The Dutch Games Prize – also called the NSP – was created by the games association Ducosim . Because so many board games are being released, they thought it was time for a quality mark. The Dutch Games Prize contains three categories: family (“suitable for a large audience, including children from 8 years old”) , connoisseur (“suitable for players who are looking for a little more challenge and find a slightly longer playing time acceptable”) and expert (“suitable for players with more playing experience, where complexity and playing time are not an obstacle”) .

What do we think?

What do we think of the nominees and which games do we think should win?

How does the Dutch Games Prize work?

To have a chance to win the Dutch Games Prize, the games must meet a number of conditions. For the Dutch Games Prize 2023, the games must have been published in the period of July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 . The nominations were announced on Wednesday, September 6, and the winners will be announced on October 28.

But how does the jury make the nominations? They start with a major list containing all the games released within the time period. The jury will start playing all the games and during the meetings it will be shared which board games are popular and have a chance. The games are played in as many different numbers of players as possible, including during game days for the jury itself. The professional jury then nominates 3 games per category. After the nominations are announced, the jury will deliberate and vote on the winners.

Professional jury

Who is on the jury then? All people from the board game world! The jury in 2023 will include:

Niek Ederveen (editor-in-chief of Game! )
Rowdy van Lieshout ( The Start Players Board Game Podcast )
Lotte Verheul (from the blog Lotte Plays )
Tijn Rams (from the store subcultures )
Bastiaan Nox (from the YouTube channel Nox' Games Attic )
Anna Wassenburg (from the comparison site Budget games )
Patrick ten Hoorn (from the store Games house / The Boardroom )
Stef Noordermeer (from board game association Roll the Dice )
Henk Rolleman (Photographer Game! )
Jasper Heijdra (from the store Spellenhoorn )

Why do the games have to comply?

Of course, there are still some requirements that games must meet in order to win the prize.

It must be aimed/suited for adults
It must be a board or table game.
The game was published by the producer in the Netherlands in Dutch within the nomination period.
It has never been released on the Dutch market before.
It is a new game and not an adaptation or new version of a game that already exists.
It's not an extension.
The rules of the game and the texts on the game itself are in Dutch
The game is available through stores, web shops, fairs, etc.