The Laurels Of The Republic are the CR’s annual Game of the Year awards. We feel that these games showcase some of the best their respective categories the board gaming world put forth over that year. Rather than creating a simple Top Ten List or breaking our nominees down along more traditional categories found elsewhere, The Laurels tie in directly with our gamer archetype approach of how we look at and review games. Each of these six play styles cater to a specific philosophy when it comes to what someone generally desires of a gaming experience, and we wanted to highlight games based on those preferences.
Below are the previous nominees and winners of each category by year.
Architects
2019 Nominees
Honorable Mention: NEOM
#5: Tiny Towns
#4: On Mars
#3: Pipeline
#2: Wingspan
Winner: The Taverns of Tiefenthal
2018 Nominees
Honorable Mention: SpaceCorp
#5: Dice Hospital
#4: Dinosaur Island
#3: Architects of the West Kingdom
#2: Altiplano
Winner: Everdell
2017 Nominees
Honorable Mention: Wasteland Express Delivery Service
#5: Otys
#4: Sagrada
#3: Clans of Caledonia
#2: Charterstone
Winner: Azul
2016 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Roll Player
#5: Imhotep
#4: Mystic Vale
#3: Star Trek: Ascendancy
#2: Scythe
Winner: Terraforming Mars
2015 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Between Two Cities
#5: Spirits Of The Rice Paddy
#4: Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King
#3: Fields of Arle
#2: Argent: The Consortium
Winner: ZhanGuo
Tacticians
2019 Nominees
Honorable Mention: City of the Big Shoulders
#5: Paladins of the West Kingdom
#4: Underwater Cities
#3: Trismegistus: The Ultimate Formula
#2: Teotihuacan: City of Gods
Winner: Barrage
2018 Nominees
Honorable Mention: TOKYO METRO
#5: Nusfjord
#4: Calimala
#3: Heaven & Ale
#2: Coimbra
Winner: Newton
2017 Nominees
Honorable Mention: Lignum (Second Edition)
#5: Pulsar 2849
#4: The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire
#3: Anachrony
#2: Yokohama
Winner: Lisboa
2016 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Food Chain Magnate
#5: Hands In The Sea
#4: Crisis
#3: Nippon
#2: Great Western Trail
Winner: Arkwright
2015 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Captains of Industry
#5: AquaSphere
#4: Mottainai
#3: The Voyages of Marco Polo
#2: Trickerion: Legends of Illusion
Winner: The Gallerist
Socializers
2019 Nominees
Honorable Mention: Medium
#5: Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale
#4: Point Salad
#3: We’re Doomed!
#2: PARKS
Winner: Wavelength
2018 Nominees
Honorable Mention: Visitor in Blackwood Grove
#5: Just One
#4: The Mind
#3: Welcome To…
#2: Catch The Moon
Winner: Decrypto
2017 Nominees
Honorable Mention: Kokoro: Avenue of the Kodama
#5: Go Nuts for Donuts
#4: Flamme Rouge
#3: Magic Maze
#2: Escape Room In A Box: The Werewolf Experiment
Winner: Word Slam
2016 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Junk Art
#5: Beyond Baker Street
#4: Ice Cool
#3: Potion Explosion
#2: World’s Fair 1893
Winner: Captain Sonar
2015 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Mysterium
#5: Bad Medicine
#4: Spyfall
#3: Stockpile
#2: Lanterns
Winner: Codenames
Daredevils
2019 Nominees
Honorable Mention: The Menace Among Us
#5: Flotilla
#4: MegaCity: Oceania
#3: The King’s Dilemma
#2: Quirky Circuits
Winner: Pax Pamir Second Edition
2018 Nominees
Honorable Mention: No Honor Among Thieves
#5: Empires of the Void II
#4: SEAL Team Flix
#3: Vindication
#2: Feudum
Winner: The Quacks of Quedlinburg
2017 Nominees
Honorable Mention: The Colonists
#5: Sol: Last Days of a Star
#4: Dice Forge
#3: Cutthroat Kingdoms
#2: Battlestations: Second Edition
Winner: Sidereal Confluence
2016 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Dragoon
#5: The Pursuit of Happiness
#4: The Oracle Of Delphi
#3: Get Rich Quick
#2: Ponzi Scheme
Winner: A Feast For Odin
2015 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Portal: The Uncooperative Cake Acquisition Game
#5: Fief: France 1429
#4: The Grizzled
#3: Risk: Star Wars Edition
#2: Flick ’em Up!
Winner: Steampunk Rally
Immersionists
2019 Nominees
Honorable Mention: Detective: City of Angels
#5: Cthulhu: Death May Die
#4: Brook City
#3: Horrified
#2: The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth
Winner: Nemesis
2018 Nominees
Honorable Mention: Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr
#5: Obsession
#4: Kitchen Rush
#3: Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game
#2: Chronicles of Crime
Winner: Western Legends
2017 Nominees
Honorable Mention: Mountains of Madness
#5: Nemo’s War (Second Edition)
#4: Near and Far
#3: Fog of Love
#2: The 7th Continent
Winner: This War of Mine: The Board Game
2016 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Mansions of Madness: Second Edition
#5: Defenders of the Last Stand
#4: Black Orchestra
#3: The Networks
#2: Star Wars: Rebellion
Winner: Millennium Blades
2015 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Fury of Dracula (Third Edition)
#5: Mistfall
#4: Fallen
#3: Bomb Squad
#2: T.I.M.E. Stories
Winner: Pandemic Legacy: Season 1
Strikers
2019 Nominees
Honorable Mention: SHŌBU
#5: Fire Tower
#4: Rurik: Dawn of Kiev
#3: Bosk
#2: Undaunted: Normandy
Winner: Watergate
2018 Nominees
Honorable Mention: Wildlands
#5: The Legend of Korra: Pro-Bending Arena
#4: Cerebria: The Inside World
#3: KeyForge: Call of the Archons
#2: War Chest
Winner: Root
2017 Nominees
Honorable Mention: Santorini
#5: Spirit Island
#4: Seikatsu
#3: Bunny Kingdom
#2: Gloomhaven
Winner: Tesla vs Edison: Duel
2016 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Tyrants Of The Underdark
#5: Onitama
#4: 13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis
#3: Adrenaline
#2: Inis
Winner: Cry Havoc
2015 Nominees
(Honorable Mention: Forbidden Stars
#5: Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn
#4: Star Wars Armada
#3: Strife: Legacy Of The Eternals
#2: Baseball Highlights 2045
Winner: Blood Rage