All "Spiel des Jahres🇩🇪 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.

Two teams compete in this fun and dramatic dexterity game. One player stacks components based on their teammates' instructions, but with a twist: the builder's eyes are covered! Each game includes two sets of 12 wooden pieces, and teams must guide their blindfolded member to construct a specific shape indicated by a card. The first team to complete their shape wins the round.

Players race their pieces around a board to return all of them to their starting point in order to win. The board is constructed differently before each game, featuring a dual track with a die image in the center of each space. At the start of a turn, a player selects one of their four pieces, indicates the number beneath it, and moves the piece that many spaces if their memory serves them correctly; otherwise, they lose their turn.

The goal is to push a small wooden ship along a racetrack while avoiding buoys. The challenge lies in the ship's two separate parts: the motor and the rest of the ship, which tends to rotate unpredictably. Players take turns using an egg timer, and the first to reach the end of the track wins.

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.

Mississippi Queen is a charming, family-friendly board game that has players steering their paddleboats down the iconic Mississippi River. The goal is simple: race to the finish line while navigating the river's unpredictable twists and turns, and picking up passengers along the way. However, the challenge comes from managing your limited coal supplies, crucial for fueling your boat's movements and strategic maneuvers.

Based on his earlier work Wildlife Adventure, Expedition focuses on three common expeditions in search of various archaeological sites around the world. The game board features a world map with several branching paths, and players advance their expeditions by placing plastic arrows. The first player to collect all their cards ends the game, and the highest total score wins.

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.

Two builders meet on sacred ground to construct a giant temple. They only have a single pyramid stump to work with and must place 22 identical pieces to achieve the highest score possible, all while being disrupted by Ah Puch, the god of death and destruction. Players must strategically place their 3D pieces without extending beyond the third level, creating a large, engaging puzzle experience.

This is another entry in the series of very small card games by Reinhard Staupe. The game consists of four cards numbered 1 to 7, with varying star values. Players start with 150 points, which serve as both their starting score and bidding pool, and cards are auctioned off with the bidding rules based on the card numbers. After all cards are auctioned, players score points based on the card numbers and total stars in each color to determine their final score.

The king is close to death, prompting the princes to compete for control of the kingdom and secure the throne by claiming as much land as possible. Each turn, a card reveals three possible actions, such as building a wall, moving a wall to expand the kingdom, or placing a knight. If multiple players choose the same action, a bidding war ensues. The game includes various components like walls, castles, knights, and a beautifully designed game board that allows for different setups.

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.

Husarengolf is a skill game for 2 or 4 players. Players hold opposite ends of a game board and tilt it to try to land a ball in one of their designated areas. In a four-player game, participants form teams.