Game of the Year

2024 Nominations

What is Game of the Year?

Game of the Year (or GotY) is an annual award for board games, that is given to the best titles throughout the year in five categories - Kids Game of the Year, Game of the Year in Bulgarian, International Game of the Year, Advanced Game of the Year and Expert Game of the Year. Our jury of experts is divided into three groups, who test all kinds of games, from children's to highly strategic and heavy throughout the year, and find the best among them

Kids Game of the Year

Games in this category have to fulfill the following criteria:

Game of the Year in Bulgarian

Games in this category have to fulfill the following criteria:

International Game of the Year

Games in this category have to fulfill the following criteria:

Advanced Game of the Year

Games in this category have to fulfill the following criteria:

Expert Game of the Year

Games in this category have to fulfill the following criteria:

*at the jury's discretion the values of this criterion can be changed for certain titles.

Criteria of Evaluation

Game Design

Mechanisms

Interaction

Replay-ability

Rules

Layout

Clarity

Ease of Teaching

Presentation

Illustrations

Graphic Design

Component Quality

Originality

Innovation

Up-to-date

Authenticity

The Jury

Kids Game of the Year

Jordan Filchev

Chairman

Greta Marcheva

Jury member

Kaloyan Tsvetkov

Jury member

Ivelina Evlogieva

Jury member

Bulgarian and International Game of the Year

Vasil Lozanov

Chairman

Magdalena Sokolova-Cholakova

Jury member

Martin Tomov

Jury member

Teodor Kozhukov

Jury member

Advanced and Expert Game of the Year

Kristiyan Damyanov

Chairman

Asparuh Vitkinov

Jury member

Stefan Karamanov

Jury member

Vasil Mihaylov

Jury member

The Association

Nikolay Zhekov

Nikolay Zhekov is one of the founding members of the non-profit organization Game of the Year and is currently the chairman. He has over 7 years of experience in the field of board games as a journalist, content creator, editor and publisher. He prefers thematic games, is interested in the business aspect of the hobby and adores Eric M. Lang's beard.

Kristiyan Damyanov

Kristiyan Damyanov is one of the founding members of the association. Board games have been his main hobby for years and he is one of the most prolific gamers in the country. In recent times Kris likes shorter games more and more, but most importantly he is interested in board game conventions of all shapes and sizes. 

Vasil Lozanov

Vasil Lozanov is one of the founding members of the association. He has been working towards popularizing board games in Bulgaria for years as an author, organizer of the Sofia Board Game Weekend festival and the Bulgarian designers community. Vasil loves deck-building and role-playing games, and enjoys the board games club culture.

Goals of the association

Award

Popularization of board games in Bulgaria through the award.

Promotion

Focus on Bulgarian board games and localized titles.

Stimulation

Assistance and encouragement of local authors and illustrators. 

Events

Support of local events, clubs and organizations

Contact us