Yesterday evening, Thursday, February 26, 2026, the entire board game world looked eagerly to France. On the Côte d'Azur, the As d'Or 2026 was awarded as part of the Festival International des Jeux in Cannes – one of the most prestigious awards in our industry!

What is the As d'Or?

The “Golden Ace” is the French game award par excellence. A high-caliber jury of nine experts selects the best new releases on the French market in four categories. So, of course, the award is a real highlight for us every year. The award ceremony is part of the major international game festival that takes place annually in Cannes and is the largest gaming event in France. 

Here are the proud winners and the nominated games that you should definitely check out. We congratulate everyone on this great success.

As d'Or-Jeu de l'Année “Tout public / Family”

The centerpiece of the award for games that delight young and old alike.

• Winner:
  Toy Battle – REPOS / Alessandro Zucchini, Paolo Mori
• Nominees:
  Flip 7 – Catch Up Games / Eric Olsen
  Rebirth – Lucky Duck Games, Mighty Boards / Reiner Knizia

As d'Or-Jeu de l'Année „Enfant / Children“

The focus here is on the youngest players.

• Winner:
  L’Île des Mookies – Le Scorpion Masqué / Florian Sirieix
• Nominees:
  Archeo – Gigamic / Thomas Favrelière, Adrien Pédron
  La Valse des Fantômes – Drei Magier Spiele / Wolfgang Dirscherl, Wolfgang Lehmann

As d'Or-Jeu de l'Année “Initié / Insider“

For those who already have some experience and are looking for new mechanisms.

• Winner:
  Zenith – PlayPunk / Grégory Grard, Mathieu Roussel
• Nominees:
  First Rat – Pegasus / Gabriele Ausiello, Virginio Gigli
  Take Time – Libellud / Alexi Piovesan, Julien Prothière

As d'Or-Jeu de l'Année „Expert / Experts“

The supreme discipline for all strategists and frequent players.

• Winner:
  Civolution – Grail Games, Deep Print Games / Stefan Feld
• Nominees:
  Arcs – Leder Games / Cole Wehrle
  Fourmis – Cranio Creations, Intrafin / Renato Ciervo, Andrea Robbiani

Further information about the As d'Or-Jeu de l'Année can be found on the award's website.