It’s Strange Assembly Game of the Year time again. Every year, at the end of the year, we look our favorite games that came out that year, and award a Preliminary Game of the Year award. However, there’s no way we could come close to playing enough relevant games by the end of a calendar year, especially given how back-loaded the release schedule can be (think of all those hot new games that come out at Gen Con and Essen Spiel). So we don’t award the final GotY award for a year until the end of the next year (note: this may change next year, with us joining everyone else in handing out Game of the Year designations the following summer). So here we’re looking at the final Game of the Year award for 2016, and the preliminary award for 2017.
For the first time, we’ve had total stability at the top going from the 2016 Preliminary GotY to the final GotY awards, with the winner and runner-up not changing:
2016 Game of the Year: Terraforming Mars (Stronghold Games)- Runner-Up: Mansions of Madness (Fantasy Flight Games)
- 2nd Runner-Up: Arkham Horror: The Card Game (Fantasy Flight Games)
- Honorable Mention: Clank! (Renegade Game Studios); Manhattan Project: Energy Empire (Minion Games); Star Wars Destiny (Fantasy Flight Games); Great Western Trail (Stronghold Games)
Given the origins of this website/podcast, our 2017 Preliminary Game of the Year will come as no surprise:
2017 Preliminary Game of the Year: Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game (Fantasy Flight Games)- Runner-Up: Gloomhaven (Cephalofair Games)
- 2nd Runner-Up: Anachrony (Mindclash Games)
- Honorable Mention: Dice Forge (Libellud); Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn (Fantasy Flight Games)
Prior final Game of the Year winners were:
- 2015: Pandemic Legacy: Season One (Z-Man Games)
- 2014: Splendor (Space Cowboys)
- 2013: Star Realms (White Wizard Games)
You can see prior winners and runners-up (final and preliminary) for past years here.