The 20th Golden Geek Awards have crowned their nominees, and Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread is the headline act with six nominations. Cody Miller's cooperative open-world fantasy adventure for 1 to 4 players, published by Far Off Games, is up for Heavy Game of the Year, Most Innovative Game, Best Thematic Game, Best Artwork, Best Solo Game and Best Cooperative Game.
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Start organising for freeSitting just behind Arydia are two heavyweights with five nominations each. Vantage, Jamey Stegmaier's open-world exploration epic from the Stonemaier stable, will tussle with Pandemic creator Matt Leacock's The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship for Medium Game of the Year. They're up against Galactic Cruise, Eternal Decks and Finspan, the seafaring follow-up to Wingspan, in that category alone.
Eternal Decks, Star Trek: Captain's Chair and party hit Hot Streak each picked up four nominations. Eight more titles, including Molly House and Luthier, scored three apiece. The Golden Geek slate is voted on by BoardGameGeek members, and at 20 years old it's the longest-running community awards in the hobby.
Got a regular group? Create a private community, poll for the best date, vote on games, and let your friends RSVP in one place.
Set up your group for freeVoting closed on 30 April, so winners are due over the coming weeks. If you've been sitting on the fence about diving into Arydia's 40-plus hour campaign or finally giving Stegmaier's exploration design a go, this slate is a decent shopping list. Many of the nominees are sitting in BGG's top 100 or climbing fast.
Want to play the nominees with people who care? Find a board game community near you and start a tour through the shortlist before the winners drop.
Sources: Board Game Wire | BoardGameGeek | Far Off Games
