Game publisher Abacusspiele has won the top German game design award--the Spiel des Jahres or "Game of the Year"--for its cooperative fireworks card game Hanabi.  Kosmos, meanwhile, received the nod for the more gamer-targeted Kennerspiel des Jahres for its fantasy adventure epic Die Legenden von Andor.  The children’s game award, Kinderspiel des Jahres was awarded to Drei Magier Spiele’s Der verzauberte Turm.
 
The Spiel des Jahres jury chose Hanabi over the other two nominated games, Qwixx and Augustus.  Hanabi was designed by Antoine Bauza (who also designed the critically-acclaimed 7 Wonders).  The name refers to the Japanese word for fireworks, which is the theme of this cooperative card game.  Players must work together to assemble a fireworks show, by playing their cards in the best possible order, while holding their hands so only the other players can see their cards.
 
The Kennerspiel des Jahres winner, Die Legenden von Andor is also a cooperative game.  This boardgame pits a band of fantasy heroes against a series of quests.  The game, Michael Menzel’s first published design, is built upon a strong narrative arc, with each "legend" revealing a new part of the complete story of Andor.  It edged out Die Palaste von Carrara and Brugge.  Fantasy Flight Games is producing an English language version under the name Legends of Andor (see "'Legends of Andor' Board Game").
 
For younger players, the jury awarded the Kinderspiel des Jahres to Inka and Markus Brand’s Der Verzauberte Turm.  In this magnetically-driven game, one player assumes the role of the "sorcerer" who has kidnapped the princess and hidden her in a magic tower.  The other players act as "Robin," the hero who must rescue her by locating the tower’s hidden key.  The other nominees for this category were Mucca Pazza and Gold am Orinoko.