2018-10-31

Best board games?

This is the best board games each year according to some different awards. The names are mostly in English, but in the original language if such a name is missing.

American "Origins Award" is also an important price but has a very confusing time line and lots of different awards that inflict with each other. The Swedish price "Årets spel" is not a very important price but one of the oldest beginning in 1984.

Interestingly enough "Årets spel" 2018 is Diamant, a game from 2005! All others in this list chose Azul. But this seems to be the way of board games, they are not released everywhere at the same time. Good games might last longer than people think. Another example is the "Spiel des Jahres" winner in 1991: Um Reifenbreite that is actually a Dutch game from 1979!

It also seems that the Swedish jury during the 00s had almost the same taste for board games as "Spiel des Jahres", but later that changed again. Weirdly, Ubongo has won "Årets spel" twice, first 2003 under the name Pyramidens portar, then again in 2009! Somebody did not know their own history very well.

If you see something wrong in this list, please mail us. As you also see there are some questions marks. The "Origins Awards" are so full of questions it is impossible to list it...


Spiel des Jahres Årets spel As d'Or Deutscher Spiele Preis

Germany Sweden France Germany

2019

Just One

Planet

The Mind

Wingspan
2018 Azul Diamant Azul Azul
2017 Kingdomino Patchwork Unlock! Terraforming Mars
2016 Codenames Otrio Mysterium Mombasa
2015 Colt Express Klask Colt Express The Voyages of Marco Polo
2014 Camel Up La Boca Concept Russian Railroads
2013 Hanabi Quizmysteriet Legends of Andor Terra Mystica
2012 Kingdom Builder Lift it! Takenoko Village
2011 Qwirkle LEGO Champion Skull 7 Wonders
2010 Dixit Ponder Duplik Fresco
2009 Dominion Ubongo Dixit Dominion
2008 Keltis Niagara Marrakech Agricola
2007 Zooloretto Portobello Market Wicked Witches Way The Pillars of the Earth
2006 Thurn and Taxis Bernini Time's Up! Caylus
2005 Niagara Ticket to Ride ? Louis XIV
2004 Ticket to Ride Blokus Ticket to Ride Saint Petersburg
2003 Alhambra Ubongo (Pyramidens P.) Alhambra Amun-Re
2002 Villa Paletti Carcassonne Bakari Puerto Rico
2001 Carcassonne Diceman Blokus Carcassonne
2000 Torres N.Y. Chase Kahuna Taj Mahal
1999 Tikal Herre på täppan Spice Navigator Tikal
1998 Elfenland Lotus Zatre Tigris & Euphrates
1997 Mississippi Queen Svea rike Gang of Four Löwenherz
1996 El Grande Snapshot Magic - The Gathering El Grande
1995 The Settlers of Catan Manhattan Condottiere The Settlers of Catan
1994 Manhattan Foqus Pusher Take 6!
1993 Call my Bluff Spectrangle Pipeline Modern Art
1992 Um Reifenbreite Ostindiska kompaniet Quarto Flying Dutchman
1991 Drunter und Drüber Maestro ? Master Labyrinth
1990 Adel Verpflichtet Balderdash Tutankhamen's Rev. Hoity Toity
1989 Café International Ave Caesar Abalone
1988 Barbarossa The aMAZEing Labyrinth SuperGang
1987 Auf Achse Orient Express

1986 Top Secret Spies Phantoms vs Phantoms

1985 Sherlock Holmes Trivial Pursuit

1984 Railway Rivals Mandala

1983 Scotland Yard


1982 Enchanted Forest


1981 Focus


1980 Rummikub


1979 Hare and Tortoise