The nominations for the first significant Game of the Year awards of 2024 have been announced.  The As d’Or is France’s national game award and it goes back all the way to 1992.  It is conducted by the Festival International des Jeux and gives awards in four different categories.  All we can say is that the French sure love their Darwin!  Here are the nominated games, along with their designers and publishers:

General Games
In the Footsteps of Darwin (Gregory Grard, Matthieu Verdler) – Sorry We Are French
Perfect Words (Paul-Henri Argiot) – TIKI Editions
Trio (Kaya Miyano) – Cocktail Games

Games for Children
Morris the Dodo (Emilie Soleil, Jerome Soleil) – Blue Orange Games
My Puzzle Adventure: Dragon (Antonin Boccara, Romaric Galonnier) – Game Flow
Super Moon (Guillaume Desportes) – Space Cow

Games for Initiates
Cat in the Box (Muneyuki Yokouchi) – Hobby Japan
Eila and Something Shiny (Jeffrey CCH) – ICE Makes
Faraway (Johannes Goupy, Corentin Lebrat) – Catch Up Games

Games for Experts
Darwin’s Journey (Simone Luciani, Nestore Mangone) – ThunderGryph Games
La Famiglia (Maximilian Thiel) – Feuerland Spiele
The White Castle (Isra C., Shei S.) – Devir

The General category is usually reserved for family games, while the Games for Initiates are about the weight of Germany’s Kennerspiel award.  The winners will be announced on February 22.  Congratulations to all the nominated designers and publishers!