
While the biggest convention and awards may belong to Essen and the Spiel des Jahres, France has it's own mega convention and awards with the Cannes Games Festival and the Golden Ace awards; and they have just released the 2016 winners. There are three categories that a game can win in, Game of the year, Youth, and Expert, and they mirror the Spiel in weight of the game in each category. Game of the year is the middle of the road game, something that is not too heavy but not too light, Youth are games for younger kids that are still great all-around games, and Expert are the heavier games for those seasoned players. So without any more delay, here are the nominees for each categories and the winners:
Youth
Mystery Animal - Emely Brand, illustrated by Thies Schwarz and published by Haba.
The Game with a Thousand Names – Pampuk, illustrated by Inti Ansa and published by Oya.
Master Fox - Frédéric Vuagnat, illustrated by Catell-Ruz and published by Superlude.
WINNER -- Master Fox
Expert
7 Wonders Duel - Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala, illustrated by Miguel Coimbra and published by Repos production.
T.I.M.E. Stories - Manuel Rozoy, illustrated by David Lecossu, Benjamin Carré, Pascal Quidault and published by Space Cowboys.
Pandemic Legacy - Matt Leacock and Rob Daviau, illustrated by Chris Quilliams and published by Filosofia.
WINNER -- Pandemic Legacy
Game of the Year
Mafia de Cuba – Philippe des Pallières and Loïc Lamy, illustrated by Thomas Vuarchex and published by Lui-Même.
Who Pairs Wins - Stephen Glenn, illustrated by Jessica Lindsay and published by Le Scorpion Masqué.
Mysterium - Oleg Sidorenko and Oleksandr Nevskiy, illustrated by Igor Burlakov and Xavier Collette, published by Libellud.
WINNER -- Mysterium
One thing to note, not all games listed will be available in the US as this is a French award and so the games just need to be released in France.