20 Most Anticipated Games of 2016 --- Nominations are CLOSED --- Voting is CLOSED --- Results Posted
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There can be only
onetwenty!
Results are posted here
NOMINATIONS ARE CLOSED --- VOTING IS CLOSED
VOTING WAS HERE !!! 20 Most Anticipated Board Games of 2016 -- VOTING IS CLOSED (7300+ votes) --- Results Posted
Back for a seventh year...
Lucky number
looks to be a year further dominated by Kickstarter projects. It has been interesting seeing the effect Kickstarter has had on this annual competition.
Alphabetical Listing Here
Status updates:
30 Minute Updates Here
The BGG XML API is acting a bit weird right now, and I'm not sure why. It doesn't seem to be updating or adding comments, so I can't pull any categories that are in comments, for now.
Where the 2015 favorites are now.
Last year's winner, Conan is not yet released, and I'm hoping that it won't be in the running for 2017. Last year's runner-up, Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 has vaulted to the #2 spot on BGG. Other notable winners from last year include Cthulhu Wars, Mysterium, Star Wars: Armada, XCOM.
Things have been hectic and I'm opening the nominations a bit later than usual this year, so I'll leave them open a little later than normal, and we'll push back the final voting a bit to compensate.
Without further ado nominations are once again open in this very in-formal and un-official contest to determine the 20 Most Anticipated Games of 2016.
Key Dates:
Nominations Open: Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Nominations Close: Saturday, January 9, 2016
Voting Begins: Sunday, January 10, 2016
Voting Ends: Saturday, January 23, 2016
Nominating your most anticipated.
As always, if a game you're anticipating the release in 2016 is not on the list feel free to add it. Game designers and publishers are encouraged to nominate their own games by adding them to the list. Don't be humble and wait for someone else to do it. See the notes below for adding games.
As in past years, this will be a two-stage process... a nominations phase and a final voting phase.
Adding category nominations.
If you think a game should be in a category not already listed, you can add it in a comment using the category notation below, such as [category]wargame[/category]. If your comment has 5 or more thumbs the category will be added to the nomination.
Campaigning for your favorites
Go for it. If you're a publisher, designer, or designer's mom don't hesitate to campaign for your favorites. Bribing voters is fine too. Pretty much anything goes as long as kittens, puppies and small children aren't injured. We have to draw the line somewhere.
Bribing Voters
Bribes are encouraged. In the past, publishers and designers have offered web released scenarios, special cards, etc. as bribes to voters if they reach a certain position in the final voting. This is completely acceptable as it drives anticipation, which is the point of this contest.
Don't forget that all bribes need to comply with BGG's policies on contests and promotions. General guidance is that whatever bribe is offered needs to be available to everyone, and, for example, not just those that win copies of games. A good example of a bribe that stays within BGG's policies are Sandy Peterson's offer to release rules for a new Great Old One in Cthulhu Wars, or designers/publishers that offer to release web scenarios.
In the end, the intent of the bribes is just to have fun and allow publishers/designers to give a nod to all their anticipant fans.
If you have any questions regarding whether a bribe you're contemplating runs contrary to BGG rules I would suggest sending a geekmail to Octavian or Chad.
Nominations
To nominate a game add it to this geeklist with one or more categories using the category tags below. Please add a short note stating why it is anticipated that the game will ship in 2016. Feel free to suggest new categories.
Nomination name
Nominations may not have a BGG entry yet, or you may want to change the nomination name to indicate a specific edition.
To do so, put the nomination name inside of altname tags such as:
[altname]Favorite game - Unnamed expansion[/altname]
To second a nomination thumb its entry.
The top 50 nominations will be entered into the final vote for the top 20.
Nomination Categories:
Categories will be changed based on the nominations, but tentatively these are the categories I expect us to have, initially based on 2015 entries. Feel free to nominate a game for multiple categories. Some of the categories may be combined or eliminated if there aren't enough nominations in the category.
