Home Board Game News 2023 Board Game Award Nominees

2023 Board Game Award Nominees

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2023 Board Game Award Nominees

Welcome to our 11th annual Board Game Quest Board Game Awards. Each year we take some time to honor the best and most creative new tabletop games from the previous years. For those wondering, why we wait until the following year to announce our winners, its to give us a chance to check out the games that come out later in the year (like Essen and PAXU releases).

This year we have a total of 12 award categories, with the new addition of Best Solo Game. Our editorial team has spent a ton of time playing games, and has chosen a group of titles from last year that we consider really outstanding. It’s from among these nominations that we will choose a winner. However, since we wouldn’t be doing this without you, our awesome readers, you also get a vote!

Below is a poll for each of the 12 categories for which you can vote. Our readers here will collectively get one vote, and along with each member of our editorial staff, the winner will be chosen. The voting will be open until April 12th, 2024 and the winners will be announced shortly after that.

Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees!

2023 Board Game Award Nominees

Best Cooperative Game

2023 Best Cooperative Game
Unmatched Adventures
Unmatched Adventures:
Tales to Amaze

Designers: Jason Hager, Darren Reckner
Restoration Games
Get Your Copy
Votes for Women
Votes for Women
Designer: Tory Brown
Fort Circle Games
Get Your Copy

Sky Team
Designers: Luc Rémond
Hachette, Scorpion Masqué
Get Your Copy
Tamashii: Chronicles of Ascend
Tamashii: Chronicle of Ascend
Designers: Kamil ‘Sanex’ Cieśla, Robert Plesowicz, Łukasz Włodarczyk
Awaken Realms Lite
Get Your Copy
Resident Evil
Resident Evil: The Board Game
Designer:
Sherwin Matthews
Steamforged Games
Get Your Copy

 

Best Tactical/Combat Game

2023 Best Combat Game
Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe:
Clash for Eternia

Designers: Leo Almeida, Michael Shinall
CMON Games
Get Your Copy
Snap Ship Tactics
Snap Ships Tactics
Designers: Josh Derksen
Snap Ships
Get Your Copy
Star Trek Away Missions
Star Trek: Away Missions
Designer: Andrew Haught, Mike Haught, Phil Yates
Gale Force 9
Get Your Copy
Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone
Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone
Designers: John Cadice, Aaron Dill, John Kovaleski
Monster Fight Club
Get Your Copy
Votes for Women
Votes for Women
Designer: Tory Brown
Fort Circle Games
Get Your Copy

 

Best Game Expansion

2023 Best Game Expansion
Lost Ruins of Arnak Missing Expedition
Lost Ruins of Arnak:
The Missing Expedition

Designers: Elwen & Mín
Czech Games Edition
Get Your Copy
Ark Nova
Ark Nova: Marine Worlds
Designer: Mathias Wigge
Capstone Games
Get Your Copy
War of the Ring
War of the Ring: The Card Game – Against the Shadow
Designer: Ian Brody
Ares Games
Get Your Copy
One the Road
The Grand Carnival:
On the Road

Designer: Rob Cramer
Uproarious Games
Get Your Copy
Uprising
Uprising: Titans of the First Age
Designers: Cornelius Cremin, Pawel Mazur, Dirk Sommer
Nemesis Games

 

Best Production Values

2023 Best Production Values
Thunder Road Vendetta
Thunder Road: Vendetta
Designers: Brett Myers, Dave Chalker
Restoration Games
Get Your Copy
The Castles of Burgundy
The Castles of Burgundy:
Special Edition

Designer: Stefan Feld
Awaken Realms
Get Your Copy
Voidfall
Voidfall
Designers: Nigel Buckle, Dávid Turczi
Mindclash Games
Get Your Copy
Victorum
Hoplomachus: Victorum
Designers: Josh J. Carlson, Adam Carlson, Logan Giannini
Chip Theory Games
Get Your Copy
Snap Ship Tactics
Snap Ships: Tactics
Designer: Josh Derksen
Snap Ships
Get Your Copy

 

Best Thematic Game

Best Thematic Game
Tamashii: Chronicles of Ascend
Tamashii: Chronicle of Ascend
Designer: Kamil ‘Sanex’ Cieśla, Robert Plesowicz, Łukasz Włodarczyk
Awaken Realms Lite
Get Your Copy

Monster Hunter World:
The Board Game

Designers: Mat Hart, Sherwin Matthews, Jamie Perkins
Steamforged Games
Get Your Copy

Thunder Road: Vendetta
Designers: Brett Myers, Dave Chalker
Restoration Games
Get Your Copy
Resident Evil
Resident Evil: The Board Game
Designers: Sherwin Matthews
Steamforged Games
Get Your Copy
Stationfall
Stationfall
Designer: Matt Eklund
Ion Game Design
Get Your Copy

 

Best Strategy/Euro Game

2023 Best Euro Game
Darwins Journey
Darwin’s Journey
Designer: Simone Luciani, Nestore Mangone
Thundergryph Games
Get Your Copy
Earth
Earth
Designer: Maxime Tardif
Inside Up Games
Get Your Copy
World Wonders
World Wonders
Designer: Zé Mendes
Arcane Wonders
Get Your Copy
Hegemony
Hegemony:
Lead Your Class to Victory

