Each year since 1980, GAMES Magazine has published a Buyer's Guide to Games in their year-end holiday issue. The article lists and reviews one hundred games each year, and is therefore known as the "Games 100". The list features the very best games published in the last year. The following is a complete listing of the Games 100 (courtesy of Games Magazine and Funagain Games).

Game of the Year   BuyWord BuyWord is a game of words with a twist. You pay good hard cash to buy your letters, then form a word to sell at a profit, if you can. Your payoff depends on the quantity and the quality of the letters in your word. BuyWord mixes basic mathematics,... Best Abstract Strategy Game   YINSH YINSH is a tempestuous game! The players each start with 5 rings on the board. Every time a ring is moved, it leaves a marker behind. Markers are white on one side and black on the other. When markers are jumped over by a ring, they must be... Best Advanced Strategy Game   Tahuantinsuyu numbered limited edition of 1000 Tahuantinsuyu is the Quechua or Inca word for Land of the Four Regions. It is what the Inca called their own empire. The empire was organized as a pyramid-shaped hierarchy with the Sapa Inca as the supreme rules, followed by the four Apus, who were... Best Family Game   Vanished Planet A seething mass of darkness has appeared where Earth once was, and it's stretching out deadly tentacles towards the six homeworlds of the galaxy's other empires. The galaxy has been thrown into chaos; colonies are rebelling, workers are fleeing... Best Family Card Game   Victory and Honor Over 100 years ago, the noble experiment that was the United States exploded into Civil War. The fight was about control of the government, it was about slavery, and the war would shape the hopes and dreams of generations. Years later, the proud... Best Family Strategy Game   Alexandros Alexander moves with army back and forth across Asia Minor, conquering the land as he passes. To bring peace to these newly conquered lands and to reward his generals, he gives them control of the new lands. The generals establish administration... Best Party Game   Cranium: Hoopla Cranium Hoopla is the all-new, outrageously fun game where every second counts. Players rally together in a race against the clock as they add sound effects to impromptu performances, do hilarious sketches, come up with... Best Word Game   Word Rich Word Rich is the highest scoring word game ever invented. If your strategy is right, thousands of points can be won on a single well designed word! The Game Board has more play opportunities than... Best Historical Simulation   Memoir '44 with exclusive Sword Beach scenario From the cliffs of Pointe-du-Hoc to the hedgerow battles in the Corentin Peninsula and beyond -- Memoir '44 airdrops you into the key battles that turned the tide in Western Europe during the summer of 1944. Omaha Beach, Pegasus Bridge, Operation... Best Abstract Strategy Game Runner Up   Siege Stones Players take turns placing pieces (either stones or towers) on the board. Stones threaten towers, controlling them. Towers weaken stones. The more towers next to it, the less effective the stone. One well placed tower may free two others. One... Best Advanced Strategy Game Runner Up   Goa At the beginning of the 16th century: beautiful beaches, wonderful climate, and one of the most important trading cities in the world. Competing companies trade with spices and send their colonists into the world and invest their money. Of most... Best Family Game Runner Up   Gulo Gulo The wolverine Gulo Gulo is always hungry, especially when near a nest of fresh eggs. Young wolverines love swamp eggs just as much as adults, but are not as careful. Thus, junior is caught and the family has to rescue him -- while getting eggs for... Best Family Card Game Runner Up   Scream Machine Summertime is here, and amusement park barons are competing for the mad throngs of customers looking for excitement. But what do these customer want? Do you build the Barf and Twirl or go all out to build The Scream Machine? Players compete for... Best Family Strategy Game Runner Up   Hansa Compete to become Master of the Hanseatic city-states during the 14th Century. Criss-cross the Baltic Sea in a merchant ship, always on the lookout for a chance to acquire valuable wares. Set up networks of market booths within the cities, which... Best Party Game Runner Up   Words of Wiz-Dumb What friend would give advice like this?! That's what you need to figure out! Race up the mountain trying to match which player dished out which advice (good and bad) in this uproarious family/party game. Best Word Game Runner Up   Wordigo In Wordigo, everyone plays at the same time. No waiting for other players to complete their turns. Each player gets his/her own playing