MULTIPLAYER
• Anno 1800
• Beyond the Sun
• Dune: Imperium
• Hallertau
• Lost Ruins of Arnak
• Nidavellir
• Paleo
• Praga Caput Regni
TWO-PLAYER
• Botanik
• Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
• Imperium: Classics & Imperium: Legends
• Jekyll vs. Hyde
• Let's Make a Bus Route: The Dice Game
• MicroMacro: Crime City
• My City
• Undaunted: North Africa
SOLO
• Calico
• Cantaloop: Book 1 – Breaking into Prison
• Clever Cubed
• Hallertau
• Imperium: Classics & Imperium: Legends
• MicroMacro: Crime City
• Sleeping Gods
• Under Falling Skies
While I'm officially a member of the IGA, I have not participated in voting in more than a decade — which is probably a good thing considering that I've played exactly three of the titles listed above, so I'd hardly be able to meaningfully play all of the nominees and vote on finalists. (BGG owner Scott Alden is also an IGA member, but I don't know whether he votes or not.)
As for how these nominees are determined, jury members are invited to submit a list of ten games in each category, with five games in each list being starred. Starred games receive 2 points and unstarred games 1 point, and whichever games receive the most points are nominated. Jury members are free to list games in which categories feel appropriate based on their personal experience, which is how you end up with, say, Hallertau being listed in both the multiplayer and the solo lists.
Congratulations to all of the nominees!