Best Board Games of 2011 – Nominees announced!


Risk Legacy
Could this be the winner?

It’s that time of year again – time for the annual Dice Tower Awards!
Well, actually it’s time for the game nominations to be announced.

This week, The Dice Tower Network announced the nominations for the Dice Tower Gaming Awards for 2011. A committee made up of over 40 prominent board game podcasters and bloggers has come up with the lists of the best games released in the year 2011.

This year, it was decided to increase the nomination slate for Game of the Year to 10 games rather than five. They’ve also added two new categories: Best Digital Board Games – for board games translated to iOS devices or computers, and a Best Game Theme category – in which games are recognized for having unique, refreshing themes or portraying their theme well.

The winners will be announced the first week of July – after more game playing and comparisons can be made from repeated plays to judge which are really the Best of the Best.

Here’s this year’s list of nominations in the 13 categories, along with designer and English publisher.

Game of the Year Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
A Few Acres of Snow Martin Wallace Treefrog Games
The Ares Project Brian and Geoff Engelstein Z-Man Games
The Castles of Burgundy Stefan Feld Ravensburger
Eclipse Touko Tahkokallio Asmodee
King of Tokyo Richard Garfield IELLO
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Nate French Fantasy Flight Games
Mage Knight Board Game Vlaada Chvatil WizKids
Quarriors! Mike Elliott and Eric M. Lang Wizkids
Risk Legacy Rob Daviau and Chris Dupuis Hasbro
Star Trek: Fleet Captains Mike Elliott, Bryan Kinsella, and Ethan Pasternack WizKids
Best Family Game Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
Flash Point: Fire Rescue Kevin Lanzing Indie Boards and Cards
Kingdom Builder Donald X. Vaccarino Queen Games
King of Tokyo Richard Garfield IELLO
Quarriors! Mike Elliott and Eric M. Lang Wizkids
Say Anything Family Edition Dominic Crapuchettes North Star Games

Best New Game Designer Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
Blood Bowl: Team Manager – The Card Game Jason Little Fantasy Flight Games
Flash Point: Fire Rescue Kevin Lanzing Indie Boards and Cards
The Ares Project Brian and Geoff Engelstein Z-Man Games
Sentinels of the Multiverse Christopher Badell and Paul Bender Greater Than Games
Nightfall David Gregg Alderac Entertainment Group
Best Game Reprint Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
Can’t Stop Sid Sackson Gryphon Games
Confusion: Espionage and Deception in the Cold War Robert Abbott Stronghold Games
Evo Philippe Keyaerts Asmodee
A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (2nd Edition) Christian T. Petersen Fantasy Flight Games
Puerto Rico: Anniversary Edition Andreas Seyfarth Rio Grande Games
Best Production Value Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Board Game Peter Lee, Mike Mearls, and Bill Slavicsek Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of Ashardalon Board Game Peter Lee, Mike Mearls, and Bill Slavicsek Wizards of the Coast
Mansions of Madness Corey Konieczka Fantasy Flight Games
Risk Legacy Rob Daviau and Chris Dupuis Hasbro
Super Dungeon Explore Chris Birkenhagen, John Cadice, and Deke Stella Soda Pop Miniatures
Best Small Publisher Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
Flash Point: Fire Rescue Kevin Lanzing Indie Boards and Cards
Dungeon Run Mr. Bistro Plaid Hat Games
Rallyman Jean-Christophe Bouvier Rallyman Inc.
Sentinels of the Multiverse Christopher Badell and Paul Bender Greater Than Games
Bears! Anne-Marie De Witt Fireside Games
Best Party Game Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
Crappy Birthday Brian Weinstock and Amy Weinstock North Star Games
Dixit: Odyssey Jean-Louis Roubira Asmodee
Reverse Charades Junior Edition Scott and Bryce Porter Gryphon Games
Faux-Cabulary Matthew Nuccio Out of the Box
Train of Thought Jay Cormier and Sen-Foong Lim Tasty Minstrel Games
Best Game Expansion Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
Ticket to Ride Map Collection: Volume 1 – Team Asia & Legendary Asia Alan R. Moon and Francois Valentyne Days of Wonder
Thunderstone: Dragonspire Mike Elliott and Brent Keith Alderac Entertainment Group
Small World Underground Philippe Keyaerts Days of Wonder
7 Wonders: Leaders Antoine Bauza Asmodee
Summoner Wars: Master Set Colby Dauch Plaid Hat Games
Most Innovative Game Designer Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
The Ares Project Brian and Geoff Engelstein Z-Man Games
Ascending Empires Ian Cooper Z-Man Games
Paperclip Railways Tony Boydell Surprised Stare Games Ltd
Quarriors! Mike Elliott and Eric M. Lang Wizkids
Risk Legacy Rob Daviau and Chris Dupuis Hasbro
Best Game Artwork Nominees:
Game Artist Publisher
Dixit: Odyssey Marie Cardouat and Pierô Asmodee
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Various Artists Fantasy Flight Games
Mansions of Madness Christopher Burdett, Anders Finer, and Henning Ludvigsen Fantasy Flight Games
Flash Point: Fire Rescue Luis Francisco and George Patsouras Indie Boards and Cards
A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (2nd Edition) Tomasz Marek Jedruszek and Henning Ludvigsen Fantasy Flight Games
Best War Game Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
Sekigahara: Unification of Japan Matt Calkins GMT Games
Band of Brothers Jim Krohn Worthington Games
A Few Acres of Snow Martin Wallace Treefrog Games
Julius Caesar Grant Dalgliesh and Justin Thompson Columbia Games
Sergeants Miniatures Game Jeff Billings Lost Battalion Games
Best Game Theme Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
Dungeon Petz Vlaada Chvatil Z-Man Games
Flash Point: Fire Rescue Kevin Lanzing Indie Boards and Cards
Last Will Vladimir Suchy Rio Grande Games
Yggdrasil Cedric Lefebvre and Fabrice Rabellino Z-Man Games
Takenoko Antoine Bauza Asmodee
Best Digital Boardgame Nominees:
Game Designer Publisher
Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer Robert Dougherty, John Fiorillo, Justin Gary, and Brian M. Kibler Playdek
Ticket to Ride Alan R. Moon Days of Wonder
Forbidden Island Matt Leacock Button Mash Games
Ghost Stories Antoine Bauza Repos Productions
Elder Sign Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson Fantasy Flight Games

We’ve found it interesting how these nominees compare to the Best Board Game and Best Card Game of 2011 list that we posted about just after 2011 came to a close. That preliminary list included 27 games. What’s interesting is that only 13 of those became nominees in The Dice Tower Awards 2011.

Now I better get back to playing some games – so I can be better prepared to worthily contribute along with the others around the world judging this year’s nominees and ultimate winners!

If you’re interested in seeing The Dice Tower Awards lists from years past, head to the Dice Tower website.
2010 – Best Game of the Year Winner: 7 Wonders
2009 – Best Game of the Year Winner: Smallworld
2008 – Best Game of the Year Winner: Dominion
2007 – Best Game of the Year Winner: Race for the Galaxy

2 thoughts on “Best Board Games of 2011 – Nominees announced!

  • Nice to view the best board games of 2011. I am a keen lover of board games and happy to see one of my favorite game in the best ones.

    Reply
  • Nice to view the best board games of 2011. I am a keen lover of board games and happy to see one of my favorite game in the best ones.

    Reply

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