The biggest board game award of 2026 is the Spiel des Jahres, won by Dito!, sold in English as JinxO, by Martin Ang, while Rebirth won the Kennerspiel des Jahres, Sanctuary won the Deutscher Spiele Preis, and Galactic Cruise won Game of the Year at the Dice Tower Awards and Heavy Game of the Year in the Golden Geek Awards.
Last updated: Monday, November 2, 2026. Winners are from each award body’s own announcement or winner list where one is published, read on that date. Awards presented in 2026 for games released in 2025 keep their official edition name, and this page says so where that applies.
For the games behind the German awards, see our Best Games of SPIEL Essen 2026 page, plan next year’s show trips with our board game conventions calendar, and follow the publishers behind several winners on our board game publisher trackers page.
Who won the Spiel des Jahres in 2026?
Dito!, designed by Martin Ang and published by Game Factory and Tabletoy, won the Spiel des Jahres 2026, announced on Sunday, July 12, 2026 in Berlin. The game is sold in English as JinxO. Rebirth won the Kennerspiel and Mooki Island won the Kinderspiel.
| Category | Winner | Designer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spiel des Jahres | Dito! (JinxO) | Martin Ang | Game Factory and Tabletoy |
| Kennerspiel des Jahres | Rebirth | Reiner Knizia | Frosted Games and Mighty Boards |
| Kinderspiel des Jahres | Die Insel der Mookies (Mooki Island) | Florian Sirieix | Kosmos and Scorpion Masqué |
BoardGameWire reports that the Kennerspiel win made Reiner Knizia the first designer to have won all three categories across his career, after earlier Spiel des Jahres and Kinderspiel des Jahres wins.
Who won the Deutscher Spiele Preis in 2026?
Sanctuary, published in Germany as Artengarten, won the Deutscher Spiele Preis 2026, announced at the SPIEL Essen press conference on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. The award is Germany’s biggest community voted board game prize, presented by Merz Verlag, and Sanctuary is designer Mathias Wigge’s second win after Ark Nova.
| Place or category | Winner | Designer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place | Artengarten (Sanctuary) | Mathias Wigge | Feuerland Spiele |
| 2nd place | Boss Fighters QR | Michael Palm and Lukas Zach | Pegasus Spiele |
| 3rd place | Galactic Cruise | T. K. King, Dennis Northcott and Koltin Thompson | PD-Verlag (German edition) |
| Best children’s game | Toriki: Eine Insel voller Abenteuer | Wojciech Grajkowski | Mirakulus |
Who won the Golden Geek Awards presented in 2026?
The Golden Geek Awards presented in 2026 are officially the 2025 Golden Geek Awards, the 20th annual edition, because they honour games released in 2025. BoardGameGeek announced the winners on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, and Galactic Cruise, Fate of the Fellowship and Hot Streak took the three Game of the Year weights.
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Game of the Year, Light | Hot Streak |
| Game of the Year, Medium | The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship |
| Game of the Year, Heavy | Galactic Cruise |
| Best 2-Player Game | Toy Battle |
| Best Party Game | Hot Streak |
| Best Cooperative Game | The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship |
| Best Wargame | Star Wars: Battle of Hoth |
| Most Innovative Game | Vantage |
| Best Thematic Game | The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship |
| Best Artwork and Presentation | The Old King’s Crown |
| Best Expansion | SETI: Space Agencies |
| Best Solo Game | Vantage |
| Best Print and Play Game | Dungeons of the Oak Dell |
| Best Podcast | Board Game Hot Takes |
| Best Board Game App | Ark Nova |
Who won the Dice Tower Awards presented in 2026?
