American Tabletop Awards picks 2021’s best board games

The American Tabletop Awards, the United States’ alternative to Germany’s Spiel des Jahres, are in. Divided into four categories — Early Gamers, Casual Games, Strategy Games, and Complex Games — these 20 titles represent some of the best new board games to come to market in 2021.

Launched in 2019, the ATTA’s were created by a dedicated group of industry professionals. The organization today is managed by an extensive volunteer committee supported by a code of conduct. This ensures transparency and protects against conflict of interest during the selection process. This isn’t a collection of the most-hyped crowdfunding campaigns, nor is it a niche list of the most technically demanding games available. These awards recognize the best board games, for all levels of skill.

We’ve noted the finalists and the grand prize winners in each category below, which are available online and at your friendly local game store.

Happy City

Happy City, created by Kawasaki systems engineer Toshiki Sato and his eight-year-old daughter, Airu, is this year’s winner in the Early Gamers category. It’s a bright and cheerful city-builder with a very small footprint and just 140 cards inside the box. It’s a competitive race to create the most lucrative urban areas with the most cheerful residents. The game was published by Gamewright USA and costs $15.99

The Finalists in Early Gamers

Cubitos

Alderac Entertainment Group

Cubitos, a fast-paced racing game, takes home this years’ award for Casual Games. The game involves players rolling a lot of dice and cashing in their winnings to upgrade their teams or move around the board. Push things too far, however, and you’ll be unable to move very far at all until the next round. Another brightly colored game with a cube-based fiction all its own, it’s currently out of stock through the publisher but is available at local game stores and through Amazon.

Casual Games: Finalists

Cascadia

Yet another game that leverages America’s love affair with its National Parks system, Cascadia is this year’s winner in the Strategy Games category. The same team that created the award-winning Strategy Games category. Calico (one of Polygon’s picks for best solo board games), this tile-laying game focuses on the habitats and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest.

Strategy Games: Finalists

The Lost Ruins Of Arnak

The Lost Ruins Of ArnakCzech Games Edition’s deckbuilding and worker placement game, ‘Czech Games Edition’, combines both. The game lets players lead an expedition into remote wilderness to recover artifacts lost and face monsters while uncovering mysterious secrets. It also features a strong solo mode and an easy-to-use web app that allows for both setup and playing.

Complex Games: Finalists