Susan McKinley Ross’ Qwirkle, which was first published in the U.S. by Mindware in 2006, has won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres “Game of the Year Award.”  Qwirkle, which is an abstract, tile-placement game for 2-4 players, wasn’t published in Germany until 2010, which makes it eligible for the award, which is Germany’s highest board game honor.

 

This year’s awards (see “2011 Spiel des Jahres Nominees”) also include a new category the Kennerspiel des Jahres, the “Connoisseur’s” or “Enthusiast’s Game of the Year.  This year’s winner is Antoine Bauza’s 7 Wonders, which is published by Asmodee. 7 Wonders is a strategy-heavy card game that takes place over three ages, each of which is represented by a deck of cards.  It is a card development game similar to  Dominion, only with an ancient world, 3-ages setting.