The race for the German Games Award 2024 has been decided. The organizers of SPIEL'24 announced the winner on New Releases Day in Essen. The tactical card game Mischwald by game designer Kosch took the title. Particularly important: nature and sustainability.
The top three in the voting for the German Games Award 3 were already known: Sky Team, Die weiße Burg and Mischwald entered the race, and the winner was ultimately the tactical card game Mischwald by Kosch and Lookout Games. The set collection game is about collecting trees and attracting forest dwellers.
The declared goal for the players: to create an ecologically balanced habitat for flora and fauna. The central idea runs through everything from the idea to the production. The game author Kosch has a special connection to nature, and the publisher Lookout Games has taken care to ensure that mixed forest is produced sustainably. For example, the game packaging is sealed with a paper sticker and not wrapped in shrink film - this is not well received by every fan, but it is good for the environment because it avoids unnecessary disposable plastic.
Mischwald shines above all through its simple rules and wonderful illustrations by Toni Llobet and Judit Piella. The theme of the game remains central and noticeable at all times. "The game was created through my love of nature," explains the game author Kosch, who previously designed the Pegasus Spiele He created the board game "Fyfe" which was published in 2007. As a child he lived in the Palatinate and cycled through the vineyards. "I think that left a deep impression. I am a person who likes to be in nature.
Mixed forest aims to solve space problems
He then wanted to package the topic into a game mechanic. Kosch himself likes tableau builders and table work - he used this approach for Mixed Forest, then solved the space problem in card games with a sliding mechanism. In Mixed Forest, cards can be pushed together, then represent the tree as the central habitat for flora and fauna, animals and plants find their places on the four sides of the valuable trees. "The game is relatively simple, there are two actions you can do," explains Kosch. "Either you play a card or you draw two cards." Cards to be played must be paid for. A cycle is created by a display.
The board game community obviously found the concept of Mischwald particularly successful in the current year of games, and voted the title the top choice. Why could that be? Kosch breaks it down: "What I often hear from players is: I don't want to win at all. The main thing is that I have a beautiful forest." There are many who see themselves as winners - despite a lower score - because they simply have the prettier forest. "That's a nice statement," says Kosch happily. "It brings people together." Mischwald is a game that can be played by children - with parental guidance. This is largely due to the animal pictures. "Mischwald is a game for everyone," says Kosch.
The success of an author is ultimately a step on his path. Is Kosch planning more games? Yes, he definitely is, he explains. "I also have some prototypes that I want to bring to publishers. This is not the end." Fans of Mischwald are also getting new supplies: "The publisher and I are continuing to work on this game." With an expansion, those animals and plants that are otherwise found on the edges of the forest are now coming into the green.
But Kosch is not limited to nature themes. "I'm open," says Kosch. The next game could also be a science fiction game. "Overall, I'm a gamer. I just like games with a tangible theme." He is not so well known for abstract games, even though his first work was exactly that. "I want to make things that bring joy to me and the people around me."
The other rankings:
2st place: Sky team (Kosmos / Luc Rémond)
3st place: The White Castle (Kosmos / Shei S. and Isra C.)
4st place: Darwin's Journey (Skellig Games / ThunderGryph Games by Simone Luciani and Nestore Mangone)
5st place: Too Many Bones (Frosted Games / Chip Theory Games by Adam Carlson and Josh J. Carlson)
6st place: Revive (Pegasus Spiele / Aporta Games by Kristian Amundsen Østby, Helge Meissner, Anna Wermlund and Eilif Svensson)
7st place: Harmonies (Asmodee / Libellud by Johan Benvenuto)
8st place: Obsession (Strohmann Games / Kayenta Games by Dan Hallagan)
9st place: Heroes must stay outside (Mirakulus / Brueh Games by Luís Brüeh)
10st place: nucleus (Giant Roc / Board & Dice by Simone Luciani and Dávid Turczi)
Best children's game was "The Magic Keys“ by Markus Slawitscheck and Arno Steinwender (Game Factory / Happy Baobab).
| # | Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Asmodee Lookout Games Mixed Forest – Expansion: Alpine –... * |
16,75 EUR |
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| 2 |
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Asmodee Lookout Games – Mixed Drill – Expansion:... * |
16,04 EUR |
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| 3 |
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Lookout LOOD0064 Game, Multi-colored, Colorful * |
10,79 EUR |
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