have something to say: They allocate the victory points. Victory is decided by Jupiter, Mars and co., but not Fortuna. The goddess of luck has no say in “Concordia”. by: Walther “Mac“ Gerdts Publisher: PD-Verlag Sales: Heidelberger Spieleverlag Artwork / Illustration: Walther “Mac“ Gerdts, Marina Fahrenbach 2 - 5 players • age 12+ • about 120 minutes • about 35 Euros • As master tailors in France under Louis XV we’ve got our hands full. Our clients want us to have their clothes ready for the grand ball. So we don’t just need cloth in the latest colours but also thread, needles – and a lot of organisation. Soon we’ll be employing assistants and apprentices to get everything finished on time. We’ll either be paid for the clothes or we’ll send our customers to one of five ballrooms, where our tailoring will gain us a great deal of prestige. “Rokoko” is a thematically tight and absorbing game for experienced players. It only appears complex at the beginning, as we are led through events by the beautiful game story – led down new paths to be the best dressmaking salon in Paris. by: Matthias Cramer, Louis and Stefan Malz Publisher: eggertspiele Sales: Pegasus Spiele Artwork / Illustration: Michael Menzel 17 Kennerspiel des Jahres: Recommended 18 Kennerspiel des Jahres: Recommended Blood Bound 19 Amerigo • 2 - 4 players • age 10+ • about 90 minutes • about 50 Euros If you want to re-enact Amerigo Vespucci’s voyage of discovery, you’ll need one thing above all else: A big table! That’s because this huge box is full of components, first of all a variable game board with land that we’ll discover with our ships before settling and cultivating. We’ll trade goods and protect ourselves from pirates – but what to do first? The innovative dice tower takes away some of the decision-making from us: The colours and the number of the pieces that come tumbling out determine which actions will be available next turn and how often. The decision is ours but it’s not easy, as we’ll often want to do several things at the same time. Our aim is to make good deals and to garner fame. The path to victory, from the game concept to the opulent execution, is an absolute pleasure. by: Stefan Feld Publisher: Queen Games Artwork / Illustration: Harald Lieske, Claus Stephan 6 - 12 players • age 14+ • about 30 minutes • about 15 Euros • Two rival vampire clans are struggling for power. The winner will be whoever finds and defeats the leader of the opposite side. In this game for larger groups we start off knowing very little – actually just which clan we belong to ourselves. We have to pay close attention: Whenever a player around the table is attacked, they have to divulge some information about their hidden identity or clan affiliation. We begin to suspect who’s on our side and, with the help of our clan members’ special abilities, work out who the enemy leader is. But be careful: If the wrong character from the opposing team is defeated, the game is lost. The more players join in, the more sophisticated this clever game for cunning detectives and cool bluffers becomes. by: Kalle Krenzer Publisher: Heidelberger Spieleverlag Artwork / Illustration: Shaun Boyke, Marina Fahrenbach, Michael Küper Kennerspiel des Jahres: Recommended 20 Russian Railroads 21 Guildhall • 2 - 4 players • age 10+ • about 45 minutes • about 10 Euros The life of a craftsperson in the middle ages was one thing above all else: Gilded. If you wanted to make something of yourself in your profession, you had to join the local guild. This is also true for the players in “Guildhall” – a tactical card game in a small box. You’ll collect representatives from six different groups: Including weavers and builders but also shadowy assassins. Each profession has its own skills which become stronger with each new guild member. When the guild house is finally complete, its craftspeople can be turned into victory points. “Guildhall” is a tense, multi-layered game which requires players to discover and use the best combinations of different craftspeople. by: Hope S. Hwang Publisher: Pegasus Spiele Artwork / Illustration: Michael Perry Kennerspiel des Jahres: Recommended 2 - 4 players • age 12+ • about 120 minutes • about 38 Euros • As railway moguls, players are given the task of building tracks from Moscow to Vladivostok, Kiev and Saint Petersburg. You’ll place workers in order to