board and own set of letter tiles -- 4 sets of each. Players race against the clock and other players to... Best Historical Simulation Runner Up   Wings of War: Famous Aces Colorful biplanes fight each other in the foggy sky over the front. Can you manage to shoot down your enemies and become an ace, following in the steps of men as Manfred von Richtofen, Eddie Rickenbacker, Georges Guynemer and Francesco Baracca? Abstract Strategy Game Nominee   Subulata A Subulata is a grasshopper which can swim. By jumping from flowers and leaves it moves faster over the water. With the right tactics you lead your group of Subulatas quickly to the opposite corner of the pond. Abstract Strategy Game Nominee   Poison Pot In this 2 or 3 player game, the objective, when the 36 Cauldrons have finally finished being shuffled around, is that you end with the largest connected group. But beware! Even one of the group finishing adjacent to the Poison Pot nullifies the... Abstract Strategy Game Nominee   Rumis There'll be no stone left unturned in this challenging strategy game. Inspired by Incan architecture, Rumis (meaning "stones") sharpens spatial awareness and critical thinking skills as players strategize to outwit their opponents while... Abstract Strategy Game Nominee   Einfach Genial The simply ingenious placement game! With this unbelievably exciting placement game from the renown game designer Reiner Knizia, each playing piece opens up entirely new possibilities. The more identical color-symbols that are next to each other on... Abstract Strategy Game Nominee   Sashay In this strategy game you secretly arrange your "dancers" on the board and, with a secret token, designate one of them as your "spy". Use logic and cunning to identify and capture your opponents spy, while maneuvering your own across the board. Can... Abstract Strategy Game Nominee   Creeper In Creeper, 2 players vie to be the first to form a continuous chain of their own shade from one corner of the board to the other. Pieces are placed on the board by judicious movement of pawns. Take care: these can be captured -- and your carefully... Advanced Strategy Game Nominee   Princes of the Renaissance In Renaissance Italy, each player takes on the role of one of the minor condottiere princes, such as the Gonzagas or d'Estes. Then there are the big five major cities, Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome, and Naples. These are not controlled by... Advanced Strategy Game Nominee   Age of Mythology: The Boardgame The boardgame version of the computer game is here. Explore the world. Gather resources to build structures and recruit armies. Appeal to the mythic gods of your culture for favors. Advance to the Next Age to gain decisive advantages. Build The... Advanced Strategy Game Nominee   Dos Rios Two mighty rivers wind their way down from the mountains. The fields through which they flow are fruitful, bringing wealth to their owners. Harvest fields with campesinos, gathering riches to build homes and create a prosperous estate. The rivers... Advanced Strategy Game Nominee   Power Grid English language edition of Funkenschlag This is the new and improved (rules and graphics!) Funkenschlag from Friedemann Friese. Players compete to build the best network of power lines and stations, choosing which cities to supply and what sources of power to use. Advanced Strategy Game Nominee   Railroad Dice: The First Rails second edition A new country is discovered and laid out with tiles. Additionally, stations get built and connected through a railway track of dice. Five railroad companies compete against each other to transport as many passengers as possible to be successful at... Advanced Strategy Game Nominee   Saint Petersburg Baroque palaces, wide boulevards, and elegant bridges: St Petersburg. On May 16, 1703, Czar Peter the Great lays the foundation for the first building. Quickly impressive buildings are erected that are ever more grand and beautiful. Such buildings... Advanced Strategy Game Nominee   Magna Grecia English language edition 2500 years ago, Greek traders and adventurers traveled to southern Italy to settle and develop the area. They called the region Magna Grecia. The development of the area led to a era of rapid cultural and economic growth. Before the arrival of the... Advanced Strategy Game Nominee   Logistico Logistico is an archipelago in the Logistic Ocean. The inhabitants on the 5 islands of the Republic of Logistico have supply of goods and demand for other goods. Each player has a boat, a plane and a truck to match supply with demand. Plan your... Advanced Strategy Game Nominee   WildLife English language edition Millions of years ago the first men fought with other creatures for survival. By their ability to adapt to new types of terrain, they were able