All "Spiel des Jahres🇩🇪 2006" game award winners & nominees in comparison 2026

Embark on a frigid escapade with Hey, That's My Fish! as players compete to secure the most fish using their waddle of penguins. Each turn unfolds a strategic journey as players guide their penguins in a straight line across hex-shaped ice tiles, each adorned with 1, 2, or 3 fish.

The premise is simple: a board rests on a platform filled with wooden discs, trees, and other objects. In the center lies a ring of light covered by a cardboard disc and a flickering flame, with the cauldrons circling around it. Players aim to push their cauldron towards the ring of light by pressing pieces on the board, but the twist is that the game is played in complete darkness, making everything except the glowing elements invisible.

Giro Galoppo is a horse racing card game for players aged 6 and up, featuring mechanics similar to "Ave Caesar." Players take turns placing obstacles and then simultaneously choose cards from their identical sets numbered 1-6. The player with the lowest card value moves first, potentially pushing others back, while avoiding obstacles that would result in losing their turn.

Honest sailors sail from one treasure island to the next, but they are pursued by Salvador Sea Devil, who tries to plunder their treasures. Players must hoist their sails quickly as a strong gust of wind propels their boats across the sea. The game board features islands marked with colored flags, and players use a bellows to create wind that helps them advance their ships while avoiding the pirate.

Players must use a pebble, a toothbrush, a fork, a lighter, a toy soldier, a die, and a few other items in sequence. The goal is for one player to guess an answer from a list of five, including stories like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, The Brave Little Tailor, and Cinderella. It seems implausible, but the game works surprisingly well.

Farmer Fred feeds his chickens early in the morning by tossing grain over the fence. The chickens rush excitedly for the treats, but then the fox appears around the fence. It's a clever game filled with big treats, typical of Haba.

In the strategic world of Thurn & Taxis, players immerse themselves in the bustling realm of Bavaria and its surrounding regions, embarking on a quest to construct post office routes. The game unfolds on a dynamic board depicting a map of cities, with interconnecting roads weaving through various colored regions. Players strategically build postal routes from city to city, navigating the intricate network of roads and collecting bonus points through clever decisions.

Players attempt to cross a border with luggage filled with both legal and illegal goods. Each player declares only the legal items they carry, often resorting to deception. One player takes on the role of Sheriff each turn, deciding who to inspect, and those caught with undeclared goods face penalties. Players can also negotiate to bribe the Sheriff for safe passage and store goods for future sales at higher prices. The game features bluffing, negotiation, strategy, and plenty of laughter.

Blue Moon City, a board game designed as a sequel to the two-player game Blue Moon, focuses on the collective effort to rebuild the titular city after its destruction. The game is visually brought to life by Franz Vohwinkel and other fantasy artists, featuring large building tiles that display both the blueprint and the finished structure. Players use cards representing the races of Blue Moon to contribute to the city's reconstruction, earning rewards and ultimately aiming to restore the Crystal of the Obelisk.

"Buenos Dias!" invites families with children aged 6 and up into the world of Los Mampfos, a game about food, hungry donkeys, and the millstones that determine their fate. In this 20 to 30-minute game, three donkeys with varying levels of fullness are always on the move, requiring good memory skills from players.

Players must place location cards correctly on a map of Germany. Those with knowledge of the country's geography will have an advantage, while others will learn from their mistakes. The aim is to convince fellow players of your accuracy, but a wrongly played card can lead to trouble.

Roma is a strategic card and dice game set in ancient Rome, amidst a backdrop of political turmoil and power struggles. Players must cleverly use a variety of powerful cards, like the Tower and Praetorian Guard for defense or the Consul and Tribune for more subtle maneuvers, to gain the upper hand. The game is uniquely driven by a combination of card placement and dice rolling. Cards are placed at stations numbered 1-6, and players use dice rolled each turn to activate these stations and utilize the card effects for tactical advantage. These effects can manipulate gameplay, generate money, or grant victory points. The game ends when all victory points in play have been claimed, and the player with the most victory points emerges victorious. Additionally, Roma can be combined with its sequel, Arena: Roma II, for varied gameplay experiences.

Shadows over Camelot is a unique blend of cooperative and semi-cooperative gameplay set in the legendary world of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It combines hand-management and deduction, suitable for 3–7 players.

Children aged 4 and older can explore and shape through play. Players develop their tactile skills while helping a friendly caterpillar find the right colorful outfits for a big carnival. The game involves feeling and matching various wooden pieces to fit the caterpillar's body, and the player who places the most pieces wins.

