American Mensa has crowned the 2026 Mensa Select winners, handing its coveted seal to seven games after a four-day judging marathon at Mind Games in Herndon, Virginia. Designer Peter C Hayward walked away with two of the seven, which is a rare double even for one of the hobby's sharper puzzle minds.
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See how it worksThe full list: A Place for All My Books (cozy book-sorting puzzle, Alex Cutler and Michael Mihealsick, Smirk & Dagger), Critter Kitchen (programmed-movement ingredient gathering, Alex Cutler and Peter C Hayward, Cardboard Alchemy), Fromage (rotating-board worker placement about cheese, Matthew O'Malley and Ben Rosset, R2i Games), Galileo Galilei (mid-weight astronomy euro, Tomáš Holek, Capstone Games), Got Five (a 15-minute deduction card game, Yoann Levet, Blue Orange Games), Things in Rings (Venn-diagram party deduction, Peter C Hayward, Allplay), and Twinkle Twinkle (tile-laying star chart game, Ammon Anderson, Allplay). Fromage is the most decorated of the bunch, having already picked up last year's Origins Award for best light strategy game and multiple Golden Geek nominations.
The Mensa Select criteria are a useful filter for anyone picking a game night opener. Judges score on aesthetics, rulebook clarity, originality, play appeal, and replay value, which is why past winners like 6 nimmt! and Azul sit on so many shelves. The seal has become shorthand for "will teach in five minutes and hold up to six rounds." Things in Rings is a particularly gentle sell, with Peter C Hayward's Venn-diagram party game already earning glowing reviews for its 20-minute moments of sudden clarity.
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Set up your group for freeAny of these would make a solid addition to a monthly game night rotation. If you fancy hosting a Mensa Select showcase evening, list it on Backseat Gamer and pull in players who enjoy a proper think.
Sources: BoardGameWire | Mensa Mind Games