* Original / Innovative [category]original[/category]
* Reprint [category]reprint[/category]
* Expansion [category]expansion[/category]
* Cooperative [category]cooperative[/category]
* Solitaire [category]solitaire[/category]
* Strategy [category]strategy[/category]
* Bluffing [category]bluffing[/category]
* Thematic [category]thematic[/category]
* Wargame [category]wargame[/category]
* Abstract [category]abstract[/category]
* Family & Children's [category]family[/category]
* Party [category]party[/category]
* Train [category]train[/category]
* Economic [category]economic[/category]
* City Building [category]citybuilding[/category]
* Historical [category]historical[/category]
* Political [category]political[/category]
* Science Fiction [category]scifi[/category]
* Steampunk [category]steampunk[/category]
* Horror [category]horror[/category]
* Cthulhu & Lovecraftian [category]cthulhu[/category]
* Fantasy [category]fantasy[/category]
* Pirate [category]pirate[/category]
* 4x - Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate [category]4x[/category]
* American West [category]american west[/category]
* Sports [category]sports[/category]
* Novel-based [category]novel[/category]
* Print & Play [category]pnp[/category]
New categories this year:
* Dice-based [category]dice[/category]
* Science - No science-fiction here, there must be a preponderance of science-fact! (but perhaps a smidgen of sci-fi) [category]science[/category]
* Grognard - You call that a "Wargame". I'll show you a real wargame. [category]grognard[/category]
Eligibility
Any newly available game or expansion is eligible if it is reasonably expected to ship in 2016. I know, "reasonably" is a fuzzy word... cest la vie.
Voting
At the conclusion of nominations I will create a poll with the top 50 nominations.
Reprints vs. new editions
Reprints of already released games are not eligible, but new editions are. As with many things in the gaming industry this isn't a crisp line as to how many changes are necessary to distinguish a reprint from a new edition, but several factors to consider are artwork and components.
When nominating a new edition, mention why you think this one is different from the previous edition (not necessarily in detail, something as short as "new components" is sufficient).
Long out-of-print reprints
I would prefer to include games that have been generally unavailable for several years and are receiving a reprint. Again, this is a bit of a fuzzy area, but as an example, if Warhammer Quest or Hero Quest were to be reprinted without changes they would be eligible.
Multiple releases
It is not uncommon for a game printing to have multiple release editions for the EU and US markets (such as Mayfair/Lookout Games and JKLM/Z-Man). Many games are released and available at Essen and then (sometimes much later) released in the US with great anticipation.
For many, I think the "buzz" surrounding an Essen release combined with the general unavailability heightens the anticipation.
I would prefer to include these releases and let the voting determine how anticipant people are.
Limited initial release
I would also prefer to include games that had a limited initial release and are preparing for a full re-release. Again, this will be a grey area, but one example I would point to is the approach that Treefrog, Winsome, GMT and other publishers take with typically small pre-order releases that sell out quickly and receive a reprint if they perceive that the game was well received.
What is a small or limited release? Again, another gray area that we'll have to deal with as it comes up, as I'm sure a small release for Hasbro is quite different for a small release from most publishers here on BoardGameGeek.
This would also include games that might have had reviewer copies released, but are not yet generally available for purchase.
Crowdfunding/Kickstarter Releases
If a game was a crowdfunded (Kickstarter) project, and backers begin receiving copies before the 1st, the game will be considered generally released. However, sometimes projects offer an early Essen pickup or offer early airfreight copies. Those would fall under the limited release category. Similarly, this would apply to preorders, such as GMT's P500 program.
Other
If the particular game is part of a series (such as the Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game) I may combine multiple nominations into one entry for final voting if it appears as if the series is anticipated rather than a specific release in the series (this was done for the Dominion expansions in 2010).
Also, if there isn't any justification for why a particular game is anticipated to ship in 2016 I may remove it from final voting. The only reason I state this is to separate anticipated 2016 releases from wishlist items. Yes, it would be nice if Hasbro/Avalon Hill reprinted Star Wars: The Queen's Gambit but at this point I don't believe there is any reason to anticipate a 2016 release.
However, in this respect I would prefer to be inclusive rather than exclusive.
Anything else??? We'll wing it... After all, this is just for fun.
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- Edited Wed Jan 27, 2016 4:56 am
- Posted Tue Dec 22, 2015 8:08 pm
- [+] Dice rolls