Doktor Schlüsselbart showcases that good intuition can surpass even the best magic. Players help the famous alchemist navigate his enchanted castle by searching their bags filled with various keys to find the right one. The goal is to move him to four different elixirs, training intuition and enhancing quick thinking along the way.

Sneak out of your hiding spot when the band leaves the rehearsal room to raid the fridge. As a hungry bug, your goal is to quickly grab food tokens while avoiding getting caught by the drummer returning. The game features 91 food items, 5 shelters, 4 light bulbs, and various action cards, ensuring excitement for everyone, even those who may not like bugs!

Each player starts with five chips. To take a ship card, players must have a stack of chips, with the minimum required for each ship indicated on the card. A unique twist allows players to add their chip or stack to an opponent's, gaining ownership of the entire stack, but it can only be used in the following turn, potentially leaving it vulnerable to being taken. The scoring system has been expanded, introducing new tokens and a consolation prize for the player with the highest stack, adding more strategic depth to the gameplay.

Players have sheets with four cards numbered from 1 to 19. They play 1, 2, 3, or 4 cards to place a stone on a board made up of 36 numbered squares arranged in a non-obvious order. The goal is to claim four squares in a line, but multiple stones can be placed on a square, and a square is only secure if a player has two more stones there than any other player. If no one forms four in a row within 20 rounds, the game ends and the player with the most points wins.

The goal is to avoid collecting Fettnapf cards. Players take turns playing cards to add or subtract values, declaring the total aloud. Careful strategy is needed because if a player announces a number held by another, they receive a Fettnapf card. The game ends when a player has collected four Fettnapf cards, and the winner is the one with the fewest.

Set sail and weigh anchor! Players navigate pirate ships in search of valuable hidden treasures. It's a matter of honor to discover, load, and be the first to bring it to port, all while facing fierce competition from other pirates, tornadoes, and fate itself. The pirates are ruthless, stealing, plundering, and sinking ships, but excessive greed can put their own treasure at risk.

Players take on the role of fishmongers at a bustling fish market. They bid on fish brought in by ships and sell them to other players based on market demands. Only the shrewdest negotiator will emerge victorious with the most money, typically at the expense of their competitors.

Farmer Murmel has gone to the fields to harvest beets, causing chaos on the farm. While the cows play and the pig surfs the internet, the rooster watches for the farmer’s return through binoculars. Suddenly, the dog has a bright idea for a game, and as the animals gather, a small mouse scurries by, igniting their fun until Farmer Murmel returns with his huge beets.

Caylus is a deeply strategic board game that transports players to the year 1289, where they become master builders tasked with constructing a castle for King Philip the Fair of France and developing the surrounding city.

Citizens of the early Roman Empire lack a vital resource: drinking water. Experienced architects and their workers rise to the challenge by constructing monumental aqueducts. Players must plan carefully to build the longest aqueducts and achieve the greatest glory by expanding, closing aqueducts, and collecting points for completed ones. The game concludes when a full round passes without any tiles being played, and the player with the most points is declared the winner.

In the center stands the Ziggurat, where players must bring four offering tokens to win. To deliver these offerings, players need to reserve enough Mana by praying in temples that they build. Players construct huts to increase their population and gather stone and wood from quarries and forests to build huts, temples, and Mana. Each turn allows players to move five spaces, lay new stones, and use resources to construct or explore. As players build their clan, they will engage in various activities, including praying at temples and sacrificing messengers to continue growing their population.

Players take on the role of caravan leaders, with the number of camels in each caravan determined by the number of players. The goal is to transport goods from the starting point to Timbuktu while managing to protect them from thieves who attack at night. As players receive various clues about the thefts along the journey, they must deduce the situation and relocate camels to ensure that valuable goods are safely delivered to their final destination.

Monkeys have eaten all their bananas and need to find a new banana field. Players race to reach it first while facing hyenas and snakes. This children's game is for 2-5 players and includes 33 cards, 10 game pieces, 2 dice, and rules.

In each round, a large plastic fire truck is shaken, changing the order of colored balls in its transparent lid. This new order determines how cardboard firefighters must be flipped face-up in the correct sequence. If a player makes a mistake, one of the 9 hay bales (cardboard companions) catches fire.

Players travel around the world to visit three locations and take pictures. At the start, three destination cards are revealed. On their turn, players roll five dice to determine which modes of transportation are available for that round. The first to visit a destination takes the corresponding card, and a new card is added. The player who collects three cards and returns to Germany first wins the game.