Spiel des Jahres
| Formation | 1978 |
|---|---|
| Founded at | Nuremberg |
| Type | Association |
Chairman | Harald Schrapers |
General Manager | Guido Heinecke |
| Website | www |
The Spiel des Jahres (German: [ˈʃpiːl dəs ˈjaːʁəs], 'Game of the Year') is an award for board and card games, created in 1978 with the purpose of rewarding family-friendly game design and promoting excellent games in the German market.[1] It is thought that the existence and popularity of the award was one of the major drivers of the quality of games coming out of Germany, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s.[2] A Spiel des Jahres nomination can increase the typical sales of a game from 500–3,000 copies to around 10,000, and the winner can usually expect to sell as many as 500,000 copies.[3]
- ^ Dale Yu (20 June 2011). "Interview with Tom Werneck, Spiel des Jahres jury member – Part 1 of 3". The Opinionated Gamers. Archived from the original on 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
- ^ Werneck, Tom. "The Impact of the Award "Spiel des Jahres" on the Development of the Board Games Market in Germany" (PDF).
- ^ Scott Tepper cited in Stewart Woods (2012). Eurogames: The Design, Culture and Play of Modern European Board Games. McFarland. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-7864-9065-3.