Galactic Cruise won Game of the Year at the Dice Tower Awards presented in 2026, which honour games released in 2025 and were reported in full on Monday, August 10, 2026. Galactic Cruise also won Best Strategy Game and Best Game from a New Designer, and Luthier won three categories.
| Category | Winner | Designer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game of the Year | Galactic Cruise | TK King, Dennis Northcott and Koltin Thompson | Kinson Key Games |
| Best Strategy Game | Galactic Cruise | TK King, Dennis Northcott and Koltin Thompson | Kinson Key Games |
| Best Game from a New Designer | Galactic Cruise | TK King, Dennis Northcott and Koltin Thompson | Kinson Key Games |
| Best Welcoming Game | FlipToons | Jordy Adan and Renato Simões | Thunderworks Games |
| Best Artwork | Critter Kitchen | Alex Cutler and Peter C. Hayward | Cardboard Alchemy |
| Most Innovative Game | Vantage | Jamey Stegmaier | Stonemaier Games |
| Best Cooperative Game | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Trick-Taking Game | Bryan Bornmueller | Office Dog and Asmodee |
| Best Reprint | Magical Athlete | Richard Garfield and Takashi Ishida | CMYK |
| Best Board Game Production | Luthier | Dave Beck and Abe Burson | Paverson Games |
| Best Game from a Small Publisher | Luthier | Dave Beck and Abe Burson | Paverson Games |
| Best Theme in a Game | Luthier | Dave Beck and Abe Burson | Paverson Games |
| Best 2-Player Game | Tag Team | Gricha German and Corentin Lebrat | Scorpion Masque |
| Best Party Game | Hot Streak | Jon Perry | CMYK |
| Best Solo Game | 20 Strong: Tanglewoods Red | Josh J. Carlson | Chip Theory Games |
The Dice Tower also inducted 7 Wonders Duel, Codenames and Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 into its Hall of Fame this year.
Who won the As d’Or in 2026?
Toy Battle won the main As d’Or, Jeu de l’Année prize at the Festival International des Jeux in Cannes, announced on Thursday, February 26, 2026. France’s biggest board game award names winners in four categories, and the children’s winner, L’Île des Mookies, is the same game that won the Kinderspiel des Jahres as Mooki Island.
| Category | Winner | Designer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tout Public (Family) | Toy Battle | Alessandro Zucchini and Paolo Mori | Repos Production |
| Enfant (Children) | L’Île des Mookies | Florian Sirieix | Le Scorpion Masqué |
| Initié (Intermediate) | Zenith | Grégory Grard and Mathieu Roussel | PlayPunk |
| Expert | Civolution | Stefan Feld | Grail Games and Deep Print Games |
Who won the Dutch Game of the Year in 2026?
Take Time won the Family category of the Nederlandse Spellenprijs, the Dutch Game of the Year, announced on Saturday, October 10, 2026 in Bergen op Zoom. The prize has three categories for games published in Dutch, and the Kenners jury judged the Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers versions of the Lord of the Rings trick-taking game together as one entry.
| Category | Winner | Designer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Familie (Family) | Take Time | Alexi Piovesan and Julien Prothière | Libellud, represented in the Netherlands by Asmodee |
| Kenners (Connoisseur) | The Lord of the Rings: Trick-Taking Game | Bryan Bornmueller | Office Dog, represented in the Netherlands by Asmodee |
| Experts (Expert) | River of Gold | Keith Piggott | White Goblin Games (Dutch edition) |
Who won the Origins Awards in 2026?
The 49th Annual Origins Awards were presented on Friday, June 19, 2026 at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio, and the board game Game of the Year honours were split by weight, with Railroad Tiles taking the Gateway prize and Speakeasy the Heavy Strategy prize.
| Category | Winner | Designer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway Game of the Year | Railroad Tiles | Hjalmar Hach and Lorenzo Silva | Horrible Guild |
| Party Game of the Year | Hot Streak | Jon Perry | CMYK |
| Light Strategy Game of the Year | Winter Rabbit | Will Thompson | Absurdist Productions |
| Heavy Strategy Game of the Year | Speakeasy | Vital Lacerda | Eagle-Gryphon Games |
| Cooperative and Solo Game of the Year | The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship | Matt Leacock | Z-Man Games |
| Roleplaying Game of the Year | Land of Eem | James Parks and Ben Costa | Exalted Funeral |
| Miniatures Game of the Year | Blood Bowl Third Season Edition | Games Workshop | Games Workshop |
| Fixed Constructible Game of the Year | Riftbound: Proving Grounds | UVS Games and Riot Games | UVS Games and Riot Games |
| Fan Favorite Game of the Year | Shard Bugs | Shard Bugs LLC | Shard Bugs LLC |
Who won the UK Games Expo People’s Choice Awards in 2026?
Luthier won the People’s Choice Strategy Award at the UK Games Expo, announced on Sunday, May 31, 2026 at the NEC in Birmingham. The public vote names four game winners each year.
| Category | Winner | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy Award | Luthier: The Art of the Instrument | Paverson Games |
| Family Award | Disney Villainous: Treacherous Tides | Ravensburger |
| Roleplaying Award | Ryoko’s Guide to the Yokai Realms | Loot Tavern Publishing |
| General Award | Star Wars: Battle of Hoth | Days of Wonder |
Which games won more than one major award in 2026?
Galactic Cruise is the most decorated game of the year, with the Dice Tower Game of the Year, the Golden Geek Heavy Game of the Year and third place in the Deutscher Spiele Preis. Four other games won across three or more award bodies.
| Game | Major wins in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Galactic Cruise | Dice Tower Game of the Year, Best Strategy and Best New Designer; Golden Geek Heavy Game of the Year; 3rd, Deutscher Spiele Preis |
| Hot Streak | Golden Geek Light Game of the Year and Best Party Game; Dice Tower Best Party Game; Origins Party Game of the Year |
| The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship | Golden Geek Medium Game of the Year, Best Cooperative and Best Thematic; Origins Cooperative and Solo Game of the Year |
| Vantage | Golden Geek Most Innovative and Best Solo Game; Dice Tower Most Innovative Game |
| Luthier | Dice Tower Best Production, Best Small Publisher and Best Theme; UK Games Expo People’s Choice Strategy Award |
| Toy Battle | As d’Or Tout Public; Golden Geek Best 2-Player Game |
| Mooki Island | Kinderspiel des Jahres (as Die Insel der Mookies); As d’Or Enfant (as L’Île des Mookies) |
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest board game award?
The Spiel des Jahres, Germany’s Game of the Year, is the hobby’s biggest award. The 2026 winner is Dito! by Martin Ang, sold in English as JinxO.
Why are the Golden Geek and Dice Tower awards called 2025 awards on a 2026 page?
Both award bodies name each edition for the year of games it honours. The editions presented in 2026 cover games released in 2025, so their official names say 2025.
Which 2026 award winner should a new player buy first?
Dito! and Toy Battle are the lightest winners on this page, and both won family-facing categories. Rebirth and Take Time are the next step up, and Galactic Cruise is the heaviest winner listed.
When are the 2027 award winners announced?
The cycle runs across the year: the As d’Or in February, the Golden Geeks in spring, the Spiel des Jahres in July, and the Deutscher Spiele Preis at SPIEL Essen in October. This page updates as each 2027 winner is announced.
Sources: Spiel des Jahres official winner announcement; Deutscher Spiele Preis results as reported by BoardGameWire and Opinionated Gamers from the SPIEL Essen press conference (no official Merz Verlag winner page is published); BoardGameGeek Golden Geek winner list; Dice Tower Awards winner list as reported by BoardGameWire (the official Dice Tower page confirms the 19th annual edition for 2025 games); Palais des Festivals and SPIEL Essen on the As d’Or; Spellenspektakel on the Nederlandse Spellenprijs; GAMA and ICv2 on the Origins Awards; Geek Native and Games Lore on the UK Games Expo People’s Choice Awards. All read Monday, November 2, 2026.
Changelog: Created Monday, November 2, 2026, with the Spiel des Jahres, Deutscher Spiele Preis, Golden Geek, Dice Tower, As d’Or, Nederlandse Spellenprijs, Origins and UK Games Expo People’s Choice winners for 2026.