All "À la carte🇩🇪 1997" game award winners & nominees in comparison 2026

Bohnanza is a unique card game about planting, trading, and harvesting beans. Unlike typical card games, you can't rearrange your hand, adding a strategic twist. The core of the game lies in trading beans with others to manage your hand effectively.

Turn the Tide is a clever card game that combines strategy, prediction, and a bit of luck. Players start with a hand of 12 cards from a deck numbered 1-60, with the remainder set aside for the entire game. Each round involves choosing a card secretly and then revealing them simultaneously. Scoring involves collecting cards from a separate deck, with the highest card played taking the lower scoring card and the second-highest taking the other. A unique aspect is the rotation of hands, as players pass their entire hand to the next player after each round, challenging them to score well with the same cards their neighbor previously used.

Players compete for consecutive point cards on the table by laying down cards with the lowest sum. There is one point card less than the number of players, meaning someone will always go without a card, reminiscent of musical chairs. Each player receives a hand of cards and selects one to play against others, with the player having the lowest value card winning a scoring card, continuing until only two players remain for the final showdown. The game is played over two rounds, and the highest total score at the end wins.

Nyet! is a cleverly designed trick-taking card game that adds a unique twist to the genre through its interactive setup phase. Players engage in a pre-game strategy session where they decide the rules for the upcoming round by systematically eliminating options on a grid. This phase determines key elements like the starting player, trump suit, and other game variables, which adds a layer of strategy and unpredictability before the cards are even played.

Players assemble four shows in any order: Queenie, Wolf, King Lear, and Ballet. They design actor cards from a constantly changing display, with each card representing actors with different abilities. Once a player has gathered all the required roles for a show, its value is compared to other productions of the same type, awarding points relative to those productions.

The Catan Card Game offers a distinct experience from its predecessor, The Settlers of Catan, focusing on strategic card play and resource management in the familiar Catan universe.

It's time for the buffalo hunt. Players showcase the hunters and great warriors of their tribe, forming their hunting party. Great warriors can capture opposing tribe members for points, while strong hunters can win buffalo for their tribe. The player who skillfully plays their cards across the three hunts wins the game.

Carnival is taking place in Venice, and players must find their partner, one of three famous secret agents. The goal is to make contact and exchange information to crack a safe containing the last known whereabouts of a mysterious figure known as "the old man." However, another team of agents is also in Venice to steal the information, and mistakes can be fatal.

Players engage in a bluffing game featuring a twist. Each of the 54 cards comes in three colors and is numbered 1-9, depicting snakes with or without fangs. Players obscure the toxicity of their chosen card by holding it above the snake's head, while scoring is influenced by whether the cards show fangs. After the first trick, participation in subsequent tricks is voluntary, and players must play cards of increasing value to take part. A small notepad is included for scorekeeping.

Players aim to gain control over companies represented by cards in this revenge-themed game. Each round, players earn income from companies where they have the most board members, roll three dice, and use them to introduce new companies, add board members to existing ones, or draw new cards.