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Openers: Voyages Closers: Virtual Flea Markets (VFMs) at game conventions and other events

It'll be no surprise to any listener that I care about the Spiel des Jahres. In addition to its decades-long strong & beneficial effect on our boardgaming hobby, these awards are a better predictor for me than any other. Predictor of what? Of the games I'll actually continue to own and play with family & friends. True, they skew more toward lighter games, but that's ok with family. And truthfully, that's the preference of myself and several of my longtime gaming friends, too. If you only know the SdJ from recent years when it homed-in on the lightest games, more about parties than strategy, then I'd forgive your feeling that these aren't an award process that means much to a hobbyist. I'm thinking of recent winners like Just One, Pictures, MicroMacro Crime City, and even Dorfromantik. However, while you may long for the days when the award was bestowed on more gamer-ish titles like Tikal, Torres, and El Grande, my own personal highlights are the titles in between those two groupings. I'm thinking of Catan, Thurn und Taxis, Carcassonne, Dominion, Hanabi, Dominion, Ticket to Ride, or Alhambra. Not only the winners, too--I've learned to pay attention to the other nominees and recommended list of games, too. Just last weekend my friends Davebo and Jeff were visiting. Along with some other local gamers we played a lot of great titles, but guess what was on the table, pulled from my collection: Luxor and Imhotep, two fantastic nominees that were merely overshadowed by the steamroller winners those years (Azul and Codenames, respectively). The titles nominated for Spiel des Jahres are Captain Flip, In the Footsteps of Darwin, and Sky Team. In addition to these nominations, the SdJ jury recommended the following six titles: Harmonies, Passt nicht!, Phantom Ink, Schätz it if you can, Trekking Through History, and Trio.

Then for the Kenners the nominees went to Daybreak, The Guild of Merchant Explorers, and Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West. Plus the recommended list: Bier Pioniere, Botanicus, Forest Shuffle, and Ritual.

I think it's July 21 when we'll hear which games are the ultimate winners, but do take a look at the other nominees and recommended games. There's a good chance you'll enjoy those games, too, maybe even more than the winner. -Mark