"Spiel des Jahres" Warm-Up

Board game event to try out the nominated games

With or without a game board: board games are very popular with friends and families. Titles that have been named Game of the Year are particularly popular. This decision is made by a jury of independent game critics who work their way through hundreds of new releases every year.

Between the announcement of the nominations in May and the awards ceremony in July, you can try out the contenders for "Game of the Year 2025" and "Connoisseur Game of the Year 2025" at our event. As a bonus, we will also include all the titles that make it onto the list of recommendations for both categories this year.

The event takes place in cooperation with:

• Martina Fuchs: jury member for the "Game of the Year" and the "Connoisseur Game of the Year". Co-host of the Cologne podcast "Fux und Bär"
• Björn Richter: Co-host of the two Cologne podcasts "Fux und Bär" and "Chaosbären"
• Robert: @firedriller on Twitch and co-host of the Cologne podcast "Chaosbären"
• Carina and Tanja: Bloggers "Brettspielbox"
• Benny: Podcast "Benny Botters Spieleshow"
• Willi: Spielelotsen
• Tina: Host of the Cologne podcast "Pile of Happiness"
• Jasmin and Marko: Hosts of the Cologne YouTube channel "Abgewürfelt"
• Elisa, Ehler and Julian: Hosts of the YouTube channel "Spiele-Bombe"
• Lukas, Anna: Boardgame Historian
• Elke and Marcel: Hosts of the YouTube channel "On the table!"

The event is free of charge and without registration. The venue is the Interim of the Central Library at Hohe Straße 68-82 in Cologne.