Best Family Board Game of the Year – Spiel des Jahres Winner 2011
Extend your kingdom across the land.
The Spiel des Jahres winner for 2011 was announced last week. And we’re happy to see that the winner for best family board game of the year went to Kingdom Builder!
(It’s the one I was hoping would win.)
Kingdom Builder really is a great board game for families. It has simple rules, straightforward game play, and variable scoring conditions so every game has a unique mix to offer.
The designer of Kingdom Builder is Donald X. Vaccarino – the designer behind Dominion which also won the Spiel des Jahres award the year it was published. So now he has another hit on his hands. Way to go!
Variable boards, Variable goals = Awesome
The whole purpose behind the Spiel des Jahres is to “promote games as a cultural asset to encourage gaming amongst family and friends”.
And we’d agree that Kingdom Builder hits that mark!
It’s a great board game to play with family and friends.
See our full review of Kingdom Builder.
The two that Kingdom Builder was up against didn’t look appealing to me. I do enjoy Kingdom Builder. Donald X wins again.
I’m also excited for Village, the Kennerspiel winner. It should be available very soon in the states.
By the way, did you see the Dice Tower also announced their awards?
Aaron – Yes, we did see The Dice Tower released their awards list and that will be our next post.
(We’re actually part of the judging panel for The Dice Tower awards.)
Hrm, I can’t seem to find a review on your site on Kingdom Builders.
I have an almost 8-yr old daughter who has a good handle on Dominion and Ticket to Ride. Do you think she can handle Kingdom Builders?
Mike – We haven’t done a review of it yet, but have played it and it’s a great game. I think your daughter would be able to handle it nicely. It has very simple and straightforward rules of play with a good balance of luck (card draws) and strategy (where to play your pieces).
Thanks! It’s now added to my ever-growing list of games to try.
[...] Board Game Family puts together a nice summary article for us that details the 2011 Spiel des Jahres Family Board [...]
Trent, you guys are killing me! Now I’m going to have to get this game too. By the way, love Memoir 44! There’s another game called Camelot that is an interactive game that is fun too.
Scott – It’s been killing me too.
I finally made the purchase yesterday for Kingdom Builder. After months of know that I wanted it (after having played it in Feb), I couldn’t help myself. Christmas is just too far away.