On the eve of the revelation of the winners of the SdJ award this Sunday, the nominees for a very different kind of game award have been announced. The Jogo do Ano is the Portuguese Game of the Year award, as determined by the game club Spiel Portugal. This award, which goes back to 2006, tends to focus exclusively on heavier games, which distinguishes it from most of the other annual game awards, which often feature lighter designs. For example, last year’s winner was Nucleum. Five games have been nominated for 2025; here they are, together with their designers and publishers:
- Endeavor: Deep Sea (Carl de Visser, Jarratt Gray) – Burnt Island Games/Grand Gamers Guild
- SETI (Tomas Holek) – Czech Games Edition
- Shackleton Base (Fabio Lopiano, Nestore Mangone) – Sorry We Are French
- Terminus (Earl Aspiras, Tom Volpe) – Inside Up Games
- Unconscious Mind (Laskas, Jonny Pac, Yoma, Antonio Zax) – Fantasia Games
Personally, I’m a little surprised that Stefan Feld’s Civolution didn’t get nominated, as this is the kind of game that the JdA often features. However, I’m quite pleased that they included Terminus, as I think it is an excellent game that has largely flown under the radar.
The winner of the JdA will be announced in October. Congratulations to the nominated designers and publishers!