lay rails, build engines, hire engineers or construct factories on your own game board. This strategy game with extraordinarily well-written rules has a multitude of possibilities but each action can only be chosen by one player per round. Logically following your plan and quickly gaining bonuses will give you a good chance of winning. The action of gaining victory points itself is reminscent of a good, old steam engine: In round one it’s sluggish and lumbering but at the end the points are flying onto your total. This is because the bonuses you receive early on pay out in every following round. by: Helmut Ohley, Leonhard Orgler Publisher: Hans im Glück Sales: Schmidt Spiele Artwork / Illustration: Martin Hoffmann, Claus Stephan 22 Kinderspiel des Jahres: Winner 23 Geister, Geister, Schatzsuchmeister! • 2 - 4 players • age 8+ * • about 30 minutes • about 33 Euros This old house is haunted by ghosts. Nevertheless, four courageous treasure hunters dare to enter. After all, eight precious jewels are hidden there. Only those blessed with skill, luck and team spirit will get them. In this exciting co-operative game, players have to work together. Almost every move on the game board summons new ghosts, the custom die takes care of that. If there are three ghosts in one room, it becomes haunted. If six rooms are haunted, the game is over for everyone. Players constantly have to decide whether to liberate a jewel or to face their fears in an exciting dice duel. The base game leaves younger children in high spirits. The whole family will rave over the advanced version. * Our recommendation: For ages 7 and up. by: Brian Yu Publisher: Mattel Games Artwork / Illustration: Pierre Lechevalier The jury’s explanation: Have no fear, with teamwork you can do anything, even if things get a bit gruesome. Brian Yu creates a spooky atmosphere that never fails to draw players into the game. If the threat grows too strong, the idea of working together comes to the foreground, as evil can only be banished collectively. At the same time, the game builds bridges between generations. With the variants which can be introduced gradually, the tasks grow – and the players along with them. 24 Kinderspiel des Jahres: Nominated Kinderspiel des Jahres: Nominated Richard Ritterschlag Flizz & Miez • 2 - 4 players • age 5+ * • about 15 minutes • about 20 Euros This is a game of cat and mouse! As the cars speed across the racetrack in the playroom, the cat chases behind, trying to catch them. As the driver, children have to fit together as many cars as possible out of jigsaw pieces, since for each one they complete car they can move their racecar along the track with a loud “Vroooom.” At the same time, another player tries to roll the cat symbol on the dice as often as possible, so that with a loud “Meooow” they can catch the car. Children swap roles each round. The player who was sitting behind the steering wheel last round becomes the chasing cat or attempts to keep an overview of events as race co-ordinator. This wonderfully exciting, hectic racing game requires a lot of concentration and keen eyes. 2 - 4 players • age 5+ • about 10 minutes • about 10 Euros • Two to four knaves want to follow in the footsteps of the great Richard Ritterschlag. They want to defeat dragons, catch robbers, chase away witches and have many more adventures. Before that, however, they have to explore the area around the castle: “Richard Ritterschlag” is a tile-laying game, where a middle ages landscape is created round by round. Many of the triangular landscape tiles show half of a colour-coordinated quest field. Whoever completes it may play a corresponding adventure card from their supply. At the jousting arena, the colour isn’t important and whoever helps the scatterbrained Knight No-hoper to find his horse gets an extra turn. Knight or knave? – tactical play and lucky cards will decide. * Our recommendation: For ages 6 and up by: Klemens Franz, Hanno Girke, Dale Yu Publisher: Stadlbauer Artwork / Illustration: Andreas Resch by: Johannes Zirm Publisher: Haba Artwork / Illustration: Michael Menzel 25 26 Kinderspiel des Jahres: Recommended Kinderspiel des Jahres: Recommended Game Over Feuerdrachen • 2 - 4 players • age 5+ * • about 20 minutes * • about 30 Euros In the valley of the fire dragon something big is brewing – at any moment the mighty volcano Rubino