The nominations for the 2019 International Gamers Awards were just announced.  Congratulations to these games, designers, and publishers!

The IGA is awarded annually by a jury of prominent gamers from around the world, with a stated goal “to recognize outstanding games and designers, as well as the companies that publish them.”  Over the years the IGA has grown to be one of the major prizes in gaming, alongside Germany’s Spiel des Jahres (“Game of the Year”) and the Deutscher Spiele Preis (the “German Game Prize”).  The IGA’s nomination and voting procedures are outlined on the jury’s website (http://www.internationalgamersawards.net/).  

Several members of the Opinionated Gamers team are members of the IGA jury, but as a disclaimer, reviews on this site don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of the jurors.

The winners will be announced in a few weeks.  I have no inside info (I’m not affiliated with the jury), but typically the results come out a few weeks before Essen, and the ceremony is always at Essen.

2019 Multiplayer Nominees

• Architects of the West Kingdom, Designed by Shem Phillips and SJ Macdonald, Published by Garphill Games
• Blackout: Hong Kong, Designed by Alexander Pfister, Published by eggertspiele
• Brass: Birmingham, Designed by Martin Wallace, Gavan Brown, and Matt Tolman, Published by Roxley
• Coimbra, Designed by Flaminia Brasini and Virginio Gigli, Published by eggertspiele
• Gugong, Designed by Andreas Steding, Published by Game Brewer
• Hadara, Designed by Benjamin Schwer, Published by Hans im Gluck
• Just One, Designed by Ludovic Roudy and Bruno Sautter, Published by Repos
• Key Flow, Designed by Richard Breese, Sebastian Bleasdale, and Ian Vincent, Published by R&D Games
• Newton, Designed by Simone Luciani and Nestore Mangone, Published by Cranio Creations
• Res Arcana, Designed by Tom Lehmann, Published by Sand Castle Games
• Root, Designed by Cole Wehrle, Published by Leder Games
• Teotihuacan, Designed by Daniele Tascini, Published by NSKN
• Underwater Cities, Designed by Vladimir Suchy, Published by Delicious Games
• Wingspan, Designed by Elizabeth Hargrave, Published by Stonemaier Games

2019 2-player Nominees

• Gettysburg, Designed by Mark Herman, Published by RBM Studio
• Kero, Designed by Prospero Hall, Published by Hurrican
• Keyforge: Call of the Archons, Designed by Richard Garfield, Published by Fantasy Flight
• Lincoln, Designed by Martin Wallace, Published by PSC Games
• Nagaraja, Designed by Bruno Cathala and Theo Riviere, Published by Hurrican
• Napoleon Saga, Designed by Frederic Romero, Published by Oeuf Cube Editions