• Azul, by Michael Kiesling from Next Move Games
• Luxor, by Rüdiger Dorn from Queen Games
• The Mind, by Wolfgang Warsch from NSV
Six recommended titles: 5-Minute Dungeon, Facecards, Majesty: For the Realm, Memoarrr!, Santorini, and Woodlands.
Nominations for the Kennerspiel des Jahres award - the Connoisseur's Game of the Year award:
• Ganz Schön Clever, by Wolfgang Warsch from Schmidt Spiele
• Heaven & Ale, by Michael Kiesling and Andreas Schmidt from eggertspiele
• Die Quacksalber von Quedlinburg, by Wolfgang Warsch from Schmidt Spiele
Two recommended titles: Clank! and Pioneers.
Nominations for the Kinderspiel des Jahres, the Children's Game of the Year:
• Emojito!, by Urtis Šulinskas from HUCH!
• Funkelschatz, a.k.a. Dragon's Breath, by Lena and Günter Burkhardt from HABA
• Panic Mansion, a.k.a. Shaky Manor, by Asger Harding Granerud and Daniel Skjold Pedersen from Blue Orange Games
Five recommended titles: Dino World, The Legend of the Wendigo, Rhino Hero Super Battle, SOS Dino, and Speed Colors. Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 from Matt Leacock, Rob Daviau, and Z-Man Games won a special award, the first such award since 2010.
SdJ jury member Tom Felber notes that the Pandemic gaming system has been nominated three times over the years — Pandemic in 2009, Forbidden Island in 2011, and Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 in 2016 — and while "the already ingenious gameplay was developed at a top level", now the authors have paired this with an interesting background story. "All future legacy games will have to be measured" against this title, which is why the jury is awarding the authors this special prize.