Uncategorized

Arydia leads Golden Geek nominations with nods in six categories, Vantage and Fate of the Fellowship up for five each

tonyheth April 22, 2026

Co-op fantasy adventuring game Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread has scored six nominations in the 20th annual Golden Geek Awards, which are selected and voted on by BoardGameGeek users.

Cody Miller’s “green legacy” design, which can be fully reset after each dozens-of-hours-long campaign, is up for heavy game of the year, most innovative game and best thematic game, as well as for the best artwork, solo game and co-op game categories.

Fellow open-world exploration game Vantage, designed by Scythe and Viticulture creator Jamey Stegmaier, is challenging across five categories this year, as is Pandemic creator Matt Leacock’s spin-off design The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship.

Both those titles will battle it out for the Medium Game of the Year prize, which is also being contested by popular releases including Galactic Cruise, Eternal Decks and fellow Stonemaier Games title Finspan.

Eternal Decks, a limited communication co-op game designed by Hiroken, has picked up four nominations

Other titles picking up nominations across multiple categories included Eternal Decks, Star Trek: Captain’s Chair and Hot Streak, with four each, while Magical Athlete, Molly House, Luthier, Galactic Cruise, Corps of Discovery, The Old King’s Crown, Speakeasy and The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era all picked up three nods.

The Golden Geeks is one of board gaming’s highest profile awards, as well as being among the earliest of the major competitions to unveil its winners each year – with the Dice Tower Awards falling in May, the Spiel des Jahres in July and Deutscher Spiel Priese in October.

Notable awards which have already named their winners this year include France’s highest-profile board game prize, the As d’Or, which picked Paolo Mori and Alessandro Zucchini’s Toy Battle in its main prize for 2026.

Toy Battle is nominated in two categories in the Golden Geeks: best two-player game and best wargame. The latter category will see the title go up against a huge variety of different designs, including Memoir ’44-inspired Star Wars: Battle of Hoth, whist-themed English civil war strategy title A Very Civil Whist, and heavyweight GMT Games releases such as Congress of Vienna and Seljuk: Byzantium Besieged, 1068-1071.

As well as published board games, the Golden Geeks also features categories for best print and play design, best board game app and best podcast.

Voting will be undertaken by BoardGameGeek users who have paid an annual support fee in any year, who pay a one-time 20 GeekGold fee, or who have purchased an avatar on the site. They will rank nominees in individual categories, with voting set to end on April 30.

Last year’s Golden Geeks saw Arcs, the hybrid trick-taking wargame from Root and Oath designer Cole Wehrle, win a trio of awards, while fellow space-themed game SETI notched up a pair of wins.

This year’s Golden Geek Awards nominations in full:

2-Player Game
Azul Duel
Duel for Cardia
Everdell Duo
Flamecraft Duals
Iliad
Star Trek: Captain’s Chair
Star Wars: Battle of Hoth
Tag Team
Toy Battle
Zenith

Artwork & Presentation
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread
Eternal Decks
Galactic Cruise
Hot Streak
The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship
Luthier
Magical Athlete
The Old King’s Crown
Speakeasy
Vantage

Cooperative Game
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread
Corps of Discovery: A Game Set in the World of Manifest Destiny
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era
Eternal Decks
The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship
Nemesis: Retaliation
Regicide Legacy
Take Time
Unmatched Adventures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Vantage

Expansion
Castle Combo: Out of the Oubliette!
Clank!: Catacombs – Underworld
Dune: Imperium – Bloodlines
Earth: Abundance
Heat: Tunnel Vision
The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth – Allies
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Twisted Paths
Sea Salt & Paper: Extra Pepper
SETI: Space Agencies
Wyrmspan: Dragon Academy

Innovative
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread
Corps of Discovery: A Game Set in the World of Manifest Destiny
Eternal Decks
Hot Streak
Light Speed: Arena
Molly House
Moon Colony Bloodbath
The Old King’s Crown
Tag Team
Vantage

Light GOTY
Duel for Cardia
Flamecraft Duals
FlipToons
The Hobbit: There and Back Again
Hot Streak
Magical Athlete
Railroad Tiles
Star Wars: Battle of Hoth
Take Time
Toy Battle

Medium GOTY
The Druids of Edora
Eternal Decks
Finspan
Formaggio
The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship
Moon Colony Bloodbath
Sanctuary
Skara Brae
Vantage
Zenith

Heavy GOTY
Ada’s Dream
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era
Galactic Cruise
Luthier
Molly House
The Old King’s Crown
Speakeasy
Star Trek: Captain’s Chair
Sweet Lands

Party Game
Alibis
Barbecubes
Brick Like This!
La Cuenta
Hitster Rock: Bob!
Hot Streak
Light Speed: Arena
Magical Athlete
Take Time
Wine Cellar

Print & Play
52 Duels
Chronicles of Civilization
Crosswhords!
Dungeons of the Oak Dell
Elevation (fan expansion for Android: Netrunner)
The Promise
Rise of the Oak Dell
Terra Mystica: Fan Factions

Solo Game
The Anarchy
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread
Corps of Discovery: A Game Set in the World of Manifest Destiny
Deckers
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era
The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship
Skara Brae
Star Trek: Captain’s Chair
Unstoppable
Vantage