The Spiel is a ‘Game of the Year’ award in Germany. This one award will shape the sales of a game for the following year. It is given to light “gateway games” that should fit in with just about any game collection. The nominees have now been announced! The three titles include:
Augustus, by Paolo Mori is a light euro in which players are trying to complete objectives and control territory with a bingo-draw mechanic.
Players hope to draw the correct symbol out of the bag to complete objective cards set out on the board. Reminds me a little of the decision process from Streams.
Hanabi from Antoine Bauza(does that man ever sleep?) is a fun light cooperative card game. It is just about to complete a wider release in 
the states. Players must work together to complete as many card sets as possible. This is complicated as players cannot see their own cards; They must rely on information provided by their teammates. This is a great bar game and not one to over-think about.
Finally we have Qwixx from Steffen Benndorf. This too is a little like Streams, lols. It’s a press your luck dice game. It has not yet been released in the states. I can’t quite see how this one feels new or fresh on the market. Players roll two neutral dice and a number of available colored dice. The sums of those dice are then used to cross off available values from a sheet, lending to an end-game scoring.
Well, I hope Hanabi takes the award. I feel it has a unique place on the market. The other two were less than overwhelming. I am super surprised that Escape the Curse of the Temple didn’t make this list as it is perfect for the category!!
-Maggibot
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