There are two big awards for board games in Germany: the Spiel des Jahres, awarded by a jury (a bit like the Oscars for movies) and the Deutscher Spielepreis, organised by Friedrich Merz Verlag (organisers of the Essen convention) and voted on by the public.

MicroMacro has won the Spiel des Jahres award this year with Lost Ruins of Arnak being on the nomination list. But now Lost Ruins has turned the tables: it has won the Deutscher Spielepreis as the best family/adult game with MicroMacro coming in second place.

In contrast to the jury awards of Spiel des Jahres, consumers are allowed to vote each year for the Deutscher Spielepreis (DSP), organized by Friedhelm Merz Verlag, host of SPIEL in Essen. Everyone’s been able to cast five weighted votes for their personal favorites among games for families and adults, as well as another for the best children’s game; only new releases on display at the previous SPIEL in fall 2020 or at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in spring 2021 were eligible.

Now the winners have been announced: Lost Ruins of Arnak by Michaela Štachová and Michal Štach, published by Czech Games Edition / HeidelBÄR Games, won the DSP for best family / adult game. It beat the following competitors: “Spiel des Jahres” winner MicroMacro: Crime City (with the second most votes in second place), The Adventures of Robin Hood (3), “Kennerspiel des Jahres” winner Paleo (4), Aeon’s End (5), Everdell (6), Fantasy Realms (7), Anno 1800 (8), Praga Caput Regni (9) and Gloomhaven – Jaws of the Lion (10).

(Source: Spielbox website)

The game is out of print at the moment, but I think we will get more stock in together with the first expansion Expedition Leaders in October.