to flourish and eventually dominate the Earth. In this evolutionary game, players control up to six... Family Game Nominee   Ticket to Ride October 2, 1900 -- it's 28 years to the day that noted London eccentric, Phileas Fogg accepted and then won a 20,000 bet that he could travel Around the World in 80 Days. Now at the dawn of the century some old friends have gathered to celebrate... Family Game Nominee   Vampire For centuries, count Dracula and his entourage have been up to no good at Castle Grzelstein; causing fear and panic in the neighboring villages, though no villager has ever actually seen the Count. But tonight is different. The Count has sent out... Family Game Nominee   King Me! With the announcement of the King's retirement, the pirouette for succession begins! All of his subjects from cobbler to cook, painter to paladin, debutante to duchess bustle about the castle in preparation for the succession. One of your favorites... Family Game Nominee   The Ark of the Covenant Joshua has led the children of Israel into the Promised Land and you have been given the unique responsibility to develop the area by building roads, cities, temples and raising sheep. Deploy a Prophet into the cities to preach repentance. Take on... Family Game Nominee   Carcassonne: the Castle The imposing silhouette of Carcassonne sits like a throne in the light of the setting sun. The city also acts as a fortress, protecting those who live there with its impenetrable walls. Visit the city to discover its many features and to learn why... Family Game Nominee   Sleuth Sleuth is the fascinating detective game in which players call upon their powers of deduction and logic to discover the identity of the missing gem. Through strategic questioning, each player gathers his bits of information, then skillfully welds... Family Game Nominee   Hoity Toity Eccentricity is what makes the world go round. Well, your world anyway. As a member of the pretentious Antique Club, you feel inexplicably compelled to outshine your other snobby friends. You are oddly convinced it is your destiny to become the... Family Game Nominee   Secrets of the Tombs You are an explorer making your way along darkened passages of a pyramid in search of treasures from ancient Egypt. However, you have paid no attention to the tales of Ammut, also known as the 'Eater of Hearts', or 'The Devourer'. Will you be able... Family Game Nominee   Lawless This is the Wild West! The newly settled prairie where cowboys and Indians have frequent run-ins, where vigilante justice is the only kind of justice, where bank robberies are a daily occurrence, where the riches of hidden gold draw fortune hunters... Family Game Nominee   Cronberg The city has just burned to the ground, leaving only the city wall and castle behind. A few city guards patrol a few individual streets. The object of the game is, during the reconstruction of the city, to control the most valuable intersections... Family Game Nominee   Fantasy Pub In this special, infamous Pub you will direct Hobbits, Dwarves, Warriors and Orcs in a hot spot night-party! Everyone has money to spend and wants to drink really good beer! You will move around tables, have a stop at the bar, meet friends and... Family Game Nominee   Balancing Aliens How close to the edge will you go? Balancing Aliens and The Alien's Dance will test your skill as you decide where to place the aliens. But watch out, tip the spaceship and you'll send it crashing. A great game for family and friends. In Balancing... Family Game Nominee   Ricochet Put your reflexes to the test in this full-tilt action card game! Follow the pinball as it zooms and zips from bumper to bumper. Use number and color clues to figure out which card it will bounce to next. Spot the last place the ball will go, and... Family Game Nominee   Tuchulcha Tarchna, 6th century B.C. During Tagete's day, the Etruscan community celebrates its own mythical father, and the oracles faithful to Achvizr, Alpan, Leinth and Thalna begin their purification path. They hope to honor their divinity through several... Family Game Nominee   Arena Maximus For the glory of the Emperor, these brave charioteers stand before you today to face the deadliest race track ever devised -- Arena Maximus! The winner will receive the laurels of victory and the mantle of immortality from the Emperor himself. The... Family Game Nominee   Mutiny! Captain Blackheart lies in a drunken stupor, and the pirates scheme to choose a new leader. In order to seize this position for themselves, the candidates must win the trust of the five most senior members of the crew in the only way they can... Family Game Nominee   Artifact Artifact is an exciting strategy game that sends players around the world to recover missing treasures. From Armenia to New Zealand, you