MicroMacro: Crime City is Game of the Year 2021. The jury has made its decision, after the Hidden Object Detective Game was awarded the Austrian Game Prize, the publishers Pegasus Spiele and Edition Spielwiese are now also happy to receive the main prize of the Game of the Year eV
This year's award ceremony was again under the sign of the pandemic - after all, there was glamor in front of a small audience. Journalists and influencers were able to take part in the ceremony, whether they were tested, vaccinated or recovered. The club had invited to Berlin, and game designer Wolfgang Kramer was among the guests.
Innovative, exciting, without text
25 years ago, Kramer was able to get hold of the "red pawn" with El Grande, another ten years earlier he succeeded with Heimlich and Co. Perhaps the biggest highlight, the "Kramer bar", still makes their hobby easier for board game fans today: With game pieces on scores are recorded today using a number bar instead of tally lists. Today this is taken for granted, back then it was a bit of an evolution in the board game world.
Today it is far more difficult to invent new mechanisms. Almost everything is already available, often in different versions, not infrequently as mixed products - real inventions have become rare. However, this was exactly where the detective game MicroMacro - Crime City, published by Edition Spielwiese and Pegasus Spiele, scored points: the hidden object concept was something new - not generally, but for board games.
MicroMacro - Crime City ultimately prevailed against the also nominated games "Robin Hood" by Michael Menzel (Kosmos, for two to four people from ten years of age, around 50 euros) and "Zombie Teenz Evolution" by Annick Lobet (Scorpion Masqué, for two to four people aged eight and over, around 25 euros).
“Despite Corona, we played and assessed around 300 German-language novelties in the past year, the number of publications remained high. There were many exciting games, ”said Harald Schrapers, Chairman of the Game of the Year, on the class. He emphasized: "It is positive that authors and publishers are increasingly striving for diversity, which is clear in the language, the roles shown and the illustrations."
The jury also issues a recommendation list with five other excellent games:
- Bite 20 by Lena Burkhardt and Günter Burkhardt (three magicians)
- Chakra by Luka Krleža (Game Factory)
- Score salad by Molly Johnson, Robert Melvin and Shawn Stankewich (AEG/Pegasus Spiele)
- Switch & Signal by David Thompson (Kosmos)
- The Key: Sabotage in Lucky Lama Land by Thomas Sing (Haba)
The authors Johannes Sich, Daniel Goll and Tobias Joschinke as well as the publishers' representatives were overjoyed, as was the competition. Especially with Michael Menzel's Robin Hood one seemed to be confronted with a sheer overpowering "opponent" - even if the advance praise had made MicroMacro: Crime City much more than an insider tip for winning the red pawn. In the end, the exciting and unusual game concept of the hidden object detective game was at least a little more convincing than the no less unusual idea of the board game from Kosmos.
MicroMacro: Crime City became an international phenomenon: the family game has now been translated into 31 languages. Not least thanks to its great success, fans can already look forward to the independently playable second part, MicroMacro: Crime City 2 – Full House, with 16 new cases. In the new part of MicroMacro: Crime City, players are once again transported to the infamous city in black and white - this time in the southern district - which is still teeming with crime. The game continues to gain momentum and becomes more complex, more sophisticated and of course a little more criminal. MicroMacro: Crime City 2 – Full House gets loud Pegasus Spiele expected to be available from August.
Ultimately, the award doesn't make MicroMacro: Crime City a better game than it already is - but it will definitely boost sales. The price Children's game of the year 2021 By the way, it was already awarded in June, which also comes from Pegasus Spiele.
The Spiel des Jahres eV association has set itself the task of promoting games as a cultural asset in society and the family. The award of the same name has been awarded since 1979. It is known as the “Games Oscar” and is the most important prize of its kind in the world. The Children's Game of the Year prize has also been awarded since 2001. Since 2011 there has also been the Kennerspiel des Jahres award, which is aimed at more experienced players.
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Pegasus/Playground 59060G MicroMacro: Crime City (Edition...* |
15,98 EUR |
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