innoSPIEL nominees

The following games are nominated for innoSPIEL 2018:

BONK

In the game BONK, players try to push a larger wooden ball into the opponents goal using small steel balls. 2-4 players compete against each other as teams. Each player gives the steel ball the necessary momentum using his own pivoting chute, the gently curved playing surface between the teams makes aiming more difficult. The wooden ball needs to be struck well, if it is to roll into the opponents’ half. The first team to score five goals, wins.<br /> BONK by David Harvey, Game Factory, 2-4 players, from 8 years.

COOL RUNNINGS

Cool Runnings is a classic game of pursuit in which four competitors race to the finish line. The game pieces are moved using action cards. The key feature is that there are real ice cubes in the players’ game pieces. It is not only important to be the first to finish – there must also be something left of the ice cube. On its way to the finish line it is constantly exposed to adversity: opponents might blow on it, sprinkle salt on it, or splash it with water from a pipette. COOL RUNNINGS by Olivier Mahy, Ravensburger, 2-4 players, from 8 years.

THE MIND

One hundred cards, numbered from 1 to 100, a few life cards and a joker – and the game is finished - reduced to its basic foundations and yet it gets the mind pulsating. The aim of the mind is to play out the respective hands of cards together in ascending order, without communicating, or giving any hints. At the beginning, each of the 2-4 players has one card in their hand, at the highest level, up to twelve. <br /> THE MIND by Wolfgang Warsch, Nürnberger Spielkarten Verlag NSV, 2-4 players, from 8 years.

The following games had been nominated for innoSPIEL 2017:

FABELSAFT

In FABELSAFT from the publishing house Verlag 2F-Spiele 2-5 players - as creatures of the forest - compete to prepare the tastiest juices from the fruits available. During play, however, the game FABELSAFT changes because new game cards replace old cards and new rules are introduced into the game. Friedemann Friese’s fabulous mechanism creates innovative ways of saving the game score to its memory and changing the rules and game materials without having to destroy any components of the game. FABELSAFT by Friedemann Friese, 2F-Spiele, 2-5 players from 8 years.

MAGIC MAZE

In MAGIC MAZE four fantasy characters rush through a shopping mall. The team of a magician, a dwarf, an elf and a barbarian must combine to steal the equipment needed for their next adventure and then escape through the exit doors. The innovative feature of MAGIC MAZE is that any of the players can move any of the figures but only in certain directions. The fact that the most of the time, players are not allowed to speak to each other, effectively stops alpha players from dominating the game. A clever rotation principle also ensures that each individual is included, with special rules available for them to use - but sometimes more, sometimes less. MAGIC MAZE by Kasper Lapp, Pegasus Spiele, 1-8 players from 8 years.

LYNGK

LYNGK is played on a grid of lines with 48 tiles in 6 different colors. At the beginning, all colors are neutral in this abstract two person game and do not belong to any player. Only in the course of the game, do the players have to choose two colors and from that point on, they face an innovative strategic challenge: whoever chooses their colours early, makes them more mobile but the player is also more vulnerable to being blockaded by the opponent. LYNGK by Kris Burm, Huch!, 2 players from 13 years.