All "Spiel des Jahres🇩🇪 1996" game award winners & nominees in comparison 2025

The "Spiel des Jahres" jury has determined the winner for Spiel des Jahres 🇩🇪1996 - they also published the list of nominees for the year of 1996. But which are really the best games of the 1996 vintage? We compared all the winners and nominees and sorted them by quality.

Game of the Year 🇩🇪 1996 Winners

  • Spiel des Jahres 1996 (Game of the Year):
    El Grande
  • Kennerspiel des Jahres 1996 (Connoisseur's game of the year):
    (exists only since 2011)
  • Kinderspiel des Jahres 1996 (Children's game of the year):
    Vier zu mir!

All other "Spiel des Jahres" years & awards

The Spiel des Jahres has been awarded since 1979, we have created several other lists for you:

Spiel des Jahres nominations and recommendations are also excellent

In our "Spiel des Jahres"-1996 list you will find not only the winners, but all games of the recommendation list as well as the nomination list.

List with all Spiel des Jahres 1996 games

Enclosed you find a comparison of all Spiel des Jahres 1996 games, which you can still buy in 2025:

This list was last updated on March 19, 2025. There's also a print version for this list.
  1. PitchCar

    All details for the board game PitchCar and similar games

    PitchCar and its earlier version Carabande are dexterity-based board games that create a fun and competitive racing experience. Players use finger flicks to propel small discs (representing cars) around a track constructed from wooden pieces.

    Nominated for 4 awards and won 3.

    ⭐️ Spiel des Jahres 1996

    More details for PitchCar
    • 2 - 8 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 6+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  2. El Grande

    All details for the board game El Grande and similar games

    El Grande is a classic strategy board game set in medieval Spain, where players, as powerful lords or "Grandes," vie for control over various regions in a declining kingdom. The game is known for its blend of tactical depth and strategic planning.

    Nominated for 5 awards and won 4.

    ⭐️ Spiel des Jahres 1996

    More details for El Grande
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 60 - 120 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
  3. Wat'n dat!?

    All details for the board game Wat'n dat!? and similar games

    Players need to guess words without using pens, speaking, or making gestures. Instead, they can only use glass beads and sticks to form as many words as possible within a time limit. Their teammates will guess the words to earn points for the team.

    Nominated for 1 award.

    More details for Wat'n dat!?
    • 3 - 8 Players
    • 60 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  4. Word-Whiz

    All details for the board game Word-Whiz and similar games

    A stick is placed in the center of the table. Three cards show consonants, and players must find a word containing all three consonants in any order, along with other letters. The player who successfully names a word scores points for the vowels in that word, while making mistakes or remaining silent results in losing vowels. The game ends when a player collects a specific quantity of each vowel, winning if they have fewer of a certain vowel than the others.

    More details for Word-Whiz
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  5. Top Race

    All details for the board game Top Race and similar games

    Maximize your earnings by finishing as one of the first to cross the finish line while also betting on your performance. Each player starts with 200,000 credits and selects their "Speed cards" after an auction for "Contestants cards" corresponding to their colors.

    Nominated for 2 awards and won 1.

    More details for Top Race
    • 2 - 6 Players
    • 45 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  6. Gloria Picktoria

    All details for the board game Gloria Picktoria and similar games

    Players try to collect majorities in as many of the ten different glamorous resource chicken holdings as possible by playing the most or the second-most cards of each type. There are three scoring rounds triggered by the appearance of specific cards from the draw pile. The game has previously been released under different names in Germany and the USA.

    More details for Gloria Picktoria
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 45 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  7. Mü & More

    All details for the board game Mü & More and similar games

    The card game features several games, with Mü as the main attraction. Players engage in complex trick-taking gameplay to win points. It includes variations like The Last Panther, Wimmüln, and Rummü, catering to different age groups and player counts. The game consists of 60 cards in five colors, each with a numerical value and point indicators.

    Nominated for 2 awards and won 1.

    More details for Mü & More
    • 2 - 8 Players
    • 60 Minutes
    • 11+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
  8. Vier zu mir!

    All details for the board game Vier zu mir! and similar games

    Players must find sets of four animals that match those shown on their search cards in this award-winning memory game for children. Each player has a set of 24 unique plastic animals and search cards, and they take turns asking other players for specific animals. The game ends when all matching cards are found, and points are awarded for completed sets.

    Nominated for 3 awards and won 2.

    ⭐️ Spiel des Jahres 1996

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kinderspiel des Jahres 2013

    More details for Vier zu mir!
    • 3 - 8 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 5+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  9. Campanile

    All details for the board game Campanile and similar games

    A beautiful combination of tile placement and betting. Players place long tiles to build five towers taller and taller while betting on which will be the highest or shortest. As players build, the height they add determines their betting limits and which draw pile they can take from. A clever mechanism creates engaging and frustrating decisions, rewarding the majority supporters on each tower with points.

    Nominated for 1 award.

    More details for Campanile
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  10. Venice Connection

    All details for the board game Venice Connection and similar games

    This is a river-building tile placement game for two players. The goal is to complete the canal in a loop using 16 identical pieces, each featuring a straight section on one side and a curve on the other. If a player realizes the canal cannot be completed, they challenge the other player, who must attempt to finish it alone; if successful, they win, otherwise, the challenger wins.

    Nominated for 2 awards and won 1.

    ⭐️ Spiel des Jahres 1996

    More details for Venice Connection
    • 2 Players
    • 10 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  11. Sisimizi

    All details for the board game Sisimizi and similar games

    Players control competing ant colonies aiming to connect all their anthills. They work to create ant chains from one anthill to another while simultaneously cutting off the chains of their opponents.

    More details for Sisimizi
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 45 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  12. Ab die Post!

    All details for the board game Ab die Post! and similar games

    Players navigate a racetrack, avoiding storm clouds, making repairs, and possibly picking up a passenger for bonus points. A black plastic storm cloud with a clear cap holds colored balls that determine flight speed. Players draw cards to assist in repairs and choose between outer, middle, or inner lanes, with the inner lane being the shortest but most expensive to use.

    More details for Ab die Post!
    • 3 - 6 Players
    • 45 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable

Didn't find the game you were looking for?

We're positive that you'll find it in one of our other lists! To make the search easier for you, we split our website into different categories. The following board game categories will help you find the right list: