Award Criteria
The award is given by a jury of German-speaking board game critics (from Germany, Austria, Switzerland), who review games released in Germany in the preceding twelve months. The games considered for the award are family-style games; war games, role-playing games, collectible card games, and other complicated, highly-competitive, or hobbyist games are outside the scope of the award. Since 1989, there has been a separate award for children's games.
On occasion, the jury has awarded a special prize for more complex games, such as Agricola in 2008 or World Without End in 2010. Prior to 2011, this award was an exceptional award, not necessarily awarded annually. In 2011, however, this practice was formalized when the jury created a new category for more complex games entitled "Kennerspiel des Jahres" (roughly "Connoisseur-Enthusiast Game of the Year"). Along with the nominations, the jury also gives a list of recommended games, and occasionally gives out special prizes for games which will not be considered for the main award.
The criteria on which a game is evaluated are,:
- game concept (originality, playability, game value)
- rule structure (composition, clearness, comprehensibility)
- layout (box, board, rules),
- design (functionality, workmanship)
Read more about this topic: Spiel Des Jahres
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