Deutscher Spiele Preis Awards

The Deutscher SpielePreis is one of two major German game awards, and is generally considered to be the "gamers' game" award, in contrast to the Spiel des Jahres, which generally leans toward recognizing family games.

The Deutscher SpielePreis is awarded by the magazine Die Pöppel-Revue, which collects votes from many sources, including game clubs, game industry journalists and other professionals, hundreds of game shops, and its own subscriber list.

The results of the vote--the top ten games for the year--are announced each October at the Essen game fair.

Caylus $43.95

The year is 1289. To strengthen the borders of the Kingdom of France, King Philip the Fair decided to have a new castle built. For the time being, Caylus is but a humble village, but soon, workers and craftsmen will be flocking by the cartload, attracted by the great prospects. Around the building site, a city is slowly rising up...

The players embody master builders. By building the King’s castle and developing the city around it, they earn prestige points and gain the King’s favor. When the castle is finished, the player who has earned the most prestige wins the game.

Thurn and Taxis $26.95

Winning the Spiel des Jahres in 2006, Thurn and Taxis takes the theme of the German post office and transforms it into a fascinating game. Players take turns building connecting routes of postal stagecoaches across Germany. Decisions must be made whether to build short, safer routes that may allow them to control territories, or to build longer, more lucrative routes. Fans of Ticket to Ride will enjoy the medium complexity of this game, as players may utilize one special ability each turn to help be the first to build routes in each area. Requiring planning and forethought, Thurn and Taxis is a rewarding experience for those who enjoy strategic games.

Antike $47.95

Antike is a challenging strategy game about evolution and competition among ancient civilizations. Ancient nations create cities, build temples, sail the seas, and discover new principles of science and technology. Their legions and galleys open new settlements and defend their people against attacks from their enemies. Two scenarios can be chosen as the game board is two-sided. Players choose from Greeks, Romans, and Germanic tribes and Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Persians, Arabs, Egyptians, and Babylonians.

Every nation tries to win ancient kings, scholars, generals, citizens, and navigators for themselves. The nation that acquires a specified number (depending on the number of players) of ancient personalities first will win the game!

Lead one of these nations to victory! But watch out for your enemies, as they will want to conquer your cities to destroy your temples. The game depends not on the luck of dice or cards, but on thoughtful plans and skillful diplomacy.

Blue Moon City $31.95

The Dark Age is over. The royal heirs, who caused the conflict and the destruction of Blue Moon City, have fled, and their corrupt advisors have been banished to faraway lands. The bitter division between the peoples of Blue Moon is beginning to heal.

Blue Moon City lies in ruin, but the people have vowed to restore the city to its former magnificence. The three elemental dragons have returned to help in the renaissance of Blue Moon City. They reward good leadership with shards of the Holy Crystal from the destroyed obelisk in the center of the city.

Blue Moon City -- the board game for 2 to 4 players -- picks up where the 2-player card game ended: with the reconstruction of the destroyed city of Blue Moon. Players vie to impress the dragons, collect crystals, and ultimately gain the leadership of Blue Moon City and win the game. Blue Moon City’s modular board is formed from 21 large building tiles, which show building plans on one side and the buildings in their reconstructed glory on the other. The game also includes wooden player figures, 80 cards depicting the 8 races of Blue Moon, and, as in the card game, 3 large molded plastic dragons.

Mesopotamia: Cradle of Civilization $35.95

Several thousand years ago, clans of people began settling in Mesopotamia. Now you can lead one of these clans, exploring unknown areas, building huts to live in, and creating cult centers to collect the valuable and desired Mana.

At the same time, all the players must work together to build a magnificent temple for the god Marduk. Each clan brings their offerings to this mighty temple, hoping to earn the blessings and protection of the deity. The highest rewards will come to the leader who brings all of his people's offerings to the temple first. Can you lead your people to their rightful place in the eyes of the god Marduk?

