The Spiel des Jahres is the award that can turn a quiet release into a game-night staple right across Europe, so its annual shortlist always rewards a close look. On 19 May the jury revealed the three games competing for the 2026 prize: Cozy Stickerville, Dito! and Morty Sorty Magic Shop.
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Find events near youCozy Stickerville is the headline name for collectors. It is a cooperative legacy game from Corey Konieczka's studio Unexpected Games, and Konieczka has serious form as the designer of Star Wars: Rebellion and the original Mansions of Madness. Stickerville is a gentler beast than either. One to six players build a countryside village across ten self-paced chapters, decorating a board with more than 800 stickers, and there is no way to win or lose. Finish the story and you flip the double-sided board to start a fresh one, no refresh pack required.
Dito! is the party pick. Designed by Martin Ang and arriving in German from Game Factory, it is a quick word-association game for three to seven players where you score by writing an answer that matches exactly one other person. Match nobody and you get nothing; match the whole table and the bonus slips away.
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Start organising for freeRounding out the trio is Morty Sorty Magic Shop, a family game from Schmidt Spiele by Vienna designer Markus Slawitscheck. Players are apprentices in a shop for witches and wizards, racing to sort jars of magical ingredients onto the right shelves in the right order.
The jury also published a recommendation list of further games, among them the light party game Hot Streak and the two-player game Toy Battle. The winner is crowned in Berlin on 12 July.
All three nominees are light enough to teach in minutes, which makes them ideal fuel for a casual session. If you fancy introducing your group to a contender before the verdict lands, organise a game night on Backseat Gamer.
Sources: Spiel des Jahres | brettspielbox | Unexpected Games | Schmidt Spiele
