Three board games compete for the title "Spiel des Jahres" 2026

Three games in the final

In addition to the main prize, the "Kinderspiel des Jahres" and the "Kennerspiel des Jahres" for people with a bit more gaming experience will also be awarded in Berlin. For the Kennerspiel, the jury nominated "Boss Fighters", "Moon Colony Bloodbath" and "Rebirth". For the Kinderspiel, "Buh Party", "Die Insel der Mookies" and "Verflixt verzaubert" are nominated.

Particularly in the spotlight this year is the Kennerspiel "Boss Fighters QR". It is a classic cooperative game. Players pursue a common goal; the entire group either wins or loses together. In "Boss Fighters QR", however, the app takes on the role of a game master, while the players discuss the weaknesses of the opponent.

"Boss Fighters QR" as an app pioneer

The special thing about the title: nothing works without the app. This makes "Boss Fighters QR" an exceptional case in this year's competition. Of the 22 games on the nomination and recommendation lists for the Spiel des Jahres, only two titles strictly require an app to play – and of those, only "Boss Fighters QR" has made it to the final round. The game developers Lukas Zach and Michael Palm have, however, considered the analog element: they realized that "das Tischgefühl, das Ausspielen von Karten oder das Ablegen von Markern" is very important, says Palm in an interview. The development of "Boss Fighters QR" took about six years.

The game "Hitster" from 2022 is considered a "pioneer game"; it is linked to the streaming provider Spotify and involves judging which music title was released earlier or later than another. "Hitster" is so far the best-known game that requires a smartphone. Game researcher Lukas Boch believes that such hybrid formats will increase: "Ich glaube, es wird mehr Spiele geben, die Handy und Brettspiele vereinen", he says. "Aber das hängt auch davon ab, wie die Jury entscheidet."

Cooperative games on the rise

The historian is co-founder of the research project "Boardgame Historian" and works at the University of Bonn. He also sees a social function in board games: "Brettspiele können eine Lücke schließen", he says. That sounds a bit romantic, "aber gemeinsam am Tisch zu sitzen und Zeit zu verbringen, tut uns in der von Debatten gespaltenen Gesellschaft sehr gut."

Jury member Martina Fuchs also puts the new development in context. Hybrid games that only work with a smartphone are still isolated cases. "Die sind aber richtig gut", says Fuchs. "Wir schauen nicht nach Trends, sondern suchen Perlen", the podcaster describes her work. Six of the 22 titles nominated or recommended this year follow the cooperative principle.

That winning and losing together belongs to it is also known to Michael Menzel. The illustrator and game author is, among other things, the creator of the role-playing game "Die Legenden von Andor". In 2013, when all three categories at the "Spiel des Jahres" went to cooperative games, he received the prize for precisely that title. "Bei einem Rennspiel will man doch wissen, wer am Ende der Schnellste von allen war", says Menzel. "Das auszuhalten ist heutzutage genauso wichtig wie eine andere Meinung aushalten zu können."

Last year, the board game by Japanese author Hisashi Hayashi, "Bomb Busters", was awarded "Spiel des Jahres". The jury of the "Spiel des Jahres" has a major influence on game sales in Germany – an award can multiply demand for a title within just a few weeks.