Each year, a number of significant awards are given to the best games published. Here are the games that won the awards I consider to me the most significant in 2001.
Designed by Bill Payne, published by Asmodée Editions.
Players take turns as the "storyteller." That player chooses one of the beautifully illustrated cards from his hand and describes it with a word or phrase. Each of the other players chooses a card from their own hands which they think most closely matches the storyteller's description. The cards are then shuffled together, and everyone other than the storyteller votes on which card they believe inspired the description. Points are given to players whose cards are chosen, and to players who correctly identify the storyteller's card. If no players (or all players) select the storyteller's card, he scores zero points.More »
For 2 to 5 players, ages 13 and up. Designed by Alan R. Moon and Aaron Weissblum, published by Treefrog / Mayfair Games.
Based on his tremendous game Brass, Age of Industry is classic Wallace: difficult strategic decisions must be made to succeed, with cards playing a significant role in the game. The International Gamers Awards website describes the gameplay this way: Players are tycoons in the early days of the Industrial Revolution, a time when traditional craftsman were rapidly replaced with steam-powered machines. Players invest in the production of raw materials, the manufacturing of goods, and the transportation networks needed to connect them.More »
For 2 players, ages 10 and up. Designed by Kris Burm, published by Z-Man Games.
Campaign Manager 2008 recreates the U.S. presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain. The game opens with players building a deck of 15 cards (out of 45 possible cards), which are used throughout the game to win electoral votes in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio. The first player to exceed 270 electoral votes is the winner. Getting there requires a solid deck-building strategy and superior hand-management skills. This is the second excellent election game from this design team (see 1960: The Making of the President).More »
For 2 to 4 players, ages 10 and up. Designed by Andreas Seyfarth, published by Queen Games.
In this excellent family strategy game, players are artisans who work to restore the fresco in a Renaissance church. With the help of five workers, players plan each day by choosing from such tasks as buying paints in the market, mixing paints to create additional colors, restoring part of the fresco, and painting portraits. The first decision you make each day is when to start work -- an earlier time has benefits but also causes workers to be less productive due to lack of sleep. Fresco is a beautiful, engaging board game.More »
For 2 to 6 players, ages 12 and up. Designed by Philippe Keyaerts, published by Matt Worden Games.
Players take on the role of space captains in Jump Gate, competing to acquire the most valuable resources from various planets. On each turn, a player can take two actions such as scanning a planet (revealing a resource), claiming a planet (revealing all resources and taking one), and jumping to another planet. At game's end, scoring takes place and it varies by resource. For example, gem scores are based on how many a player has multiplied by the size of that player's largest color group; "famous finds" are simply worth five points each. Players also score for many of the actions they took during the game.More »
For 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up. Designed by Kris Burm, published by Gamewright.
In this cooperative game from the designer of Pandemic, players work together to save four treasures from a sinking island. The 24 tiles of the island are laid out randomly, and each player is given a role (diver, engineer, explorer, messenger, navigator, or pilot) with a unique power. As the game progresses, players collect cards to claim the treasures while the island sinks around them. When the treasures are in hand, our heroes must race to meet the helicopter and fly away before the island is gone. There are four difficulty levels, and many games come down to the last possible moment. Forbidden Island is the best family game I've played in many years. Other winners of the Mensa Select 2010 award include Anomia (Andrew Innes, Anomia Press), Dizios (designer not credited, MindWare), Word on the Street (Jack Degnan, Out of the Box Publishing), and Yikerz! (designer not credited, Wiggles 3D).More »
For 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up. Designed by Andreas Seyfarth, published by Gamewright.
In this game...
1. Carcassonne (Spiel des Jahres)
Designed by Bill Payne, published by Asmodée Editions.
Players take turns as the "storyteller." That player chooses one of the beautifully illustrated cards from his hand and describes it with a word or phrase. Each of the other players chooses a card from their own hands which they think most closely matches the storyteller's description. The cards are then shuffled together, and everyone other than the storyteller votes on which card they believe inspired the description. Points are given to players whose cards are chosen, and to players who correctly identify the storyteller's card. If no players (or all players) select the storyteller's card, he scores zero points.More »
2. The Princes of Florence (IGA, Multi-Player)
For 2 to 5 players, ages 13 and up. Designed by Alan R. Moon and Aaron Weissblum, published by Treefrog / Mayfair Games.
Based on his tremendous game Brass, Age of Industry is classic Wallace: difficult strategic decisions must be made to succeed, with cards playing a significant role in the game. The International Gamers Awards website describes the gameplay this way: Players are tycoons in the early days of the Industrial Revolution, a time when traditional craftsman were rapidly replaced with steam-powered machines. Players invest in the production of raw materials, the manufacturing of goods, and the transportation networks needed to connect them.More »
3. Battle Cry (IGA, Two-Player)
For 2 players, ages 10 and up. Designed by Kris Burm, published by Z-Man Games.
Campaign Manager 2008 recreates the U.S. presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain. The game opens with players building a deck of 15 cards (out of 45 possible cards), which are used throughout the game to win electoral votes in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio. The first player to exceed 270 electoral votes is the winner. Getting there requires a solid deck-building strategy and superior hand-management skills. This is the second excellent election game from this design team (see 1960: The Making of the President).More »
4. Carcassonne (Deutscher Spiele Preis)
For 2 to 4 players, ages 10 and up. Designed by Andreas Seyfarth, published by Queen Games.
In this excellent family strategy game, players are artisans who work to restore the fresco in a Renaissance church. With the help of five workers, players plan each day by choosing from such tasks as buying paints in the market, mixing paints to create additional colors, restoring part of the fresco, and painting portraits. The first decision you make each day is when to start work -- an earlier time has benefits but also causes workers to be less productive due to lack of sleep. Fresco is a beautiful, engaging board game.More »
5. Aladdin's Dragons (Games Magazine Game of the Year)
For 2 to 6 players, ages 12 and up. Designed by Philippe Keyaerts, published by Matt Worden Games.
Players take on the role of space captains in Jump Gate, competing to acquire the most valuable resources from various planets. On each turn, a player can take two actions such as scanning a planet (revealing a resource), claiming a planet (revealing all resources and taking one), and jumping to another planet. At game's end, scoring takes place and it varies by resource. For example, gem scores are based on how many a player has multiplied by the size of that player's largest color group; "famous finds" are simply worth five points each. Players also score for many of the actions they took during the game.More »
6. Metro (Mensa Select)
For 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up. Designed by Kris Burm, published by Gamewright.
In this cooperative game from the designer of Pandemic, players work together to save four treasures from a sinking island. The 24 tiles of the island are laid out randomly, and each player is given a role (diver, engineer, explorer, messenger, navigator, or pilot) with a unique power. As the game progresses, players collect cards to claim the treasures while the island sinks around them. When the treasures are in hand, our heroes must race to meet the helicopter and fly away before the island is gone. There are four difficulty levels, and many games come down to the last possible moment. Forbidden Island is the best family game I've played in many years. Other winners of the Mensa Select 2010 award include Anomia (Andrew Innes, Anomia Press), Dizios (designer not credited, MindWare), Word on the Street (Jack Degnan, Out of the Box Publishing), and Yikerz! (designer not credited, Wiggles 3D).More »
7. San Marco (Meeples Choice)
For 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up. Designed by Andreas Seyfarth, published by Gamewright.
In this game...
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