Episode Details

Every year, the announcement of the Spiel des Jahres nominations leads to a lot of discussion across our hobby. Some people agree with the choices, others question why certain games were not included, and many try to predict the eventual winners. What most people don't realise when they discuss the nominations is that the jury does not gather for a single weekend to decide the best game of the year. No, jurors spend many months playing hundreds of new releases several times with different groups of people. It is a lot of work that often goes unnoticed, but that explains why the award continues to carry such influence nearly fifty years after it began. In the second article of the series, I look at this in more detail.

Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/06/16/spiel-des-jahres-how-the-jury-chooses-games-topic-discussion/

Useful Links

• Spiel des Jahres (German): https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/
• Spiel des Jahres – the award that was never really about awards: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/06/09/spiel-des-jahres-the-award-that-was-never-really-about-awards-topic-discussion/
• Spiel des Jahres FAQ (German): https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/faq/
• Spiel des Jahres FAQ for publishers (German): https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/faq-verlage/
• Spiel des Jahres jury members (German): https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/alle-jurymitglieder/
• Koschwitz zum Wochenende interview with Harald Schrapers. 31 July 2023: https://koschwitz-zum-wochenende.podigee.io/562-neue-episode
• Five Games for Doomsday interview with Martina Fuchs. 9 June 2025: https://5g4d.com/podcasts/spiel-des-jahres-special-jury-member-martina-fuchs
• Der Boardcast episode 408 interview with Harald Schrapers and Sebastian Wenzel. 18 May 2026.: https://boardcast.podigee.io/408-neue-episode

Music

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

Music: Madeira Dolphin Tour
Produced by Sascha Ende
Link: https://ende.app/en/song/13711-madeira-dolphin-tour

Music: Deep House Underscore 005
Produced by Sascha Ende
Link: https://ende.app/en/song/13702-deep-house-underscore-005

Music: Sunday Morning Coffee
Produced by Sascha Ende
Link: https://ende.app/en/song/13693-sunday-morning-coffee

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