Spiel des Jahres 2023: The best board games of the year

The results are in for another year of the prestigious German Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) award, which has been crowning the best board games since 1978. The awards also include the Kinderspiel des Jahres (Children's Game of the Year) and Kennerspiel des Jahres (Connoisseur-Game of the Year, perfect for serious gamers). The award has quickly built a stellar reputation and is now considered the Oscar of the board game world.

An expert jury evaluates the concept, production, design, and rules. If you see the award logo on a box, you can be sure you're making a great choice.

Kennerspiel des Jahres 2023

The selection of the best games for connoisseurs includes the beautifully crafted trading game Iki, where you try to build the best shop in historical Tokyo and offer the most interesting goods. The jury praised its innovative turn-order mechanics, atmosphere, and high level of interactivity.

Another contender was Neznámá planeta, a sci-fi strategy game. Humanity has drained Earth dry, and it's time to find new resources. Your task is to terraform a planet and secure a future for mankind. The jury was impressed by the unique rotating resource tray, the modularity that allows for high replayability, and the fact that all players act simultaneously, so there's no waiting for others.

The winner of this category is the tournament card game Challengers!: Vyzyvatelé, which we also stock in the Czech edition thanks to Blackfire. Build a deck full of various characters and monsters and face your opponents. Why did this one win? The jury loved the fresh concept that makes it easy to host an action-packed tournament even with many players, along with its high replayability. If you love gathering around cards, Challengers! is the game for you!

Kinderspiel des Jahres 2023

The beautiful ice cream game Carla Caramel made it into the best children's games of 2023. The jury appreciated the lovely production and simple, accessible rules. The game also offers plenty of tactical depth. Plus, it's all about ice cream! Who could resist that?

The second nominee is a colorful game full of little monsters called Gigamon, which focuses on memory. It made the list because it takes familiar mechanics and adds brand-new, original elements that surprise and entertain.

The award also went to Mysterium Kids, a lighter version of the highly acclaimed ghost game Mysterium. If you have a group of kids ready to cooperate, they'll be rewarded with a highly atmospheric experience full of exciting tasks as they search for mysterious objects in an even more mysterious mansion.

Spiel des Jahres 2023

The cooperative party game Fun Facts was nominated in the main category. At first glance, it's a classic number-guessing game, but beneath the surface, it offers surprisingly deep mechanics that help you learn interesting things about your fellow players and yourself.

Another nominee is the family train game Příští stanice Londýn, which is also available in Czech thanks to Mindoku. You'll dive into the London Underground. Who can best optimize the lines, design the best route between landmarks, and become the top engineer? The jury praised the compact packaging that offers hours of fun, simple rules, and the overall positive, non-violent nature of the game.

Ta-da! The best game of 2023 is the relatively unknown and unassuming Dorfromantik: The Board Game, an adaptation of the equally obscure video game. It's a peaceful city-builder where you work together to build the best village and fulfill the wishes of spoiled residents. The game offers a great campaign full of challenges, beautiful production, and the satisfying feeling of solving puzzles together. These are the reasons why the jury chose this as the best game of 2023.

author Karel Krajča