could erupt and shoot out precious rubies. According to legend, whoever feeds his dragon with these rubies will make it invincible. So the brave dragon-riders are circling over the mountain, trying with tactical skill and lucky dice rolls to collect as many of the coveted jewels as possible. The two-part metal crater in the middle is continuously filled with little red plastic stones. As soon as a player rolls the symbol “volcanic eruption”, he lifts the top part up and the jewels roll out onto the game board. Whoever uses their turns wisely to snatch the most rubies or to swipe the stones collected by the other players, will come out on top at the end of this exciting competition. 2 - 4 players • age 5+ • about 10 minutes • about 10 Euros • A dungeon full of monsters, a princess behind bars and a little barbarian as hero – is this suitable for a children’s game? Yes – when it’s so humorously done, like in this lovingly illustrated memory game, where even little barbarians won’t realise they’re actually training their memory. Players forge a path across a grid of 25 dungeon cards. Whenever they reveal a card they will usually see monsters. These can only ever be defeated with a particular piece of equipment. You’re lucky if you can remember this and make the right decision. Step by step players approach their goal. You will only be able to win by finding a key and the princess as well as overcoming all obstacles all in one turn. * Our recommendation: For ages 6 and up; approx. 30 minutes by: Carlo Emanuele Lanzavecchia Publisher: Haba Artwork / Illustration: Franz Vohwinkel by: Jérémy Peytevin Publisher: La Haute Roche Sales: Asmodee Artwork / Illustration: Midam 27 28 Kinderspiel des Jahres: Recommended Gruselrunde zur Geisterstunde • 2 - 4 players • age 5+ • about 20 minutes • about 33 Euros Just after the clock strikes twelve, up to ten frightening figures appear in Villa Schauerstein. Different ghouls are moved into a three-dimensional cardboard castle. The children memorise who is standing where. Once the roof is placed on top, the witches, vampires and co. are pushed outside with a wand, so that they disappear behind the walls. On their turn, the player pushes three required figures that they can remember, back into the villa. The other players bet chips to see if they’ll be successful. Peeking through a small peephole into the badly-lit castle reveals whether the player was succesful or not. The intricate components produce a dramatic atmosphere for this memory game. by: Kai Haferkamp Publisher: Ravensburger Artwork / Illustration: Graham Howells Kinderspiel des Jahres: Recommended Oh Schreck, der Speck fliegt weg! 2 - 5 players • age 6+ • about 20 minutes • about 8 Euros • Not an elephant in a china shop but rather in a supermarket. That’s almost just as bad. It’s very hungry, and is piling an adventurously large number of groceries into its shopping trolley. Soon it’ll be “Oh Schreck, der Speck fliegt weg!” In this small but pretty building game, players will build a wobbly tower out of discs, cubes, blocks and lumps of cheese. You’ll need to be adventurous, skilled and rational to play this game. Mice chips determine what colour the next piece will be that you’ll need to build. If you daren’t place a piece, you can pass the task to the next player. But this will then given them an advantage. The most successful builder in each round gains a shopping token. The first to three wins the game. by: Christian and Thilo Hutzler Publisher: Haba Artwork / Illustration: Martin Bernhard 29 30 Kinderspiel des Jahres: Recommended Speed Cups Kinderspiel des Jahres: Recommended Welches Tier bin ich? • 2 - 4 players • age 6+ • about 15 minutes * • about 16 Euros When the bell tolls, speedy fun is guaranteed. In “Speed Cups” children have to put five plastic cups in the correct order. Amusingly illustrated cards show whether they need to be next to one another or stacked together. They show birds, ice creams or even pencils. But no-one has time to look carefully at them. Because everyone’s stacking at the same time and in competition with each other. It’s fascinating how much chaos can be caused by just five colours. And even better is the delight at completing the task the quickest and being able to ring the bell. Then you get the card as a reward. This reaction game develops naturally and teaches skill, speed and perception. 