Spiel des Jahres / Game of the Year

The Game of the Year Critics' Prize is a game prize for German-language board and card game novelties awarded by the Spiel des Jahres e. V. association since 1979. It is considered the world's most important award for non-electronic games, the "Oscar for board games".

The Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne, with their editions in the millions, are the two most popular titles to have received this prize. Since 2001, the Children's Game of the Year has also been awarded. Since 2011, the jury has awarded a third main prize, Kennerspiel des Jahres. It is aimed at players "who have been playing for a long time and have experience in learning new games".