“As d'Or-Jeu de l'Année” : the preeminent cultural label for board games. It rewards the best board games of the French market published over the year.
“As d'Or-Jeu de l'Année” label has the mission to bring the public’s attention to the diversity of the game industry and to reward games that are engrossing, enjoyable and awaken in both occasional and regular players the desire to play it again. The material’s quality, the proper functioning of mechanisms, the readability of the rules, the game design, the authors creativity (which supports clearly the identification of the rules on the game boxes) and the universal theme need to stimulate the imagination of the player
In 1988, the city of Cannes launched a competition to annually reward the best games showcased at the Festival: the “As d'Or” (Golden Ace).
In 2003, the French Association for Promoting and Evaluating Board Games created the “Jeu de l'Année” (Game of the Year) award with very similar criteria and selection methods.
In 2005, the initiators of the “As d’Or” and “Jeu de l’Année” - both respectful of their mutual work and commitment to promoting board games in France - realized that their aims were similar and decided to combine their efforts and introduce a single qualitative award, recognized by the industry and able to appeal to gamers: the “As d’Or-Jeu de l’Année” award.
The success of the games awarded since 1988 is undeniable. Some of them have become a real social phenomenon: between 2008 and 2016 more than 25 billion Magic: The Gathering cards were printed, Abalone has sold more than 10 million copies, while Time's Up!, Les Aventuriers du Rail and Dixit have exceeded 5 million boxes and Quarto has sold over 1 million copies, to name but a few of the notable success stories. The “As d’Or” has also been awarded to memorable titles such as Super Gang, Blokus, Kahuna, La Route des Epices, Condottiere , Gang of Four, Alhambra, Takenoko, Andor, Marrakech, Skull, Concept, Colt Express, Mysterium, Unlock !, Azul, The Mind, which will arguably make it into the ideal collection of many gamers.
All new board games published on the French market in a French version qualify to be selected by the International Games Festival as a possible recipient of one of our awards in the following four categories:
The CASUAL category
Rewards games that are accessible to the greatest number of people – from 8 year olds to adults - with rules that are easy to grasp.
Examples: Micro Macro, Unlock, Azul, Kingdomino
The CHILDREN category
Highlights games dedicated to children from age 3 to 7. The rules, duration and material must be adapted to children’s capacities and needs: for example, short games and accessible rules..
The INTERMEDIATE category
Refers to games played by a regular audience seeking more challenging mechanisms. The rules take more attention, the setup is precise and a game usually lasts more than an hour.
Examples: The Crew, Paléo, It’s a Wonderful World
The EXPERT category
Rewards complex games with sophisticated mechanisms that require a significant commitment from the gamers both to master the rules and to be able to play long games/campaigns. The theme is usually tailored to adult gamers.
Examples: Terraforming Mars, Scythe, Dilemme du roi
2026 : the jury will announce its selection of nominees January the 27th and will reveal the names of the winners on Thursday the 26th of February at 8.00pm on the stage of the Grand Auditorium in Cannes iconic Palais des Festivals.
The nominated and winning games will be showcased throughout the Festival in a dedicated area as well as at the booths of the award-winning publishers.
Are you a publisher and wish to participate in the 2026 competition?
Find all the information in the regulations below.
The jury consists of passionate players who are all renowned actors in the gaming sphere and base their selection on the following qualities that a game must have: captivating and addictive power, the originality and aesthetic of the product itself (visual and tactical appeal) and the quality of the rules.
The jury members are selected by the International Games Festival organization. They test the latest games of the market when they gather in Paris, Bruxelles, Cannes etc. or during their numerous trips to public and business fairs, in game clubs, game libraries, or in their regular gaming circles.
2026 jury is composed of:
