Welcome to our 9th annual Board Game Grow 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, we usually wait until spring to announce our nominees to give us time to play games that came out late in the winter.
As usual, we have a total of 11 award categories this year, with 5 nominees in each. while 2021 wasn’t quite back to normal yet, our editorial staff was still able to play a ton of games and have chosen some stand-out titles that we would like to nominate. 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 get a vote as well!
Below is a poll for each of the 11 categories to allow you to cast a vote for which games you think should win. 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 11th, 2021 and the winners will be announced shortly thereafter.
Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees!
2021 Board Game Award Nominees
Best Cooperative Game
Chronicles of Drunagor: Age of Darkness
Designers: Daniel Alves and Eurico Cunha Neto
Creative Games Studio
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Descent: Legends of the Dark
Designers: Kara Centell-Dunk, Nathan I. Hajek, and Todd Michlitsch
Fantasy Flight Games
Get Your Copy
The Night Cage
Designers: Christopher Ryan Chan, Chris McMahon, and Rosswell Saunders
Smirk and Laughter Games
Get Your Copy
Most Innovative Game
Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.”
Designers: Jay Cormier and Sen-Foong Lim
Off the Page Games
Get Your Copy
Best Game Expansion
Grand Austria Hotel – Let’s Waltz
Designers: Virginio Gigli and Simone Luciani
Lookout Games
Get Your Copy
Marvel United: Return of the Sinister Six
Designers: Andrea Chiarvesio and Eric M. Lang
CMON and Spin Master
Get Your Copy
Best Production Values
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venice
Designers: Thibaud de la Touanne,
Fabrice Lamidey, and Manuel Rozoy
Triton Noir
Get Your Copy
Best Thematic Game
Descent: Legends of the Dark
Designers: Kara Centell-Dunk, Nathan I. Hajek, and Todd Michlitsch
Fantasy Flight Games
Get Your Copy
Chronicles of Drunagor: Age of Darkness
Designers: Daniel Alves and Eurico Cunha Neto
Creative Games Studio
Get Your Copy
Best Strategy/Euro Game
Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write
Designers: Brian Lewis, David McGregor, and Marissa Misura
Pandasaurus Games
Get Your Copy
Best Game from a Small Publisher
Dollars to Donuts
Designers: Molly Johnson, Robert Melvin, and Shawn Stankewich
Crafty Games
Get Your Copy
Chronicles of Drunagor: Age of Darkness
Designers: Daniel Alves and Eurico Cunha Neto
Creative Games Studio
Get Your Copy
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venice
Designers: Thibaud de la Touanne,
Fabrice Lamidey, and Manuel Rozoy
Triton Noir
Get Your Copy
Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.”
Designers: Jay Cormier and Sen-Foong Lim
Off the Page Games
Get Your Copy
Best Card Game
Best Two Player Game
Best Family Game
Marvel United: X-Men
Designer: Andrea Chiarvesio, Eric M. Lang, and Francesco Rugerfred Sedda
CMON, Spin Master
Get Your Copy
Game of the Year
Chronicles of Drunagor: Age of Darkness
Designers: Daniel Alves and Eurico Cunha Neto
Creative Games Studio
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.
