The cat’s out of the bag and the winners have been announced!
This year’s show was… even longer… 😅 After last year I’ve hoped for a snappier show – instead it was further extended. As much as I appreciate the jury’s work (which I’ve expressed at length), the stage isn’t where they shine, so I don’t understand why we need two awkward hours of their presence. It’s understandable they want to highlight various aspects of board gaming and their activities, since those are the only two hours of attention they get all year, but just as an endless recommendation list would water down the award, the rule in showbiz is to make every minute count.
Anyways, trying not to fall into the same trap, here are the winners of Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres 2024!
Spiel des Jahres 2024
Sky Team
2 players, 15 minutes, 12+ years, medium light (2.0)
Pilot and co-pilot work together to land planes.
To quote myself:
Sky Team is highly praised, but has next to no chance of winning.
I guess I was wrong. 😅 It goes to show that any perceived patterns in the jury’s decisions are just based on very small samples. Harald Schrapers, the jury chairman, always emphasises that the only thing they really care about is the fun in the game. And by all accounts, no game was as much fun this year as Sky Team.
Still, this remains a remarkable choice, because the award’s family friendliness was the guiding principle behind the decisions over the past 45 years. It remains to be seen if the market is willing to go along with this new direction.
Kennerspiel des Jahres 2024
Daybreak
1–4 players, 60–120 minutes, 10+ years, medium (3.0)
Cooperatively decarbonize the planet and create resilient societies.
Kulturgut Spiel is alive and well! 🥳 Also, Matt Leacock finally got his first main award with his … checking notes … fifth nomination.
This is a great choice on so many levels. A fun game with a serious, yet not imposing, message, which en passant proves that the jury doesn’t always just go with the safe and shallow choices. I can only hope this game will be found underneath countless Christmas trees this year, encourage some honest conversations about the climate crisis (and importantly, the solutions), and encourage more designers to tackle serious topics in their games.
Conclusion
Another year with two co-operative winners after 2021, and two particularly complex ones by the last few years’ standards. Maybe this saves us some of the annual “Spiel des Jahres is only for kids and party games” discussions next year.
The last thing to notice is that the irony of having Daybreak share the winners’ photo with a game about flying, as well as the plastic heavy Kinderspiel winner Magic Keys, seems to be completely lost on the jury. Maybe they should seek some professional help with their show next year – to make it more entertaining and ensure we’re back on time for supper. 😋