search the world for lost and stolen artifacts as the leader of the Interpol's world-class Artifact Recovery... Family Game Nominee   Catch the Match Catch the Match is an eye-catching, pattern recognition game. There are 15 cards that each have the same 15 objects. Each object is different and is in different colors and various locations on the cards. Any two cards always have one (and only... Family Game Nominee   Timeline Congratulations! You've invented a time machine. You will use it one day to learn about the rich history of the planet and perhaps even contribute to the betterment of Mankind. But first, you're gonna play the stock market and get really, stupidly... Family Game Nominee   Tongiaki: Journey into the Unknown 300 AD: The Polynesians embark on daring sailing trips and explore thousands of Pacific islands. Driven by overpopulation and a desire for adventure, they set forth into the unknown on simple catamarans called Tongiakis. Without any help from... Family Game Nominee   Crocodile Pool Party The crocodiles are loose in the luxurious hotel swimming pool! Just seconds ago, the vacationers were enjoying the cool water of the pool, but what is that? A crocodile has just entered the pool -- and now there is one less swimmer! Wow! Theres... Family Game Nominee   I'm The Boss! new English language edition of Kohle, Kie$ & Knete I'm the Boss is a game of deal making and negotiation, where you are an investor just trying to make a deal. Through intelligent negotiations, temporary alliances, and cutthroat bargaining you will rake in millions. But watch out for the other... Family Game Nominee   Phoenix Ready to see the world in a different light? Use lots of colorful language? Then welcome to Phoenix! The object of the game is simple: all you need to do is arrange a bunch of colored pawns in the same order as the light spectrum in the middle of... Family Game Nominee   War & Sheep! In their quiet pasture, two rival herds of sheep face off in order to graze the best patches of grass... all the while keeping watch so as not to be devoured by the wolves that prowl the area. In this seemingly bucolic world, nothing will stop... Family Card Game Nominee   Die Fugger Who will get the most guilders? Augsburg in the year 1367: The Dynasty of the Fugger begins with Jakob the Rich. Through him this bank- and trading-house becomes the most important in all of Europe, because it loans large sums of money to popes and... Family Card Game Nominee   Adam & Eva There's chaos in the Garden of Eden! The snake has done its work well. Eve is tempting Adam, Adam's tempting Eve... to pick lots and lots of apples! Who will get the most? Family Card Game Nominee   Spooks Spooks is a quick card game for 3 or more players. Play cards by matching numbers and suits. The first player to empty his hand wins... and the spooks get everybody else! Each suit -- Spiders, Spooks, Goblins, Bones, and Bats -- has a special rule,... Family Card Game Nominee   Die sieben Siegel The future is a book with seven seals -- nobody knows what will happen. But a little planning can't exactly hurt in this game, since you not only have to predict the number of tricks you'll take, but also their color. Or instead, if you have... Family Card Game Nominee   Four Dragons They come. The dragons of the north, south, east, and west fly down from Heaven to help the people. For the people suffer with no rain and the crops are withering and the cries to the Jade Emperor for help are met only with cruel laughter. But... Family Card Game Nominee   Flaschenteufel new edition The book The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson tells a story about a magical bottle that grants wishes to the owner... with a catch. It can't increase lifespan, you can only sell it for less than you paid for it, and if you die with it, you go... Family Card Game Nominee   Relationship Tightrope Any successful relationship requires "giving" and "taking". But just how much are you willing to "give" and "take" in your relationship? In this light-hearted game aimed at the comical foibles of men (blue) and women (pink), you must stay balanced... Family Card Game Nominee   High Society! Congratulations! You sold your startup company months before the big crash. Who would have guessed that selling freeze-dried strawberries over the Internet would have been worth millions and millions of dollars? After acquiring your new wealth, you... Family Card Game Nominee   Lucky Loop Loop and turn, dive and roll -- execute four flight programs using these four maneuvers. Roll the dice and bank around your fellow players. The high point? You alone determine the requirements of your programs. Each maneuver is played as a card... Family Card Game Nominee   Atlas & Zeus As Plato first attested to in Critias, Atlantis was