Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread has topped the 2026 Golden Geek nominations with nods in six categories, putting Cody Miller's sprawling cooperative fantasy epic in front of the BGG voting pack. Jamey Stegmaier's Vantage and Matt Leacock's The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship are close behind with five nominations each.
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Start organising for freeArydia scored in heavy game of the year, most innovative, best thematic, artwork, solo, and cooperative. It's Far Off Games' flagship release, a cooperative open-world adventure with RPG-style progression, around 60 pre-painted miniatures, a "green legacy" system that lets you reset the campaign cleanly, and 40-plus hours of playtime per run. BGG reviewers have been enthusiastic, and the game sits comfortably among the top cooperative releases of the past year. The other two heavyweights bring serious pedigree. Vantage is Stegmaier's near-decade-in-the-making open-world card adventure, while Fate of the Fellowship is Matt Leacock refining the Pandemic engine into one of the strongest non-legacy designs of his career.
Behind the top three, cooperative card puzzle Eternal Decks, asymmetric Star Trek deckbuilder Captain's Chair, and party racer Hot Streak each picked up four nominations. The list doubles as a shopping guide if you want to catch up on 2025's highlights before UKGE, Essen, and the next wave of reprints fill the hobby calendar.
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See how it worksVoting closes on 30 April, and only BGG users with a paid subscription, a one-time 20 GeekGold fee, or a purchased avatar can rank the nominees. The Golden Geeks are one of the hobby's earliest awards of the year, landing well ahead of the Dice Tower Awards in May and the Spiel des Jahres in July. If you're chasing the nominees yourself, a good local group is half the battle. Find a community near you and start borrowing.
Sources: BoardGameWire | Space-Biff on Fate of the Fellowship | Arydia on Meeple Mountain
