Finnish Game of the Year winners have been declared. They reflect the Spiel des Jahres awards closely.

Best children’s game is Geistertreppe, 2004 Kinder Spiel des Jahres winner. Kids loved the ghost mechanism and thought the game was funny and exciting. What’s more to ask?

Best family game is Ticket to Ride, 2004 Spiel des Jahres winner. The jury thinks this one has more staying power than the other candidates. In general, jury found the level of games very high — there was a big list of games they would’ve wanted to have in the final, but couldn’t. I agree, this year the candidates were probably better than ever.

Best adult game is Alhambra, 2003 Spiel des Jahres winner. Here the top-three stood out clearly and even then Alhambra won by a landslide.