entrusted to the Titan Atlas by the gods, long before the dawn of history. His sons created there a magnificent civilization. But when Atlas disappeared, his sons divided themselves into two clans... Family Card Game Nominee   Spy Secret documents have fallen into your hands and your spies must deliver them quickly. Hide the papers securely and deliver them to the continents across the globe. Be the player with the most successful spies and you will ultimately win this game. Family Card Game Nominee   Saga After the Queen is driven out of Saga, Princes from different regions engage in reclaiming the lands of her Empire. But in the eventual battles over the distribution of the land, the Princes look out for their own interests. Over time, the kingdoms... Family Card Game Nominee   FBI You are the leader of a team of field agents. Your aim is to collar as many criminals as you can. Your superior and the media spotlight has you in the pressure cooker to perform above and beyond the call of duty. But, of course, no one is... Family Card Game Nominee   Turn the Tide Shape up or sheep out! A huge storm is threatening Shepherd's Island and it's up to you to stem the tide. In this captivating card game, try to outwit your opponents by playing number cards wisely to stay afloat. Hang on to your life preservers to... Family Card Game Nominee   20th Century Time Travel Card Game Notable Events and Individuals from Politics, Science, Business, and Popular Culture. Explore the past with this unique fast-paced card game! More than 300 historical facts fuel this exciting journey as players travel forward and backward through... Family Card Game Nominee   Oh, Pharaoh! The great Pharaoh Put-n-Tut has issued a decree that a pyramid building competition will be held; one in which builders may also trade and exchange building supplies. Once a pyramid is complete, the builder must decide whether to keep adding to it... Family Card Game Nominee   Balloon Cup English language edition In Balloon Cup, the players compete in several short balloon flights (hops) to collect the colored cubes associated with each hop. When a player has collected enough cubes of a given color, he earns the trophy card for that color. Players may even... Family Card Game Nominee   Queen's Necklace Paris, on the eve of the French Revolution... The Queens necklace is missing -- and soon enough her neck may follow! From the slums, where purse-snatchers and courtesans work their respective trades, to the inner salons of the Louvre, where... Family Card Game Nominee   Canal Grande San Marco Card Game Venice is in its heydey. In the Council of Ten, the old established families are fighting for power, influence and the office of doge (head of state of Venice 697-1797). By using spies and traitors cleverly, they try to win votes in the different... Family Strategy Game Nominee   Oasis You are the head of a Mongolian family, intent on becoming the most powerful in the land. Use your resources wisely to take control of fertile steppe lands to raise horses, which will bring prestige and honor. Build ovoos to pour the blessings of... Family Strategy Game Nominee   Finstere Flure A fantastic fable: Fearlessly you searched for the 3 fetishes from the Finnish fjord, using fast and faceted feints to take them away and hurry with them to Prince Fiesto of France to free the fascinating Fee and Freelady Fabula. But Fieso seems... Family Strategy Game Nominee   Maharaja The maharaja has called and you, a distinguished Indian prince, are obeying his call! Build magnificent houses and palaces in his name! Maharaja is a clever strategic boardgame for two to five players. During the game the players take different... Family Strategy Game Nominee   Santiago The flow of money determines the path of the canals! The climate is hot and each drop of water is precious on the Cape Verdian island Santiago. The players must not only buy at auction the largest connected plantations, but also water them as well. Family Strategy Game Nominee   Sunken City Hundreds of years ago, a wealthy city was struck by a gigantic tidal wave. While the wave destroyed everything in its path, the city sank beneath the waters nearly intact. It now rests at the bottom of a deep lake; its treasures guarded by Neptune. Family Strategy Game Nominee   Pirate's Cove English language edition Come aboard and sail to Pirate's Cove... the legendary hideaway of thieving pirates and cutthroat buccaneers. The tales of those legendary pirates of old who've fought and survived these mysterious waters still haunt all those who yearn for a life... Family Strategy Game Nominee   Attika English language edition Each player oversees the building of his city-state. Temple, theater and oracle, a harbor with ships, vineyard with vintner, and many more must find