1 - 16 players • age 3+ • about 20 minutes • about 9 Euros • Am I dressed up as a wolf or a fox? As a stork or a crane? 16 cards lie face-up, showing children in animal costumes. Another 16 cards, showing the same animals as the children’s costumes, are shuffled and placed face-down in a pile. In the variant for the youngest children, each child draws an animal card. Now the game is about good observation and quick reactions. Whoever finds the costume corresponding to their animal first may keep the card. Older children can play it as a question and answer game. With questions like “can you fly?” or “are you a pet?” they try to guess which card another player is holding. A lovingly illustrated guessing game that teaches observational skills, imagination and vocabulary in both small and larger groups. * Our recommendation: Approx. 30 minutes by: Haim Shafir Publisher: Amigo Artwork / Illustration: Yaniv Shimoni, Barbara Spelger by: Laima Zuloné Publisher: Logis Sales: Amigo Artwork / Illustration: Laima Zuloné 31 32 Kinderspiel des Jahres: Recommended Zieh Leine, Flynn The Jury 2014 The “Spiel des Jahres” and “Kennerspiel des Jahres” Jury • 2 - 4 players • age 6+ • about 15 minutes • about 20 Euros The cheeky owl Flynn triumphantly sits enthroned in the crow’s nest of the pirate ship and looks over the treasure he’s pinched from the deck. In an adventurous manoeuvre, the furious pirates are attempting to win back their chests of gold, sparkling pieces of jewellery and valuable sabres. To do this, players make piles of cards depicting different objects, having previously memorised the order. The wooden owl is placed on top of the tower. Now, players have to roll the die and find the indicated treasure in the deck. With a skilful tug, players pull the objects out of the deck without any other cards slipping or else Flynn the owl will fall from the tower. The wellknown “tablecloth trick” of this unusual memory game requires co-ordination and dexterity. by: Stefan Dorra, Manfred Reindl Publisher: moses Artwork / Illustration: Christiane Kraemer, Tatjana Obermann The “Spiel des Jahres” and “Kennerspiel des Jahres” jury 2014 From left to right (standing): Wieland Herold, Guido Heinecke, Tom Felber, Bernhard Löhlein, Stefan Ducksch, Udo Bartsch Seated: Chris Mewes, Sandra Lemberger, Karsten Grosser The “Spiel des Jahres” critics’ award has been awarded since 1979. Since 2011 the “Kennerspiel des Jahres” prize has also been given. The nine-person jury responsible for both awards consists of games journalists and is independent from the industry and trade. The “Kinderspiel des Jahres” Jury The “Kinderspiel des Jahres” jury and advisory panel 2014: From left to right (standing): Cordula Dernbach, Tina Kraft, Iris Treiber, Sandra Baumgartner, Stefanie Marckwardt Seated: Christoph Schlewinski, Sabine Koppelberg, Stefan Gohlisch The critic’s award “Kinderspiel des Jahres”, which has existed since 2001, is awarded by an eight-person jury, all of whom work intensively with children’s games. In 2014 the jury consisted of four members of the “Spiel des Jahres” committee and four advisors. 33 34 Previous award winners Spiel des Jahres 1979: Hase und Igel 1980: Rummikub 1981: Focus 1982: Sagaland 1983: Scotland Yard 1984: Dampfross 1985: Sherlock Holmes´ Criminal-Cabinet 1986: Heimlich & Co 1987: Auf Achse 1988: Barbarossa und die Rätselmeister 1989: Café International 1990: Adel verpflichtet 1991: Drunter & Drüber 1992: Um Reifenbreite 1993: Bluff 1994: Manhattan 1995: Die Siedler von Catan 1996: El Grande 1997: Mississippi Queen 1998: Elfenland 1999: Tikal 2000: Torres 2001: Carcassonne 2002: Villa Paletti 2003: Der Palast von Alhambra 2004: Zug um Zug 2005: Niagara 2006: Thurn und Taxis 2007: Zooloretto 2008: Keltis 2009: Dominion 2010: Dixit 2011: Qwirkle 2012: Kingdom Builder 2013: Hanabi 2014: Camel Up Kinderspiel des Jahres 2001: Klondike 2002: Maskenball der Käfer 2003: Viva Topo! 2004: Geistertreppe 2005: Das kleine Gespenst 2006: Der schwarze Pirat 2007: Beppo der Bock 2008: Wer war‘s? 2009: Das magische Labyrinth 2010: Diego Drachenzahn 2011: Da ist der Wurm drin 2012: Schnappt Hubi! 2013: Der verzauberte Turm 2014: Geister, Geister, Schatzsuchmeister! Kennerspiel des Jahres 2011: 7 Wonders 2012: Village 2013: Die Legenden von Andor 2014: Istanbul 35 36 Find a game Find a game Award