The Dutch Game Award – also known as the NSP – was created by the game association Ducosim . Because so many board games are released, they thought it was time for a quality mark. The Dutch Game Award has three categories: family (“suitable for a large audience, including children aged 8 and up”) , connoisseur (“suitable for players who are looking for a bit more of a challenge and find a slightly longer playing time acceptable”) and expert (“suitable for players with more gaming experience, where complexity and playing time are not an obstacle”) .

What do we think?

What do we think of the nominees and which games do we think should win?

How does the Dutch Games Award work?

To be eligible for the Dutch Games Award, the games must meet a number of conditions. For the Dutch Games Award 2024, the games must have been published in the period of July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, September 10, and winners will be announced on October 26.

But how does the jury come to the nominations? They start with a long list containing all the games that were released within the time period. The jury gets to work playing all the games and during the meetings it is shared which board games are popular and will have a chance. The games are played with as many different numbers of players as possible, including during game days for the jury itself. The professional jury then nominates 3 games per category. After the nominations have been announced, the jury deliberates and votes on the winners.

Professional jury

Who will be on the jury? All people from the board game world! In 2024, the jury will include:

• Niek Ederveen (editor-in-chief of Game! )
• Rowdy van Lieshout ( The Starting Players Board Game Podcast )
• Lotte Verheul (from the blog Lotte Plays )
• Tijn Rams (from the shop Subcultures )
• Bastiaan Nox (from the YouTube channel Nox's Games Attic )
• Anna Wassenburg (from the comparison site Budget games )
• Patrick ten Hoorn (from the shop Game House / The Boardroom )
• Stef Noordermeer (from board game association Roll the Dice )
• Henk Rolleman (Photographer Game! )
• Jasper Heijdra (from the shop Spellenhoorn )

Why do the games have to comply?

Of course, there are still some requirements that games must meet in order to win the prize.

• It must be aimed/suitable for adults
• It must be a board or table game.
• The game was published in Dutch by the producer in the Netherlands within the nomination period.
• It has never been released on the Dutch market before.
• It is a new game and not a modification or new version of a game that already exists.
• It is not an extension.
• The rules of the game and the texts on the game itself are in Dutch
• The game is available through stores, web shops, fairs, etc.