Cascadia and Living Forest win Spiel awards

Cascadia has won the 2022 Spiel des Jahres. Cascadia was designed by Randy Flynn, with art by Beth Sobel. It is published by Flatout Games, and won out over other nominees Scout and Top Ten. In Cascadia, one to four players compete to create the best layout of habitats and animals. Each round, players take turns selecting a hexagonal habitat that is randomly paired with an animal token. The animal tokens can only be placed in certain habitats and each game there are randomized scoring conditions for each animal type. Players will also score for the largest area of each type of habitat at game's end, with a bonus if your group is larger than each other player's.

Living Forest has won the 2022 Kennerspiel des Jahres. Living Forest was designed by Aske Christiansen, with art by Apolline Etienne. It is published by Ludonaute, and won out over other nominees Cryptid and Dune: Imperium. In Living Forest, one to four players race to be the first to reach one of three different victory conditions. Each player takes on the role of a seasonal nature spirit trying to save the sacred forest from the flames of the Onibi. Players will reveal cards from their deck of Guardian Animals in a push your luck manner that will determine whether they receive one or two actions on their turn. The Guardian Animal cards have a variable number of the four basic elements. These correspond to the available actions, where players can aquire new Guardian Animals, put out fires, acquire tree tiles, or move their spirit figure around the Circle of Spirits rondel to a new action space.