Winners Kinderspiele 2014 Award Winners Spiele 2014 37 Age Title Difficulty Players Playing time (min) Page Age Title Difficulty Players Playing time (min) Page 3 Welches Tier bin ich? + 1 - 16 20 31 7 Voll Schaf + 2-4 15 12 5 Game Over ++ 2-4 10 27 8 Camel Up ++ 2-8 30 4 5 Gruselrunde zur Geisterstunde ++ 2-4 20 28 8 SOS Titanic ++ 1-5 30 11 5 Richard Ritterschlag ⁿ ++ 2-4 10 25 10 Splendor ⁿ + 2-4 30 6 6 Speed Cups + 2-4 15* 30 10 Concept ⁿ ++ 4 - 12 40 7 6 Zieh Leine, Flynn + 2-4 15 32 10 Love Letter ++ 2-4 25 8 Oh Schreck, der Speck fliegt weg! 10 Potato Man ++ 2-5 30 9 6 + 2-5 20 29 10* Sanssouci ++ 2-4 45 10 6* Feuerdrachen ++ 2-4 30* 26 6* Flizz & Miez ⁿ ++ 2-4 15 24 7* Geister, Geister, Schatzsuchmeister! +++ + ++ +++ ++++ * 2-4 30 22 = easy to learn = normal = challenging = especially challenging = our rating varies from that of the publisher Highlighted in blue: = Kinderspiel des Jahres = Nominated games Highlighted in red: = Spiel des Jahres n = Nominated games Highlighted in Anthracite: = Kennerspiel des Jahres n = Nominated games n The tables are sorted in ascending order by age and difficulty. Award Winners Kennerspiele 2014 Age Title Difficulty 10 Guildhall +++ 10 Istanbul +++ Playing Time (min) Page 2-4 45 20 2-5 60 14 Players 10 Amerigo +++ 2-4 90 18 12 Concordia ⁿ +++ 2-5 90 16 12 Rokoko ⁿ ++++ 2-5 120 17 12 Russian Railroads ++++ 2-4 120 21 14 Blood Bound +++ 6 - 12 30 19 Games Designer Grant 38 Games Designer Grant The Games Designer Grant is intended to give up-and-coming designers an insight into the varied areas of the gaming scene. It is not just intended to enhance the focus on the unique activities of the designer but also includes insights on the consumer perspective and the field of game theory. A sum of 3,000 Euro is available to cover the grant holder’s travel costs and expenses. Several work placements are envisaged, including in a games publishing house and with a specialised games merchant. The grant is awarded every year at the game designer meeting in Göttingen. Index / Impressum Index Amerigo.........................................................18 Blood Bound...................................................19 Camel Up..........................................................4 Concept.........................................................6 Concordia......................................................16 Feuerdrachen.................................................26 Flizz & Miez....................................................24 Game Over.....................................................27 Geister, Geister, Schatzsuchmeister!..............22 Guildhall.........................................................20 Gruselrunde zur Geisterstunde.......................28 Istanbul.........................................................14 Love Letter........................................................8 Oh Schreck, der Speck fliegt weg!..................29 Potato Man.......................................................9 Richard Ritterschlag.......................................25 Rokoko.........................................................17 Russian Railroads...........................................21 Sanssouci.....................................................10 Speed Cups....................................................30 Splendor........................................................7 SOS Titanic.....................................................11 Voll Schaf........................................................12 Welches Tier bin ich?.......................................31 Zieh Leine, Flynn...........................................32 Impressum 1st Edition 2014 Grant-holder 2014/15: Janosh Kozák Janosh Kozák was awarded the grant for 2014/15 by the “Spiel des Jahres” committee. The 24 year-old architecture student from Springe won the coveted incentive award at the game designer meeting in Göttingen on 14th-15th June 2014. Please see our website for further details: www.spiel-des-jahres.com Editorial Office: Spiel des Jahres e. V. Glashüttenstr. 38, 52349 Düren Telefon: 02421 6936947 [email protected] Design: temedes gmbh, 52349 Düren Print: Prost Druck GmbH, 52428 Jülich Copyright Photos: Spiel des Jahres e. V. and the publishers for their covershots Further informationen on www.spiel-des-jahres.com 39 Presented with the compliments of