Spiel des Jahres 2025: The Nominees Are In!

Spiel des Jahres 2025: The Nominees Are In!

On May 20, during a livestream hosted by Spiel des Jahres chairman Harald Schrapers and Kinderspiel des Jahres coordinator Christoph Schlewinski, the tabletop world got its first look at the games vying for Germany’s most prestigious board game honors in 2025. With over 385 games evaluated by the juries — a record number — the announcement highlighted a vibrant and growing global scene, even as concerns about diversity in game design continue to linger.

🎲 Spiel des Jahres 2025 Nominees

The “Game of the Year” shortlist features three innovative titles: 

• Bomb Busters, by Hisashi Hayashi – a strategic game of explosive timing, published by Cocktail Games and Pegasus Spiele in Germany.
• Flip 7, by Eric Olsen – a clever, fast-paced card game from The Op (and KOSMOS in Germany).
• Krakel Orakel, by Die 7 Bazis – a creative drawing game that turns chaotic lines into artistic interpretation, published by frechverlag under its TOPP brand. 

Six additional titles received recommendations: Agent Avenue, Castle Combo, Cities, Foxy, Perfect Words, and The Animals of Baker Street.

🧠 Kennerspiel des Jahres 2025 Nominees

This category, aimed at more experienced players, includes:

• Endeavor: Deep Sea, a new eco-conscious evolution of the classic Endeavor, from Burnt Island Games and co-published in Germany by Frosted Games and Board Game Circus.
• Faraway, a clever exploration game by Johannes Goupy and Corentin Lebrat, published by Catch Up Games (and KOSMOS).
• Looot, a charming game of collection and cunning from Gigamic (and Game Factory in Germany). 

Recommended titles in this category include The Gang, Kauri, Medical Mysteries: NYC Emergency Room, and Zenith. The latter’s inclusion surprised some — it’s barely entered the German market and has been primarily played digitally via BGA so far.

🧒 Kinderspiel des Jahres 2025 Nominees

For younger players, the following stood out:

• Cascadia Junior, a family-friendly spin on the hit tile-laying game Cascadia, by Fertessa Allyse and Randy Flynn.
• Le Clan des Souris (Die Mäusebande), a delightful mouse clan adventure from Débâcle Jeux.
• Topp die Torte, from Wolfgang Warsch, brings cake-stacking chaos to the table. 

Additional recommendations: HiLo: Dein Königreich, Isla a la Vista (Käpt’n Kuck), and Syllabus. Notably, HiLo isn’t even listed in the BGG database yet — a reminder of how children’s games often fly under the radar in the hobbyist sphere.

By the Numbers

• 385 titles were reviewed this year (up from 351 in 2024 and 285 in 2023).
• Only 2% of games were designed solely by women.
• 96% had one or more male designers.
• Around 100 games were variants of existing titles — like Endeavor: Deep Sea.

What’s Next?

The winners of Spiel des Jahres, Kennerspiel, and Kinderspiel will be announced on July 13, 2025 in Berlin. Until then, congrats to all the nominees and recommended designers and publishers — especially KOSMOS, which managed to place titles in all three award categories!

If you’re attending BGG.Spring 2025, keep an eye out — maybe you’ll get to try one of these top contenders yourself!