Deutscher Spiele Preis 2026: Sanctuary wins, and the players disagree with the jury

On 21 October, the day before SPIEL opened in Essen, the Deutscher Spiele Preis 2026 was announced. The winner is Sanctuary by Mathias Wigge, published in German by Feuerland as Artengarten. The Deutscher Spiele Preis is not decided by a jury but by an open public vote. That makes it worth looking at where the result differs from the jury awards of the summer.

The top three

Sanctuary (1 to 5 players, about 100 minutes, ages 12+) is a spin-off of Ark Nova; the cover says "An Ark Nova Game". You plan a modern zoo from 135 tiles with animals, buildings and conservation projects. As in Ark Nova, four action cards whose strength depends on their position decide how strong each turn is. It is Mathias Wigge's second Deutscher Spiele Preis, after Ark Nova in 2022. In the summer, the Kennerspiel des Jahres jury had put Sanctuary on its recommendation list but did not nominate it. playnexi.com/en/games/sanctuary

Second place goes to Boss Fighters QR by Michael Palm and Lukas Zach (2 to 4 players, about 60 minutes, ages 10+). The pair already came second in 2023 with Dorfromantik. This time it is a cooperative campaign game: you build up your decks together to fight ten boss monsters, each controlled by an app that reacts to your moves. It was nominated for the Kennerspiel des Jahres. playnexi.com/en/games/boss-fighters-qr

Third is Galactic Cruise by T. K. King, Dennis Northcott and Koltin Thompson (1 to 4 players, about 150 minutes, ages 14+), published in German by PD-Verlag. It is the longest and most demanding game on the podium: you build spaceships, bring guests on board and compete to take over a space cruise line. playnexi.com/en/games/galactic-cruise

Places 4 to 10

4. The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship (Matt Leacock), cooperative, 1 to 5 players. playnexi.com/en/games/the-lord-of-the-rings-fate-of-the-fellowship
5. Take Time (Alexi Piovesan, Julien Prothière), cooperative, 2 to 4 players, about 30 minutes. playnexi.com/en/games/take-time
6. Rebirth (Reiner Knizia), 2 to 4 players, about 60 minutes. playnexi.com/en/games/rebirth
7. Cozy Stickerville (Corey Konieczka), 1 to 6 players, ages 8+. playnexi.com/en/games/cozy-stickerville
8. River of Gold (Keith Piggott), 2 to 4 players. playnexi.com/en/games/river-of-gold
9. Star Trek: Captain's Chair (Nigel Buckle, Dávid Turczi), 1 to 2 players. playnexi.com/en/games/star-trek-captain-s-chair
10. Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor (Kosch), 2 to 5 players. playnexi.com/en/games/forest-shuffle-dartmoor

Jury versus players

The difference is clearest for the Kennerspiel. In July the jury chose Rebirth by Reiner Knizia, which the public vote puts sixth. Sanctuary, only recommended by the jury, comes out on top here. The Spiel des Jahres 2026, Dito! (JinxO in English), does not appear in the top 10 at all. Two titles from the Spiel des Jahres list did make it: Cozy Stickerville was nominated, Take Time was recommended.

This is not a contradiction. The jury looks for games that bring new people to the table and pays close attention to rules and accessibility. The public vote is driven mostly by people who play a lot, and they tend to pick the game that kept them hooked over many sessions. After SETI last year, Sanctuary is another winner that only shows its full depth over many plays.

Deutscher Kinderspielepreis: Toriki

The public also disagreed with the jury on the children's award. The winner is Toriki: The Castaway Island by Wojciech Grajkowski (Mirakulus in Germany), a cooperative adventure for 1 to 4 players aged 8 and up. The children are stranded as a young expedition on a deserted island and explore it together, with an app helping to tell the story. playnexi.com/en/games/toriki-the-castaway-island

The other two titles on the podium were Mooki Island by Florian Sirieix, which won the Kinderspiel des Jahres in the summer, and Paleolino by Marco Teubner. playnexi.com/en/games/mooki-island and playnexi.com/en/games/paleolino

All results at a glance

Every winner since 1990 is listed on our Deutscher Spiele Preis page; the children's award has its own page. We added the 2026 results right after the announcement. playnexi.com/en/awards/deutscher-spiele-preis and playnexi.com/en/awards/deutscher-kinderspielepreis

Already own one of these games? Add it to your collection in Playnexi, and at your next game night the group can vote on whether Sanctuary or something shorter makes it to the table.

This article was written with AI assistance and reviewed editorially.