THE BOARD GAME JURY AT FASTAVAL
Each year at Fastaval a committee is assembled to decide which of the Designer Board Games premiering are nominated and win the Otto awards. For many participants it can be difficult to see through the process of reading, evaluating, and shortlisting the scenarios, and how much work and effort the jury put into being fair and balanced to both the scenarios and the writers. In the following text will meet the jury and read about the judging- and the evaluation process at Fastaval.
Board game jury at Fastaval 2025
Head of the jury
Steen Bach Hansen
Steen has been a member of the board game jury for one year and is now in his second year as head judge. His enjoyment of board games is wide-ranging, where he either gets lost in complex board games that challenge the player and require dedicated focus or simple board games that provide a basis for chatting and laughing. And in the time he has been at Fastaval, he has more often been found playing board games than role-playing games.
When it comes to complex games, Steen is particularly fond of games where there are multiple paths to victory and where there are opportunities to surprise each other or change the situation in the game precisely because there are multiple paths to victory. Steen is particularly fond of Ameritrash and Eurogames.
When it comes to games that focus more on socialising and laughing, they need to be games that can balance simplicity in rules with socialising, where the game is the focus without demanding all the attention from players, where games like Alias and Cards Against Humanity can keep Steen entertained for hours.
Very telling of the range of Steen's interest in gaming, his two favourite games at the moment are Twillight Imperium and Hero Quest with his nephews and nieces.
The last game Steen has played is Wing Span.
Anna Alberte Krølner
Anna is 20 years old and works for Bifrost as a super soldier. Board games have been a part of her life for as long as she can remember, having grown up in a board game loving family. She first attended Fastaval 2023 with two friends and was lucky enough to win Gamerush!
At the last Fastaval she had the pleasure of participating as a designer, which was an amazing and educational experience. Besides her passion for board games, she is also passionate about volunteer work in all forms. Anna's favourite board game is definitely Spirit Island, as she loves how all the different elements work together.
Anne Lykke
For more than a decade, Anne has been a happy ‘random con-goer’ whose primary focus has been to play as many board games as possible before bar-live starts. At Fastaval 2024, she joined the board game jury, and the task was so rewarding, exciting and educational that she decided to accept another year.
Anne enjoys getting to know new games, but also playing old favourites like Terraforming Mars and Carcasonne. Heavy eurogames have a special place in Anne's heart, but more accessible games such as deduction, trick taking, puzzle and party games also have their rightful place on the board game shelf at home.
When it comes to learning new games, Anne is happy to take on the role of reading and explaining rules as she loves spreading the word about good board games to friends and family.
The latest board game Anne has played is a new favourite: SETI, which she acquired at Spiel in Essen in early October.
Pax Meier
Since their first year as board game judges in 2024, Pax's energy in the field has not waned - on the contrary. Pax engages regularly as a player and designer at events of all types - from the Aarhus Board Game Festival to Test-et-Brætspil in Odense. As a designer himself, Pax looks at games with an analytical eye and appreciates elegantly designed games with good flow and short waiting time between turns.
However, many interesting decisions are the primary key to Pax's heart. Favourites range from Wingspan and Ares Expedition to Gaia Project, Root and Dune: Imperium. Pax has been gaming all her life, growing up on Ant Hill, Monopoly and Magic: The Gathering. When they moved out, the board game collection was by far the most important thing, and that's the way it should be, in Pax's eyes. They are looking forward to playing all of this year's games again and will carry on the good results from last year, where they endeavoured to be visible and in contact with the board game designers during Fastaval.
Ilo Thrane Diao
Ilo has been fascinated by board games for the past 15 years, thanks to a flatmate with a huge board game collection. This started him on a journey where he became part of several board game clubs and has visited the fair in Essen to immerse himself in the gaming universe. He is particularly drawn to heavy eurogames where strategy and planning are allowed to shine. The latest game he's been playing is SETI.
This year he's taking the next step and attending Fastaval for the first time, which he's sure will be a memorable experience. Caverna is a clear favourite, but he also has a weakness for games where he can let his dark side come out - like The Resistance, where bluffing and intrigue take centre stage. Ilo is looking forward to trying a lot of new games and meeting exciting players at Fastaval.
BEFORE FASTAVAL
The jury chairman is found at Fastaval the year before and is selected as a starting point by the former jury chairman. The chairman of the jury then appoints a jury consisting of a total of 5 members, including the chairman himself. These members are selected to create a varied and balanced jury with both game designers and players as well as people with different tastes in board games.
Before the board games are handed in, the jury holds meetings where, among other things, they agree on the process and how the Otto categories are interpreted.
When the rules are submitted in the month leading up to Fastaval, they are read by the jury and this is where the first impressions can be formed of the material.
DURING FASTAVAL
During Fastaval, the jury will partly play the games themselves so that each game is played by at least two of the jury members. In addition, there is communication with players and designers after the proceedings to get a better impression of the games. In addition, the judges will collect feedback sheets from the players which will be important for the final decision.
On Saturday, the jury will lock themselves in all day to find out who will be nominated and who will win. The assessment takes place against the background of the written rules combined with the jury's and other players' impressions of the game played, including the feedback notes.
On Saturday evening, the lists of the nominees will be published both physically at Fastaval and digitally on the website and other digital media.
On Sunday, the designers will have the opportunity to get the feedback sheets back while the judges make the final arrangements before the final announcement of the winners on Sunday evening.
SELECTION PROCESS
The winners and nominees will be selected based on the definition of the Ottos that can be found here. These definitions are discussed in the jury before the games are handed over. The games are largely judged on their own terms. For instance, a company game is judged on whether it actually creates social interaction and not so much on strategic depth.
All the games will be thoroughly discussed to make sure that you get around all the nooks and crannies and that all arguments are turned and twisted. This is not just a simple vote.
AFTER FASTAVAL
After Fastaval, the jury starts writing feedback to all the participating designers. It is intended that the feedback can both be used to improve the game with a view to possible Further development and development of new games for Fastaval or elsewhere.
