Spiel des Jahres Nominations for 2022: Cascadia, Scout, and Top Ten

The nominees for the 2022 Spiel des Jahres — Germany's "game of the year" award — have been announced, along with nominees for the Kinderspiel des Jahres (KidJ) for children's game of the year and the Kennerspiel des Jahres (KedJ) for enthusiast's game of the year, that is, for those already comfortable with learning and playing new games.

Spiel des Jahres jury chairman Harald Schrapers and Kinderspiel des Jahres chairman Christoph Schlewinski announced the nominees, along with other recommended titles, during a live broadcast on YouTube, with these three titles being nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2022:

• Cascadia, from Randy Flynn and Flatout Games (and in Germany from KOSMOS)
• Scout, from Kei Kajino and Oink Games (and originally from One More Game!)
• Top Ten, from Aurélien Picolet and Cocktail Games

Aside from these nominations, the SdJ jury recommended the following six titles: 7 Wonders: Architects, echoes: The Dancer, Magic Rabbit, My Gold Mine, So Clover!, and Trek 12: Himalaya.

Note that the Spiel des Jahres award is primarily aimed at family gamers, i.e., those who play games but aren't heavily into the gaming scene.

Nominations for the Kennerspiel des Jahres 2022 went to:

• Cryptid, from Hal Duncan, Ruth Veevers, and Osprey Games (and in Germany from Skelling Games)
• Dune: Imperium, from Paul Dennen and Dire Wolf
• Living Forest, from Aske Christiansen and Ludonaute (and in Germany from Pegasus Spiele)

The SdJ jury recommended three other titles at the Kennerspiel level: Ark Nova, Khôra: Rise of an Empire, and Witchstone.

The winners of the Spiel and Kennerspiel des Jahres will be announced in Berlin, Germany on July 16, 2022.

The titles nominated for Kinderspiel des Jahres 2022 are:

• Auch schon clever, from Wolfgang Warsch and Schmidt Spiele
• Mit Quacks & Co. nach Quedlinburg, from Wolfgang Warsch and Schmidt Spiele
• Zauberberg, a.k.a. Magic Mountain, from Jens-Peter Schliemann, Bernhard Weber, and AMIGO

The Kinderspiel des Jahres jury, which differs from the SdJ/KedJ jury, also recommended four other titles: Fröschis, Golden Ei, Honey, and Die Villa der Vampire.

The winner will be announced on June 20, 2022, roughly one month prior to the winners of the other awards.