Spiel des Jahres Winners: Every Game Since 1979, and Which Still Hit the Table

The Spiel des Jahres winners are 48 games chosen by a German critics’ jury, one a year since 1979, starting with Hare and Tortoise and running through Catan, Ticket to Ride, Codenames, and Azul to JinxO in 2026. Since 2011 a second prize, the Kennerspiel des Jahres, has honored deeper games such as 7 Wonders and Wingspan. Below you will find both complete lists, what the awards mean, and the winners we think still belong on a modern game night table.

The quick answer: if you want award-winning board games that still play great today, start with Ticket to Ride (2004), Carcassonne (2001), Codenames (2016), Azul (2018), and Cascadia (2022). For a two-player table, Sky Team (2024). For a deeper game, Kennerspiel winners Wingspan (2019) and The Crew (2020).

What is the Spiel des Jahres?

Spiel des Jahres means “Game of the Year” in German. It is the most influential award in board games. A winning game wears a red pawn logo on its box, and the award can turn a modest release into a long-running bestseller.

How it works:

• The jury. A panel of German-speaking game critics. The public does not vote.
• What’s eligible. Games released in Germany in roughly the previous twelve months. That is why games from the US, France, Japan, or Indonesia can win once they have a German edition.
• The process. Each spring the jury publishes a recommendation list and three nominees per award. Winners are announced in summer. The 2026 winners were announced on July 12, 2026.
• What the jury looks for. A good game concept, clear rules, and strong layout and design. In practice the main prize goes to games families and mixed groups can learn quickly and enjoy for years.

What is the difference between the Spiel des Jahres, Kennerspiel, and Kinderspiel?

There are three annual awards today, each with its own pawn color.

Before 2011 the jury sometimes gave special prizes to complex games, such as Caylus in 2006 and Agricola in 2008. The Kennerspiel made that a yearly award. It is now the best quick guide to a great “next step” game for a group that has outgrown the classics.

Every Spiel des Jahres winner, 1979 to 2026

Games are listed by their best-known English title, with the German title where the game is mostly known by it.

A few patterns jump out. Wolfgang Kramer won five times (once with Richard Ulrich, twice with Michael Kiesling), Klaus Teuber four times, and Kiesling won again on his own with Azul. Alan R. Moon, Andreas Seyfarth, and Donald X. Vaccarino each won twice. Cooperative games won three years running from 2023 to 2025, and JinxO, a party game from Indonesia, broke the streak. Our guide on how to play JinxO explains the newest winner.

Every Kennerspiel des Jahres winner, 2011 to 2026

With Rebirth, Reiner Knizia became the first designer to win the Spiel des Jahres, the Kinderspiel, and the Kennerspiel. Our guide on how to play Rebirth covers the 2026 winner.

Which Spiel des Jahres winners still hit the table?

An award is a snapshot of one year. Some winners from the 1980s are hard to find or feel dated now; others are still the first games people reach for. These are the winners we would bring to a modern game night, grouped by what your table needs. Where The Ludarium Academy has a free course, we link it.

The gateway classics

Ticket to Ride (2004). Collect colored train cards and claim routes across a map. 2 to 5 players, and the rules fit on one page. It is one of the most successful gateway games ever made. Learn it in our Ticket to Ride course.

Carcassonne (2001). Draw a tile, add it to the landscape, and place a meeple to claim a road, city, or field. 2 to 5 players, calm and endlessly replayable. Start with our Carcassonne course.

Catan (1995). The game that brought modern board games to the world. Trading and building still create more table talk than almost anything else. Our Catan course teaches it and its strategy.

The party picks

Codenames (2016). Two teams, one clue-giver each, a grid of words. It works for 4 to 8 or more and still runs at holiday parties everywhere. See our Codenames course.

Just One (2019). A cooperative word game for 3 to 7: everyone writes a one-word clue, and matching clues cancel. The gentlest way to bring a whole group into a game.

Dixit (2010). Dreamlike art cards and clues that should be neither too obvious nor too obscure. Still the best “creative” party game for mixed groups.

Camel Up (2014). Bet on a camel race where camels stack and ride on each other. Loud, silly, and great with a crowd.

The quiet puzzlers

Azul (2018). Draft colorful tiles to build a wall pattern, and try not to take too many. For 2 to 4, and gorgeous on a table. Our Azul course starts with the rules.

