Solarpop’s Connoisseur Game of the Year nominees

The Spiel des Jahres, or Game of the Year, is one of tabletop gaming’s most respected accolades, first awarded in 1979 to recognise games as a cultural asset. Luckily for culture, since then, games and gaming have grown significantly.

An expert-level offshoot of the main Spiel des Jahres is Kennerspiel des Jahres, German for "Connoisseur Game of the Year", a highly prestigious award given to complex tabletop and card games that are more challenging, strategic and rules-dense.

This year’s three nominees are games imported and distributed by Solarpop, so they’re available in South Africa for gamers who want to try their dice-rolling acumen on something more heavyweight.

Philip Galliford, spokesperson for Solarpop, is excited about the nominees, and says: “This year’s nominees are especially interesting because they feel both accessible and inventive, offering enough depth for frequent gamers without frightening off curious newcomers.”

The games are… drumroll, please:

Rebirth

This game imagines a world rebuilding after disaster. But, instead of the beige seriousness often associated with Eurogames, Rebirth is bright and hopeful. With a relatively short playing time and low complexity rating, it may be one of the easiest recent Eurogames to put in front of new players.

Moon Colony Bloodbath

This game heads in the opposite direction. Described as an “engine losing game”, it asks players not to build something perfect, but to survive as things steadily go wrong. Disasters arrive, colonists suffer, and the fun lies in managing the chaos just well enough to stay alive. It’s bleak but clever and surprisingly fresh.

Boss Fighters QR

A game that brings technology to the table, players use QR codes to drive real-time action and respond to player choices. As a co-operative title, it offers modular hero decks, 10 different bosses and scalable difficulty, making it highly replayable.

“All three of these board games are welcoming and clever. They’re distinctive without being gimmicky, and strong enough to appeal well beyond awards season. We’re looking forward to seeing which one wins,” concludes Galliford.

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