space on the islands. Players must move fast to get the best land for themselves while blocking... Family Strategy Game Nominee   Maya This board game for the whole family is set in Central America long before the conquest by Cortz: The Mayan culture is blooming and the enormous pyramids of Tikal and Copan are under construction. The players are building masters who direct the... Family Strategy Game Nominee   Anno 1503 Brave pioneers explore uncharted islands in tall ships, finding bountiful lands that yield valuable resources, while establishing homes and becoming the first settlers of this new world. Soon their isolated cabins grow together, forming villages,... Family Strategy Game Nominee   Senjutsu The year is 1508 AD. The Onin Wars have been over for 31 years and the Japanese era of civil war has begun. Hosokawa Matsumoto, the Kanrei or vice-Shogun, has just been assassinated and the region is becoming unstable without its primary leader. Family Strategy Game Nominee   Dork Tower Welcome to the land of Aurora, where John Kovalics beloved characters take their own characters for adventure. Play the role of Lumpin Lightfingers, Brother Zark, or one of the other four Dork Tower characters characters as they journey through the... Family Strategy Game Nominee   New England English language edition New England 1621. As you and your family step off the Mayflower, you tingle with excitement at the prospect of freedom. With this new land brings the challenge of survival. To succeed, you must build shelter, raise animals and grow crops for food. Family Strategy Game Nominee   O Zoo le Mio All players are zoo directors and try to attract the most visitors to their zoos. Success comes to the player who creates the largest attractions. Players will want to build spacious areas for the various kinds of animals and also attractive... Family Strategy Game Nominee   Nautilus English language edition Within the dark cold depths of the sea lies a world that could have risen from the works of Jules Verne. Here beneath the silt and sand of the sea floor resides the resting place of an ancient civilization once the marvel of the world. Swallowed by... Party Game Nominee   Jungle Speed Jungle Speed is a lightning-fast card game for the entire family, where you test your fast reflexes and good judgement. Grab the totem at the right moment to get rid of your cards, and win the game! Party Game Nominee   Go Mental Go mental is the great game of improbable connections. Each Go mental question contains 4 things -- one is the odd one out: the others are somehow connected. Simply name the odd one out and make the connection between the other 3. Fascinating and... Party Game Nominee   Fast Figure It's not what you know, it's how fast you know it in this high-speed game of number placement. Players "race-to-place" common knowledge cards in numerical order to gain the most points. All questions have a number answer, and each round gets... Party Game Nominee   Whad'Ya Know? Whad'Ya Know? is a party game based on Michael Feldman's hilarious public radio quiz show. Earn points by guessing the answers to outrageous questions based on general knowledge, and opinion polls. In each round, a new host poses a question and... Word Game Nominee   Crossword Pyramids If you enjoy crossword games and puzzles, you'll love Crossword Pyramids. If you want to improve your family's and friends' spelling, strategic thinking, and mathematical abilities, then Crossword Pyramids is the game for you! Crossword Pyramids... Word Game Nominee   Tri-Words Can you think fast under pressure? With Tri-Words, students will have fun scrambling to sort out their 3-sided letter tiles into color-coded words. This fast-paced game packs a world of colorful, word-powered fun inside its compact tin case. And... Historical Simulation Nominee   Gringo!: The Mexican War, 1846-48 Gringo! takes the legendary, award-winning Great Battles of the American Civil War game system into a new historical era -- the fascinating, challenging battles of the The Mexican-American War, 1846-8. The game rules are simpler (GBACW 4.3) with... Historical Simulation Nominee   Lightning: Midway Lightning: Midway is unlike any other card game you've ever played. Two players step into the roles of opposing fleet commanders in this history based recreation of the famous World War II battle... Historical Simulation Nominee   Axis & Allies: D-Day It's the morning of June 6, 1944. As Allied forces prepare to storm Normandy's beaches, the fate of Europe is in your hands! In honor of next year's 60th anniversary of D-Day, Avalon Hill will release Axis & Allies D-Day, a new, stand-alone...

Games 100 Award Winners From Earlier Years

Dvonn (2003)	Evo (2002)	Aladdin's Dragons (2001)
Torres (2000)	Fossil (1999)	Quoridor (1998)

See also: