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Each year, a panel of German journalists who cover the game industry for their employers – ten of them, for this year's pair of awards – go through hundreds of games released since the early part of the previous year to find the game they think will best "promote games as a cultural asset to encourage gaming amongst family and friends" for their German mainstream readership. On May 21, 2013, the SdJ jury had announced its three nominees for the award – Augustus by Paolo Mori (Hurrican), Qwixx by Stefan Benndorf (Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag), and the aforementioned Hanabi – and now after weeks of gamers waiting to see which title takes home the golden ticket, they've individually voted on their choice from among these three nominees and settled on Hanabi, giving Bauza a Spiel des Jahres award to go on the shelf next to the Kennerspiel des Jahres award that he won in 2011 for 7 Wonders.
Speaking of the Kennerspiel, while the Spiel des Jahres has been awarded annually since 1979, the Kennerspiel des Jahres – an award to honor games aimed at connoisseurs and gaming experts – debuted only in 2011, replacing the SdJ jury's habit of intermittent special awards for games too complex for the SdJ, yet still deserving of recognition.
The other two nominees for the KedJ award – Bruges by Stefan Feld and The Palaces of Carrara by Wolfgang Kramer – were both published in Germany by Hans im Glück, leaving it twice a bridesmaid at this year's award ceremony in Berlin. Maybe Hans will get luckier in 2014...
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