The American Tabletop Awards, the United States’ answer to Germany’s Spiel des Jahres, is back for the sixth consecutive year. The annual award celebrates the very best in board gaming across four different categories, with dozens of games judged by a panel of industry experts who collaborate within a shared set of ethical guidelines. The result is a collection of 20 excellent games, with four winners overall. The categories mirror those of last year, and include titles best for Early Gamers, an assortment of Casual Games, more traditional Strategy Games, as well as Complex Games for more experienced players.
Blob Party, from Wizkids, takes home this year’s award for Early Gamers — games intended for ages 12 and under. The cooperative party game beat out recommended titles such as the dice game Chicken! and AEG’s Deep Dive. Meanwhile, in the Casual Games category, it was Sea Salt & Paper whose well-photographed papercraft art style turned the most heads among the committee. Pandasaurus’ well-regarded card game narrowly took the award from runners up Dorfromantik: The Board Game and Next Station: Tokyo.
The Strategy Game category, in addition to recognizing Restoration Games’ action-focused title Thunder Road: Vendetta as the year’s best, also made a recommendation of two other titles. Daybreak, a game about climate change by Matt Leacock (Pandemic) and Matteo Menapace, received praise from the judges. Elizabeth Hargrave (Wingspan) and Jeff Fraser were also recognized for their work on The Fox Experiment.
Finally, in the Complex Games category, The White Castle took home the top prize. Devir Games’ latest is a Eurogame with lots of desirable systems, including both worker and dice placement. Also recommended in the category are Nucleum from Board & Dice and Inside Up’s Earth.
