Pictures is game of the year 2020
20.7.2020
Translation: machine translated
This year's "Game of the Year" critics' award goes to Pictures. A memory game from the pen of Daniela and Christian Stöhr.
The "Spiel des Jahres" association presents the annual "Spiel des Jahres" and "Kennerspiel des Jahres" critics' awards. Unlike in the past, this year's award ceremony was broadcast live from the nhow Conference Centre in Berlin.
And the winner is...
.. Pictures. Building blocks, shoelaces, symbol cards and more. At first glance, the five material sets included in "Pictures" could hardly be more different. Nevertheless, they all serve the same purpose: players should use them to depict photo motifs in such a way that their fellow players can find them in the large overall display. Depending on the task and material, this requires creative ideas. You also have to keep track of the other motifs in the display so that you don't inadvertently create something ambiguous. Once all players are satisfied with their creations, the players guess each other's motifs and score points. The players then swap so that each player can try out each material set once.
The jury justifies its decision as follows:
«The material sets in Pictures seem almost randomly thrown together at first, but are in fact cleverly chosen: Each set challenges the players in a different way, and so the incentive to experiment is enormous. The results are often astonishing, which is why the guessing rounds quickly resemble a visit to an art exhibition: With great aha moments and amusing attempts at justification by the misunderstood artistic genius. Great creativity with the simplest of means.»
Also nominated were "My City" by Reiner Knizia and "Nova Luna" by Uwe Rosenberg and Corné van Moorsel.
Expert game of the year
Expert games are aimed at more experienced board gamers. They are more complex and usually more time-consuming than conventional board games. The winner in this category was "The Crew"
As part of a spaceship crew, players travel to the ninth planet at the edge of the solar system. They encounter all kinds of typical space travel problems: faulty engines or a lack of oxygen serve as thematic hooks for a co-operative trick-taking game that challenges players in 50 different missions. Tasks are assigned at the beginning: Which crew member has to win which card in a trick? And must this be done in a certain order? When completing the mission, the players' means of communication are severely restricted: information about their own hand of cards may only be communicated in fragments at best. The crew members can only reach the distant goal with teamwork, foresight and inventiveness.
The jury argues:
«The Crew is a co-operative trick-taking game, which alone makes it something special. But its appeal is not limited to this unique selling point. Hardly any game before has been able to summarise the special charm of trick-taking games in such a way. The senses are casually sharpened for the subtleties of this genre and players are simultaneously challenged in an original way. The crew are both missionaries and mentors. A truly great journey.»
Also nominated were "The Cartographer" by Jordy Adan and "The King's Dilemma" by Hjalmar Hach, Lorenzo Silva and Carlo Burelli.
I get paid to play with toys all day.
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