Although the Jogo do Ano, the Portuguese Game of the Year Award is less well known than its German counterpart, the Spiel des Jahres, it is perhaps more relevant to experienced gamers as it recognises heavier games, or “gamers’ games”.  Starting in 2006, it is chosen by members of Spiel Portugal with each choosing ten games of their choice. The five nominees of the year are then played again and are evaluated according to defined parameters, namely: production (15%); theme (10%); mechanics (10%); replayability (10%); interaction (5%); time/fun (50%).

– Image from spielportugal.org

Previous winners include Barrage, Root, Lisboa, Great Western Trail, Mombasa, La Granja, Keyflower, Agricola and Brass.  Last year the winner was Carnegie, a game inspired by the life of  nineteenth century Scottish-American benefactor and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.  This year, the nominees are:

• Evacuation by Vladimír Suchý
• Hegemony: Lead your Class to Victory by Vangelis Bagiartakis and Varnavas Timotheou
• Horseless Carriage by Jeroen Doumen and Joris Wiersinga
• Nucleum by Simone Luciani and Dávid Turczi
• Scholars of the South Tigris by Shem Phillips and S. J. Macdonald

The winner will be announced in October.

– Image from spielportugal.org