Idyll, teamwork and secrets: "Village Romance" is "Game of the Year 2023". The tile placement game by the authors Lukas Zach and Michael Palm was honored by a jury of critics on Sunday evening in Berlin. The winner is the board game adaptation of the award-winning video game of the same name.

"We've really suffered the last few days and are so happy - it's unbelievable," said author Lukas Zach at the award ceremony. Co-author Michael Palm thanked the jury for the honor: "Playing at least one game every day for a year on average is just amazing and we hope that the trust that you and yours has in our game, that which is then also good for the cultural asset of the game and brings new players to the tables."

A cooperative puzzle game

"Dorfromantik" from the publisher "Pegasus Spiele" is a cooperative tile-laying game in which the players have to skilfully put together an idyllic landscape using tiles. They have to complete tasks together to collect points and unlock five secret boxes.

In the race for the renowned title, the winner prevailed against the games "Fun Facts" by Kasper Lapp and "Next Station London" by Matthew Dunstan, which were also nominated.

The "Spiel des Jahres" association has been awarding the prize for over 40 years. The jury tests hundreds of new releases on the games market every year.

Also "Challengers!" was honoured

Also on Sunday, "Challengers!" by Johannes Krenner and Markus Slawitscheck as "Kennerspiel des Jahres", which is intended to appeal to more experienced players. "Mysterium Kids" by Antonin Boccara and Yves Hirschfeld received the title "Children's Game of the Year 2023". In addition, the association awarded a special prize to the escape game series "Unlock!".

game of the year