Board Game Arena

The vote for the 2026 Board Game Arena Awards has officially ended, and the results are in.

Over the past few weeks, you have had the opportunity to choose from various categories, from heavy strategy games to light-hearted casual ones. You played, you voted and the choice in now final. The competition was really close, with some categories coming down to just a few votes, showing how amazing all the entries were. But we are thrilled to reveal this year’s winners!

Here are your champions across five categories, from the games released in 2025:
 
Best 2-Player Game: Toy Battle
A fast-paced, friendly game where you use cards to organize your toy armies and compete in strategic battles. The game combines colorful artwork, simple mechanics, and tactical decision-making, making it accessible and fun for all.
https://bga.li/QUTl
 
Best Casual Game: Flip 7
Flip over cards one by one without flipping the same number twice. Not as easy as it sounds… Will you play it safe or go for the elusive Flip 7?
https://bga.li/qDbN
 
Best Regular Game: The Guild of Merchant Explorers
You are an ambitious explorer plotting paths across uncharted lands, discovering treasures, and connecting faraway cities, all that with a serious taste for gold. With every new map, it’s a mix of brainy strategy and delightful "aha!"!
https://bga.li/IiNW

Best Expert Game: Galactic Cruise
Forget about heroic space chase or intergalactic fights, Galactic Cruise is a worker placement and resource management heavy eurogame. It remains quite approachable with a surprising simplicity in the actions, despite the 12 or so unique actions.
https://bga.li/fOdO

Best brainteaser game: Orapa Mine
Time to mine! Locate gemstones in Orapa Mine, the world’s largest diamond mine. Send ultrasonic waves deep into the ground and analyze the signals that return to determine the position and condition of the gemstones. Use deduction to find the mineral locations to win!
https://bga.li/Ahst

Special Award: Board Game Arena Team Winner – Toy Battle
It was a tight score but ultimately Toy Battle won the heart of the Board Game Arena team. Bridging genres and offering a perfect mix of simplicity and strategy, Toy Battle brought a smile to everyone at BGA. And stay tuned as we have more news coming for that fantastic game.
 
Find them all on the official AWARD page!

Thank You!
None of this is possible without YOU - the amazing Board Game Arena community!
 
The 2026 BGA Awards celebrated innovation, creativity, and connection in the world of board games.
 
Whether you are a casual player or a dedicated strategist, your passion, and your votes, continuously shape the future of board gaming on Board Game Arena. YOU made 2025 special, so thank you

We also want to thank all the partners, developers, publishers, tutorial-makers and moderators: BGA would not be the same without you.

If you haven’t already it is time to try this year’s winners and to tell us which one is your favorite!
 
See you next year for the 2027Awards: time to play is on!
Until then, take care and... play fair
 
 

Oh Bitte schaut auf eure Übersetzung der Spieletitel ....

See you next year for the 2027Awards???
When will be 2026 ???

Czochrun wrote: ↑17 February 2026, 14:29 See you next year for the 2027Awards???
When will be 2026 ???

The next awards will be held in 2027, for the best game od 2026. The same way it was the best games of 2025 but the voting phase was in 2026.

Can someone explain the appeal of toy battle please? Felt like I was playing a terrible clash Royale game. This is a genuine question. If someone could explain it to me, it won 2 awards.

Do you have stats on how many votes were cast in each category? Or how many total users voted? It would be interesting to see. TIA

Toy Battle is a huge hit in my house. My wife and I love to play with our 5&7 year old and don't grow tired of it!

Nice! I got Toy Battle, Flip 7 and Orapa Mine in my real life collection. Need to try Merchants a little bit more.

I'm glad to see that some of the games with long-standing bugs (like this and this) did not take the prize. I wanted to vote for these games because I like them, but couldn't bring myself to vote for them while they have these issues that devs seem uninterested in fixing.

Totally deserved those Toy Battle awards