The nominations are in: The German game of the year winner means big bucks for the designer and publisher alike. Here are this year's nominees (along with the Kennerspiel and Kinderspiel nominees, too).

The Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) Nominees:

• Colt Express, designed by Christophe Raimbault, and published by Asmodee.
• Machi Koro, designed by Masao Suganuma, and published by KOSMOS.
• The Game, designed by Steffen Benndorf, and published by Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag. 

I've played Machi Koro a bunch--in fact, I played it just last night with my 7-year-old. I've heard good things about Colt Express (and the production values are top-notch). Maybe I've been living under a rock, but I've never even heard of The Game. 

The Kennerspiel des Jahres (Gamer's Game of the Year) Nominees:

• Broom Service, designed by Andreas Pelikan and Alexander Pfister, and published by Ravensburger.
• Elysium, designed by Brett J. Gilbert and Matthew Dunstan, and published by Asmodee. 
• Orleans, designed by Reiner Stockhausen, and published by DLP Games. 

The Kinderspiel des Jahres (Children's Game of the Year) Nominees:

• Push a Monster, designed by Wolfgang Dirscherl and Manfred Reindl, and published by Queen Games.
• Treasure Rabatz, designed by Karin Hetling, and designed by Noris.
• Spinderella, designed by Roberto Fraga, and published by Zoch.

So what are your thoughts on these? Have you played any of them? What's missing? Let us know in the comments! And thanks for reading!