Game of the Year – from 1979 to 2014
This time of year, we get a lot of new visitors to our website. We know it’s because so many people are looking for fun family board games and card games to play with family over the holidays. They’re also looking for great family board games as Christmas presents.
Not only do kids love games to play during their holiday break, but adults also love playing games when they get together with family and friends.
Last year we put together a list of the Top 11 Best Board Games for Family Gatherings.
Two years ago, we also posted about our favorite board games and card games – by each member of the family. (Which I know, looking at my own list, we should probably update soon as well because I know a couple more I’d add…)
- Top 10 Best Board Games – Caleb
- Top 10 Best Board Games – Brooke
- Top 11 Best Board Games – Jaden
- Top 8 Best Board Games – Trevor
- Top 12 Best Board Games – Mom
- Top 14 Best Board Games – Dad
But you don’t have to just take our word for it.
This year we thought it would be a great idea to list out the games that have won Game Of The Year!
There are a few sources we could point to for Game of the Year. We often share the Game of the Year as voted on by game reviewers around the world through The Dice Tower Awards.
But there’s also another reliable source for Game of the Year each year and that’s the Spiel des Jahres.
The whole purpose behind the Spiel des Jahres is to “promote games as a cultural asset to encourage gaming amongst family and friends”.
So if you’re looking for a fun board game or card game to get for your family this year, you may find a big hit on this list of Spiel des Jahres winners going back to when it began in 1979.
Spiel des Jahres winners
| Year | Game of the Year | Our quick thoughts |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Camel Up | Haven't played it. We've also heard the runner-up game, Splendor, is a great family game. |
| 2013 | Hanabi | Heard lots of great things about it. Didn't enjoy it very much. |
| 2012 | Kingdom Builder | One of dad's favorite board games because of the variable layout, powers, and objectives. Read our full review. One of the connoisseur runner-up game of the year was K2 - one that dad loves as well. |
| 2011 | Qwirkle | A great family board game of matching colors and shapes. Read our full review. Although we wish the runner-up game, Forbidden Island, had actually won since it's a great family cooperative game. The connoisseur game of the year in 2011 is also a big favorite of ours: 7 Wonders |
| 2010 | Dixit | Great party game with lots of creativity. Read our full review of Dixit Odyssey. |
| 2009 | Dominion | A go-to favorite card game hands down. Dad's most-played game. If you haven't tried Dominion yet, it's time to remedy that. Read our full review. This was a big year since Pandemic was also in the running. A very tough choice between the two because they're both excellent. |
| 2008 | Keltis | Haven't played it. Though we do have a runner-up game, Stone Age, that's a great worker-placement game. It's the often recommended "entry-game" into the worker-placement style of board games. Our full review of Stone Age is coming soon. |
| 2007 | Zooloretto | Good family game kids will love for the animals. Review on the way soon. We'd also really like to try a runner-up game - The Thief of Baghdad. |
| 2006 | Thurn and Taxis | Solid family board game that we haven't reviewed yet. We have it and have played a few times, but I'd like to play more. |
| 2005 | Niagara | Haven't played it. The game box being used as the game board (with the waterfall going over the edge) looks like fun. |
| 2004 | Ticket to Ride | On our "Must Have" family board games list for a good reason. It's a game that everyone in the family can enjoy together. It's also great on the iPad. Read our full review of Ticket to Ride: Europe. |
| 2003 | Alhambra | Haven't played it yet but would love to give it a try. |
| 2002 | Villa Paletti | Haven't played it. It's a building game requiring strategy and dexterity. |
| 2001 | Carcassonne | Another board game on our "Must Have" family board games list. It's one of the games that got us hooked on family board games. There's a good chance it will snag you too. Read our full review. |
| 2000 | Torres | Haven't played it and very hard to find. |
| 1999 | Tikal | Played only twice - enjoyed it each time. |
| 1998 | Elfenland | Haven't played it. But using dragons and unicorns as modes of transportation sounds fun. |
| 1997 | Mississippi Queen | Haven't played this paddle-wheel boat racing game. |
| 1996 | El Grande | Haven't played it. It's another hard to find game currently. |
| 1995 | Settlers of Catan | If you haven't played Settlers yet, stop what you're doing and play. It's often credited as ringing in the modern era of board games. Read our full review. |
| 1994 | Manhattan | Haven't played it. |
| 1993 | Call my Bluff | Haven't played it. |
| 1992 | Um Reifenbreite | Haven't played it. |
| 1991 | Drunter und Drüber | Haven't played it. |
| 1990 | Adel Verpflichtet | Haven't played it. |
| 1989 | Café International | Have only played the iOS version. Read our review. |
| 1988 | Barbarossa | Haven't played it. |
| 1987 | Auf Achse | Haven't played it. |
| 1986 | Top Secret Spies | Haven't played it. |
| 1985 | Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective | Haven't played it. |
| 1984 | Railway Rivals | Haven't played it. |
| 1983 | Scotland Yard | Just got a copy in 2014, and really enjoy it. It's a great deduction game where one player is on the run and the others work together to catch him/her. Read our full review. |
| 1982 | Enchanted Forest | Haven't played it. |
| 1981 | Focus | Haven't played it. |
| 1980 | Rummikub | Fun family game of set creation and rearranging. Dad loves to rearrange a ton. |
| 1979 | Hare and Tortoise | Haven't played it. |
Enjoy the holidays!
The game “Call My Bluff” is better known as “Liar’s Dice”, which you don’t really need to buy to play as long as you have enough dice. It’s interesting because Liar’s Dice is a much older game than that, but in that particular year it was created with custom dice and sold as Call My Bluff.
Every once in awhile on Amazon I see a 50% off sale on Ravenburger games, which cover several of the SDJ winners. Games I’ve seen on the sale: Hare and Tortoise, Enchanted Forest, Scotland Yard and Tikal. I think I’ve seen this come up 3 times, so it could happen again. Normally it’s hard to find sales that good on games like these.
Also I hear El Grande is going to be reprinted soon.
Great tip Aaron on watching Amazon for SDJ winners to come on sale.
Nice reviews! We have Alhambra, Torres and Niagara (along with eight others on this list that you’ve already reviewed). Here’s a brief rundown:
Alhambra is a great tile placement game that our eight-year-old was able to pick up on without too many growing pains. We love it because six people can play (rather than the all-too-frequent five-player games), which suits our family of six perfectly.
Niagara is a favorite of the kids because of the waterfall mechanism (when they were younger, they were more interested in seeing the boats go overboard rather than actually trying to avoid it). It is, in effect, a moving board that depends on each player’s decision, requiring a fair bit of planning ahead (and second guessing). It’s a pretty simple game to introduce to friends.
Torres is a personal favorite of mine (definitely in my top ten, perhaps my top five). It’s for ages 12 and up, and for good reason, as the strategy is pretty advanced (and fun). A great game for those that have been around the block with board games.