Here is a co-op card game that quietly hands the referee's job to your phone. Boss Fighters QR, from Pegasus Spiele, is a nominee for the 2026 Kennerspiel des Jahres, the "gamers' game" sibling of the Spiel des Jahres award, with the winner revealed in Berlin on 12 July.
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Find events near youThe hook is right there in the name. Two to four players team up to take down ten bosses, and instead of flipping to a rulebook or an enemy stat card, you scan a QR code on the back of a card using your device's front camera. The app handles the boss's behaviour and the fiddly bookkeeping, so the table stays focused on the fight. Everyone builds a character by pairing a hero, such as a jungle troll, hill halfling, copper dwarf or wood elf, with a class deck like warrior, mage, rogue or druid, giving you a stack of combinations to try across repeat runs.
It is a video-game-flavoured dungeon-crawl in card form, aimed at players aged ten and up, and it has been drawing attention since its release. The Kennerspiel shortlist is a serious one: Boss Fighters QR is up against Reiner Knizia's tile-layer Rebirth and Donald X. Vaccarino's chaotic Moon Colony Bloodbath.
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See how it worksA Kennerspiel nomination is a strong signal for anyone who likes their co-ops with a bit of crunch. If it takes the prize on Sunday, expect it to be tricky to find, so it is worth a look now. Fancy a boss-battling night? Find your table on Backseat Gamer.
Sources: Pegasus Spiele | Spiel des Jahres