Kingdomino (2017). Build a small kingdom from domino tiles in about 15 minutes. One of the best family games ever made, and it plays across generations. See our Kingdomino course.

Cascadia (2022). Place habitat tiles and wildlife tokens to build a Pacific Northwest landscape. For 1 to 4, relaxing yet clever. Our Cascadia course covers rules and scoring.

Qwirkle (2011). Match lines of chunky wooden blocks by color or shape. No reading, simple rules, great with grandparents.

The cooperative standouts

Sky Team (2024). Two pilots land a plane by placing dice, without talking about their rolls. The best two-player cooperative game in years. Learn it in our Sky Team course.

Hanabi (2013). Hold your cards facing out, so everyone sees your hand but you. A small box that taught a generation of players to cooperate under limits.

Bomb Busters (2025). A cooperative deduction game about cutting the right wires together. The newest co-op winner and a strong pick for groups who liked Hanabi.

MicroMacro: Crime City (2021). A giant illustrated city map where you solve crimes by searching for clues. Works with almost anyone, including solo.

A deck-builder that started a genre

Dominion (2009). The first deck-building game, and still one of the best. Each game uses a different set of cards, so no two play alike. Our Dominion course covers it from the first hand.

Which Kennerspiel winners still hit the table?

When your group wants more depth, these Kennerspiel winners are the ones we see recommended most:

• Wingspan (2019). Build an engine of birds across three habitats. Beautiful, calm, and deep enough for years. See our Wingspan course.
• The Crew (2020). A cooperative trick-taking campaign with very limited communication. Our The Crew course and our guide to The Crew card game cover it.
• 7 Wonders (2011). Draft cards to build a civilization, with every player taking turns at the same time. Handles up to 7 players without getting slow. Our 7 Wonders course also includes lessons on its two-player spin-off, 7 Wonders Duel.
• The Quacks of Quedlinburg (2018). A push-your-luck potion game where everyone draws ingredients at once. Huge fun with a full table.
• Challengers! (2023). A deck-building tournament game where you play many short duels in one evening. Works with up to 8.
• Istanbul (2014). Move your merchant and assistants through a bazaar. An excellent first step into heavier euros.

Are Spiel des Jahres winners the best board games of all time?

Not automatically, and the jury would not claim so. The main award is built for family and mixed groups, so heavier games rarely win it. Some of the hobby’s most celebrated games, such as Agricola, only got special prizes, and many others never won at all.

What a red pawn does tell you is that a panel of experienced critics thought the game was easy to learn, well made, and fun for a broad table. That makes the list one of the best shopping guides for new players. If you are building a shelf for friends who don’t play yet, our guide to gateway board games pairs well with it.

FAQ

What was the first Spiel des Jahres winner?

Hare and Tortoise by David Parlett won the first award in 1979. It is a racing game where you spend carrots to move, so going fast now means running short later.

Who won the Spiel des Jahres 2026?

JinxO, sold in Germany as Dito!, a word-association party game by Indonesian designer Martin Ang. The Kennerspiel des Jahres 2026 went to Rebirth by Reiner Knizia.

Which designer has won the Spiel des Jahres the most?

Wolfgang Kramer, with five wins: Heimlich & Co., Auf Achse, El Grande, Tikal, and Torres. Klaus Teuber is next with four: Barbarossa, Adel Verpflichtet, Drunter und Drüber, and Catan.

What is the Kennerspiel des Jahres?

The “Connoisseur Game of the Year,” added in 2011 for games with more depth than the main award usually honors. 7 Wonders won first; Wingspan, The Crew, and Rebirth are among later winners.

Are Spiel des Jahres winners good for beginners?

Yes. The main award favors games that teach quickly and play well with mixed groups, so most winners are excellent first games. Start with Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Kingdomino, or Codenames.

Bring a winner to your next game night

Award lists are a great starting point, but the best game is the one your group returns to. If you want to learn one of these winners properly, the Ludarium Academy has free lessons for many of them. Ludarium Letters sends a new pick, and how to teach it, to your inbox; sign up below.

The game is the reason. The people are the point.

Sources

• Spiel des Jahres (Wikipedia)
• “Dito! (JinxO)” is Spiel des Jahres 2026 (Spiel des Jahres, 2026)
• JinxO wins 2026 Spiel des Jahres, Rebirth secures historic triple for Reiner Knizia (BoardGameWire, 2026)
• Kinderspiel des Jahres (BoardGameGeek)