The best games nominated for the "Spiel des Jahres" game award 2026

KLASK is a magnetic, fast-paced table-top game that combines elements of air hockey and foosball, offering a unique and exciting gameplay experience.

SCOUT is an innovative card game that blends elements of hand management and ladder-climbing mechanics. The unique twist in this game is the dual-indexed cards and the restriction on rearranging your hand, creating a challenging and strategic gameplay experience.

So Clover! is a cooperative word-association game that challenges players to think creatively and work together. The essence of the game is to generate and guess keywords based on shared features, aiming to achieve the highest possible team score.

Cozy Stickerville is a gentle adventure and village-building game by Corey Konieczka for 1-6 players, recommended from age 8. Families explore a growing valley together, add buildings, animals, shops, farms, and personal touches with more than 800 stickers, and watch their own village take shape over several relaxed sessions. It is especially appealing for children who enjoy creative choices and parents who like shared storytelling without pressure.

With HITSTER, the ultimate music card game, you can instantly throw a party! Listen to over 100 years of fantastic hits, arrange them chronologically on your music timeline, and relive unforgettable memories. The first player to collect 10 hits is crowned the HITSTER.

Trio is a card game where players search for triplets. The deck consists of 36 cards, numbered from 1 to 12 three times. Players sort their hands from low to high and take turns revealing cards, aiming to collect sets of three matching cards.

Top Ten is a lively party game that challenges players to creatively rank responses based on humorous or bizarre scenarios. Each player’s task is to align their answer with a secret number they are assigned, ranging from worst (1) to best (10), according to the theme provided by the round's chief. The game combines elements of comedy, strategy, and social deduction as players try to guess and assign the correct rankings to each other's answers.

In Love Letter, you must compete with other suitors to deliver a romantic letter to Princess Annette, who has secluded herself in the palace.

In the bustling city of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, you find yourself in a fierce competition as one of the two most powerful traders. However, being a prominent trader isn't enough; the ultimate goal is to earn two coveted "seals of excellence" to secure an invitation to the Maharaja's prestigious court. To outshine your direct competitor, you'll need to demonstrate superior trading skills by buying, exchanging, and selling goods at advantageous prices, all while carefully managing your valuable camel herds.

Patchwork is a two-player game where you compete to create the most beautiful and high-scoring patchwork quilt on your personal 9x9 game board.

Skull is a pure bluffing game: players lay face-down cards of roses and skulls, then bid on how many they can flip without hitting a skull. Two successful challenges win the game — a steady poker face does the rest.

Players build landscapes by placing colored tiles to create habitats for their animals. To score the most points and win, they must cleverly integrate these habitats into their landscapes and attract as many animals as possible.

Sea Salt & Paper is a set collection card game that combines strategic decision-making with the excitement of timing your moves just right. Similar to Rummy in gameplay, it involves collecting sets of cards to score points, while also navigating the timing of when to end the round for optimal advantage.

7 Wonders Duel takes the essence of the classic 7 Wonders and refines it for an intense two-player experience. It retains the thematic elements of building a civilization through acquiring various types of cards, but it introduces unique mechanics suited for a duel.

Zombie Kidz Evolution is a legacy-style board game made for children: players team up to defend a school against zombies and lock its four entryways, while sealed envelopes, trophies and stickers steadily evolve the game.

No Thanks! is a straightforward and captivating card game that offers a blend of strategy and luck. The game's simplicity makes it appealing and accessible to a wide range of players.

Las Vegas is a lively, dice-based game that combines luck, strategy, and the joy of thwarting your opponents. Developed by Stefan Brück at alea, it's designed to be an easy and interactive game, full of schadenfreude moments.

Point Salad is a dynamic and engaging card drafting game that is suitable for players of all ages. It stands out for its simplicity and the vast array of scoring strategies it offers.

Rhino Hero: Super Battle is a captivating 3D stacking game that sees the return of Rhino Hero, this time joined by fellow super-heroes Giraffe Boy, Big E., and Batguin. Players engage in an exciting challenge of building a wobbly skyscraper while navigating fierce battles among these charismatic characters. The game adds an extra layer of fun with the presence of mischievous spider monkeys that players must contend with during their skyscraper construction and superhero battles.

Players embark on twelve journeys through North America as 19th-century pioneers. Starting on the East Coast, they face challenges while aiming to complete ticket objectives and develop new skills to overcome unexpected events and rivals. As the campaign progresses, players unlock new rules and content, creating a uniquely tailored experience that evolves with their choices, resulting in a game that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.

Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 offers an extraordinary gaming experience as a cooperative campaign game, immersing players in an overarching story-arc that unfolds over 12-24 gripping sessions. The duration depends on your group's performance and the fate of the world. Here's an overview of this thrilling journey:

The Quest for El Dorado is a strategic and adventurous board game that immerses players in the exciting journey of discovering the legendary city of gold, El Dorado. Set in the lush South American jungles, this game combines deck-building and racing elements, challenging players to be both cunning and quick.

Outfoxed! invites you into a whimsical detective chase after Mrs. Plumpert's missing prized pot pie. It's a cooperative game where players work together to gather clues, eliminate suspects, and catch the cunning fox before it escapes. The game introduces a unique evidence scanner mechanism that adds a fun twist to deducing the thief among a lineup of potential foxes.

Renowned mediums compete to decipher a secret object and prove their connection to the "spirit world." The first team to identify the secret object wins.

Draftosaurus is a charming and quick drafting game where players aim to build the most attractive dinosaur park. The game stands out for its use of dino meeples and unique placement restrictions, making it an engaging experience for all ages.