Elasund: The First City $39.95

Elasund? The little settlement on the coast? Well, those days are long gone. Elasund is growing rapidly and Catanians are streaming into the city, eager to make a fortune! Will you heed the call to drive the city's growth and prosperity and emerge as Elasund's savviest and most influential city developer? Find out in this new Catan adventure!

Masons $31.95 English language edition of Mauerbauer

In medieval times, famous masons competed to build the most beautiful and impressive cities. As we can see from what they left behind, they were perfectionists, but each had his own ideas about the best ways to design cities. Stately government buildings stand next to noble palaces with massive walls and guard towers surrounding the city to protect it from its enemies.

In this beautiful game, the players take the rules of these master masons of old. At the beginning of the game, the board is empty, but quickly fills with houses, palaces, towers, and walls. The guild cards help guide the masons in their building and the special dice offer them the materials they need. Each player decides where to build his houses and palaces. Whenever walls enclose a city, it is scored.

The game will determine which mason makes the best use of his materials and guild cards. But that will not be known until the final scoring, when the final scoring is complete and the players learn which of them has scored the most points to earn the victory as the greatest mason! At least for this game!

Masons -- no walls, no power!

Thebes $39.95 multilingual edition of Jenseits von Theben

More than 100 years ago, within a period of only a few decades, unusually many historical finds, treasures and whole cities of antique cultures were found and excavated; Schliemann discovered Troy, Evans investigated Crete, Carter found the grave of Tutankhamen and Koldewey excavated Babylon.

In Jenseits von Theben the players travel back to this time at the end of the 19th century, take on the role of these famous archaeologists and discover those antique treasures and places, which lay buried in the sands for thousands of years.

Each player slips into the role of an archaeologist, travels across Europe, finds suitable knowledge in different archaeological areas then excavates at antique places. The players receive points (= fame and honor) from discoveries at these locations; the player with most points wins the game. Additionally, the players can acquire articles for better excavation and travel conditions and can visit exhibitions to present their finds.

Hacienda $31.95

Argentina at the beginning of 19th century. The pastures of the pampas seem to go on forever. You have enough money to buy land and cattle to build a small hacienda.

During the game, players develop their haciendas, increase their herds and land holdings, open new markets, and worry about water supplies and harvests. Also, players must watch their competitors at all times. At game end, the winner is the player with the largest and most important hacienda.

The game comes with two game boards, each requiring a different strategy and approach to be successful and win. The game also offers an alternate scoring system, giving players yet other ways to play. Hacienda is a game that requires thought and planning throughout, representing a challenge for each player.

Augsburg 1520 $31.95

In the 16th century, Jakob Fugger organized Augsburg into an impressive trading power. He possessed so much money that he could generously lend it to emperors and kings. In response, he received numerous privileges such as commercial laws, offices and honors -- and thus became increasingly wealthy.

The players take on the role of "Jakob the Rich". Who will lend his money most skillfully and enhance his prestige the most?

Rum & Pirates $31.95

The players take on the roles of pirates. They move the captain along the alleys of the pirates nest, looking for treasure maps and treasure chests. Or they meet the city guard and deal with them if they can. Naturally, they will visit the few pubs to gather and drink some rum together. They will also have opportunities to acquire the special wares needed by pirates like wooden legs and eye patches. At the end of the day, they head back to the ship and wrangle for the few sleeping places available there. All these activities earn the players tiles, which are worth honor points -- most positive, but some are negative. These honor points are tallied at game end. The player who ends the game with the most honor points is the winner!

Nacht der Magier $56.95 Best Children's Game

On dark nights the magicians meet to prove their magic power. On a rocky plateau there are red cauldrons arranged around the blazing fire. This magic place is surrounded by trees and r5ocks. One magician after another tries carefully to push towards the center and everything magically moves. Suddenly, something falls off the rock! The magician stops where he is and the next magician tries to find his way. When the heavy disk with the fire moves, the hidden ring of light slowly appears. And this is where each magician wants to land one of his cauldrons. He is then the winner of the magic night.