Designers: Vangelis Bagiartakis, Varnavas Timotheou
Hegemonic Project Games
Get Your Copy
The Fox Experiment
The Fox Experiment
Designers: Jeff Fraser, Elizabeth Hargrave
Pandasaurus Games
Get Your Copy

 

Best Card Game

2023 Best Card Game
Star Wars Deck Building Game
Star Wars:
The Deckbuilding Game

Designer: Caleb Grace
Fantasy Flight Games
Get Your Copy
Ashes Red Rains
Ashes Reborn: Red Rains –
The Corpse of Viros

Designers: Nick Conley
Plaid Hat Games
Get Your Copy
Forest Shuffle
Forest Shuffle
Designer: Kosch
Lookout Games
Imperial Miners
Imperial Miners
Designer: Tim Armstrong
Portal Games
Get Your Copy
Earthborne Rangers
Earthborne Rangers
Designers: Andrew Fischer, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt, Andrew Navaro, Adam Sadler, Brady Sadler
Earthborne Games
Get Your Copy

 

Best Game from a Small Publisher

2023 Best Small Publisher
Kinfire Chronicles
Kinfire Chronicles: Night’s Fall
Designers: Kevin Wilson
Incredible Dream
Get Your Copy
Earthborne Rangers
Earthborne Rangers
Designers: Andrew Fischer, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt, Andrew Navaro, Adam Sadler, Brady Sadler
Earthborne Games
Get Your Copy

Distilled
Designer: Dave Beck
Paverson Games
Get Your Copy
Hegemony
Hegemony:
Lead Your Class to Victory

Designers: Vangelis Bagiartakis, Varnavas Timotheou
Hegemonic Project Games
Get Your Copy
Nekojima
Nekojima
Designers: David Carmona, Karen Nguyen
Unfriendly Games
Get Your Copy

 

Best Solo Game

2023 Best Solo Game
Legacy of Yu
Legacy of Yu
Designer:
Shem Phillips
Garphill Games
Get Your Copy
The American President
Mr. President: The American Presidency, 2001-2020
Designer: Gene Billingsley
GMT Games
Get Your Copy
20 Strong
20 Strong
Designer: Josh J. Carlson
Chip Theory Games
Get Your Copy
Votes for Women
Votes for Women
Designer: Tory Brown
Fort Circle Games
Get Your Copy
Ashes Red Rains
Ashes Reborn: Red Rains –
The Corpse of Viros

Designer: Nick Conley
Plaid Hat Games
Get Your Copy

 

Best Family Game

2023 Best Family Game
Wandering Towers
Wandering Towers
Designers: Michael Kiesling, Wolfgang Kramer
Capstone Games
Get Your Copy
Imperial Miners
Imperial Miners
Designer: Tim Armstrong
Portal Games
Get Your Copy
Lord of the Rings Adventure Book Game
Lord of the Rings:
Adventure Book Game

Designers: Jay Little, Ryan Miller, Marcus Ross
Ravensburger
Get Your Copy
Trailblazers
Trailblazers
Designer: Ryan Courtney
Bitewing Games
Get Your Copy
Steam Up
Steam Up:
A Feast of Dim Sum

Designers: Pauline Kong, Haymen Lee, Marie Wong
Hot Banana Games
Get Your Copy

 

Best Reprint/Reimplementation

Best Reimplementation

Thunder Road: Vendetta
Designers: Brett Myers, Dave Chalker
Restoration Games
Get Your Copy
RA
RA: Deluxe Edition
Designer: Reiner Knizia
25th Century Games
Get Your Copy
The Castles of Burgundy
The Castles of Burgundy:
Special Edition

Designer: Stefan Feld
Awaken Realms
Get Your Copy
Tales to Amaze
Unmatched Adventures:
Tales to Amaze
Designers:
Jason Hager, Darren Reckner
Restoration Games
Get Your Copy
Zoo Vadis
Zoo Vadis
Designer: Reiner Knizia
Bitewing Games
Get Your Copy

 

Game of the Year

2023 Game of the Year

Thunder Road: Vendetta
Designers: Brett Myers, Dave Chalker
Restoration Games
Get Your Copy
Ticket to Ride Legacy
Ticket to Ride Legacy:
Legends of the West

Designers: Rob Daviau, Matt Leacock, Alan R. Moon
Days of Wonder
Votes for Women
Votes for Women
Designer: Tory Brown
Fort Circle Games
Get Your Copy
World Wonders
World Wonders
Designer: Zé Mendes
Arcane Wonders
Get Your Copy
Tamashii: Chronicles of Ascend
Tamashii: Chronicle of Ascend
Designers: Kamil ‘Sanex’ Cieśla, Robert Plesowicz, Łukasz Włodarczyk
Awaken Realms Lite
Get Your Copy

Note: Whichever game wins Game of the Year will automatically be removed from any of the above categories except Best Production Values. Our reasoning is if a game wins Game of the Year, chances are it should win any of the other categories by default. That just seemed a bit redundant. If a game wins Game of the Year, you know it is really good.


11 COMMENTS

  1. Stationfall won’t win, because I just don’t think enough people have played it. But, it’s the best thematic game in the group.

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