34 GAMES WORLD^ OF PUZZLES | december 2019
By^ Thomas^ L.^ McDo
nald
First^ awarded^ in^1979 to^
promote^ excellence^ in^ gami
ng, the^ Spiel^
des^ Jahres^ (German^ for^ “
Game^ of^ the^ Year”)^ has^ bec
ome^ one^ of^ the^ most^
prominent^ awards^ in^ the^ g
aming^ world.^ Selected^ by^ a
jury^ of^ German-
language^ game^ critics,^ the
honor^ has^ played^ a^ large^ ro
le in^ the^ emergence^
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success^ was^ The^ Settlers
of^ Catan^ (^1995 Spiel^ des^ J
ahres^ winner),^ and^
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and^ many^ others^ have^ foun
d a^ large^ and^ receptive^ aud
ience^ in^ the^ United^
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Walmart^ and^ Target.^
Three^ awards^ are^ given^ e
ach^ year,^ with^ three^ nomi
nees^ in^
each^ category^ and^ one^ wi
nner.^ The^ Game^ of^ the^ Ye
ar usually^ has^
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Expert^ (sometimes^ calle
d the^ “Connoisseur”)^ Ga
me of^ the^ Year^
tends^ to^ have^ more^ comp
lex^ gameplay^ elements^ o
r niche^ appeal.^
The^ Children’s^ Game^ of^ th
e Year^ favors^ ages^6 and
up.^ All^ of^ the^
winners^ are^ available^ a
t American^ retail^ stores,^
Amazon,^ specialty^
outlets,^ or,^ in^ the^ case^ o
f this^ year’s^ children’s^ ga
mes,^ direct^ from^
the^ publisher.^
Repos^ Production
Designers:^ Ludovic^ Rou
dy, Bruno^ Sautter
3 –^7 players.^20 minutes
. Ages^8 +^
Available^ from^ Amazon
: $ 25
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pares^ them.^ If^ two^ peop
le write^ down^ the^ same^ w
ord,^ it’s^ eliminated.^ The
remaining^ words^ are^ sho
wn^ to^ the^ guesser,^ who^ t
ries^
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Gam
e^ of
the
Yea
r
Winner
: Just^ O
ne