Spiel des Jahres Winners
The Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year), is one of the most prestigious awards for board and card games, awarded annually by a jury of German game critics. Since 2011 the Kennerspiel des Jahres (Connoisseur/Expert Game of the Year), for more complex games, has also been annually awarded. There is also a Kinderspiel des Jahres (Children’s game of the Year) that has been awarded annually since 1989.
Games listed below with the goose icon are available in the Goose Games library. Please use our Game Request Form on the home page if there is something you would like to see at a future game night.
Spiel des Jahres — Winners
1979–2026 · Game of the Year, main award only · click a title to view it on BoardGameGeek
| Year | Title | Designer | Publisher | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Hare and Tortoise | David Parlett | Ravensburger | |
| 1980 | Rummikub | Ephraim Hertzano | Intelli | |
| 1981 | Focus | Sid Sackson | Parker | |
| 1982 | Enchanted Forest | Alex Randolph & Michel Matschoss | Ravensburger | |
| 1983 | Scotland Yard | Werner Schlegel, Dorothy Garrels, Fritz Ifland, Manfred Burggraf, Werner Scheerer | Ravensburger | |
| 1984 | Railway Rivals | David Watts | Schmidt Games | |
| 1985 | Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective | Raymond Edwards, Suzanne Goldberg & Gary Grady | Kosmos | |
| 1986 | Top Secret Spies | Wolfgang Kramer | Ravensburger | |
| 1987 | Auf Achse | Wolfgang Kramer | F.X. Schmid | |
| 1988 | Barbarossa | Klaus Teuber | Altenburger und Stralsunder | |
| 1989 | Café International | Rudi Hoffmann | Mattel | |
| 1990 | Adel Verpflichtet | Klaus Teuber | F.X. Schmid | |
| 1991 | Drunter und Drüber | Klaus Teuber | Hans im Glück | |
| 1992 | Um Reifenbreite | Rob Bontenbal | Jumbo | |
| 1993 | Call My Bluff (Bluff) | Richard Borg | F.X. Schmid | |
| 1994 | Manhattan | Andreas Seyfarth | Hans im Glück | |
 | 1995 | The Settlers of Catan | Klaus Teuber | Kosmos |
| 1996 | El Grande | Wolfgang Kramer & Richard Ulrich | Hans im Glück | |
| 1997 | Mississippi Queen | Werner Hodel | Goldsieber | |
| 1998 | Elfenland | Alan R. Moon | Amigo Spiele | |
| 1999 | Tikal | Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling | Ravensburger | |
| 2000 | Torres | Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling | Ravensburger | |
| 2001 | Carcassonne | Klaus-Jürgen Wrede | Hans im Glück |
| 2002 | Villa Paletti | Bill Payne | Zoch Verlag | |
| 2003 | Alhambra | Dirk Henn | Queen Games |
| 2004 | Ticket to Ride | Alan R. Moon | Days of Wonder |
| 2005 | Niagara | Thomas Liesching | Zoch Verlag | |
| 2006 | Thurn and Taxis | Andreas Seyfarth & Karen Seyfarth | Hans im Glück | |
| 2007 | Zooloretto | Michael Schacht | Abacus Spiele |
| 2008 | Keltis | Reiner Knizia | Kosmos | |
| 2009 | Dominion | Donald X. Vaccarino | Rio Grande Games |
| 2010 | Dixit | Jean-Louis Roubira | Libellud |
| 2011 | Qwirkle | Susan McKinley Ross | MindWare |
| 2012 | Kingdom Builder | Donald X. Vaccarino | Queen Games | |
| 2013 | Hanabi | Antoine Bauza | Abacusspiele | |
| 2014 | Camel Up | Steffen Bogen | Eggertspiele |
| 2015 | Colt Express | Christophe Raimbault | Ludonaute |
| 2016 | Codenames | Vlaada Chvátil | Czech Games Edition |
| 2017 | Kingdomino | Bruno Cathala | Pegasus Spiele | |
| 2018 | Azul | Michael Kiesling | Next Move Games / Plan B Games |
| 2019 | Just One | Ludovic Roudy & Bruno Sautter | Repos Production | |
| 2020 | Pictures | Daniela & Christian Stöhr | PD-Verlag |
| 2021 | MicroMacro: Crime City | Johannes Sich | Edition Spielwiese / Pegasus Spiele | |
| 2022 | Cascadia | Randy Flynn | Flatout Games / AEG / Kosmos |
| 2023 | Dorfromantik: The Board Game | Michael Palm & Lukas Zach | Pegasus Spiele | |
| 2024 | Sky Team | Luc Rémond | Kosmos / Scorpion Masqué | |
| 2025 | Bomb Busters | Hisashi Hayashi | Pegasus Spiele / Cocktail Games | |
| 2026 | JinxO | Martin Ang | Game Factory / Tabletoys Games |
Kennerspiel des Jahres — Winners
2011–2026 · Connoisseur Game of the Year · click a title to view it on BoardGameGeek
| Year | Title | Designer | Publisher | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 7 Wonders | Antoine Bauza | Repos Production |
| 2012 | Village | Inka Brand & Markus Brand | eggertspiele / Pegasus Spiele | |
| 2013 | Legends of Andor | Michael Menzel | Kosmos / Fantasy Flight Games | |
| 2014 | Istanbul | Rüdiger Dorn | Pegasus Spiele | |
| 2015 | Broom Service | Andreas Pelikan & Alexander Pfister | Ravensburger | |
| 2016 | Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King | Andreas Pelikan & Alexander Pfister | Mayfair Games |
| 2017 | Exit: The Game | Inka Brand & Markus Brand | Kosmos | |
| 2018 | The Quacks of Quedlinburg | Wolfgang Warsch | Schmidt Spiele |
| 2019 | Wingspan | Elizabeth Hargrave | Stonemaier Games |
| 2020 | The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine | Thomas Sing | Kosmos | |
| 2021 | Paleo | Peter Rustemeyer | Hans im Glück | |
| 2022 | Living Forest | Aske Christiansen | Pegasus Spiele / Ludonaute | |
| 2023 | Challengers! | Johannes Krenner & Markus Slawitscheck | 1 More Time Games / Z-Man Games |
| 2024 | Daybreak | Matt Leacock & Matteo Menapace | Schmidt Spiele / CMYK | |
| 2025 | Endeavor: Deep Sea | Carl de Visser & Jarratt Gray | Frosted Games / Burnt Island Games / Grand Gamers Guild |
| 2026 | Rebirth | Reiner Knizia | Frosted Games / Mighty Board |
If you’re curious, the Kinderspiel_des_Jahres winners are listed at https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Kinderspiel_des_Jahres