Hat-wearing animal game Petiquette wins latest Golden Box Awards, voted on by members of Japan’s board game industry

Petiquette, Thomas Sellner’s card game of picking out patterns among hat-wearing animals, has been named game of the year at this year’s Golden Box Awards.

The Oink Games-published design fought off competition from 2025 winner Isao Mukai, who was nominated for Banana Governance – a card-based drafting and bidding game which sees players attempt to satisfy the needs of hungry monkeys better than their opponents.

A comment from the selection committee about Petiquette called the title “a brilliant and sharp work typical of Oink”.

It said, “I’ll never forget the shock I felt the first time I played it. The rules are simple: just give the answer that fits in the single ‘?’ on the cards laid out.

“But… the eyes of those who give the same answer feel friendly. The mouths of those who give a different answer seem to twist. The loneliness of desperately trying to explain when you’re the only one who gives a different answer.

“A mix of various emotions. The unique experience of this game really stands out.”

The annual Golden Box contest was launched four years ago, modelled on the American film industry’s Academy Awards. More than 40 industry professionals from within the Japanese board game sphere voted on this year’s award.

In addition to ‘Best Picture’ for the overall game of the year, the awards also celebrate the best in game design, art, graphic design, production and rulebook work through individual awards.

Eve Inc-designed Nusutto Cat – also known as Meow Heist – triumphed in this year’s Game Design Award, while best art went to Totsuca Chuo’s Sweet Lands, which was illustrated by Tatsuki Asano and Broni120.

Moyuki Adisawa’s animal jet ski racing game Tornado Splash picked up the Graphic Design Award thanks to the work of iD Creative Co, while the Production Award went to National Economy and Toshinori Iwai.

The selection committee said of the Production Award win: “It’s great when a great game is revived. It’s even better when a great game is revived in the best possible form.

“This new edition not only makes the seemingly impossible revival of this masterpiece a reality, but also reinterprets it in a more refined way.

“The ‘box within a box’ structure, combining the three parts, is exciting even before you start playing, and the ‘household budget’ mechanism that characterizes this game is implemented clearly and beautifully as a ‘safe’.

“This masterpiece hasn’t lost its appeal even after ten years, and this new edition will be loved for even longer.”

The Rulebook Award, meanwhile, was bestowed upon ForGames-published Down Down Dungeon – a reimplementation of Reiner Knizia’s Cucina Curiosa/Mysterious Dungeons.

Yoshihiko Koriyama worked on the rulebook for that title, with proofreading from Shota Okano and DTP work from Makoto Takami. The selection committee said, “The fact that you can essentially understand the game rules by reading just one page is excellent.” 

A special award was also presented this year to Hisashi Hayashi, after his co-operative bomb disposal game Bomb Busters won last year’s Spiel des Jahres – beating the much-fancied push-your-luck card game Flip 7 to the high-profile award.

The win marked the first Spiel des Jahres triumph for an Asian designer in the prize’s 46-year history, and underscored the huge rise in tabletop designs making their way across from Asia to Europe and North America in the past decade.

Each winner will receive a golden board game box as a trophy.

Last year’s Golden Box Award game of the year prize was won by Isao Mukai and Napopora’s design Umataka, a worker placement game centred around hunter-gatherers making traditional pottery in ancient Japan.

The 2025 Golden Box Board Game Awards in full:

Best Picture

Winner: Petiquette, designed by Thomas Sellner (Published by Oink Games)
Banana Governance, Mukai (Mukai)
The Match Girl Millionaire (Hey!)

Outstanding Game Design

Winner: Nusutto Cat, Eve Inc (Ibuink)
Storm in a Teacup, Kyashi/Ikumo Tasaka (Gomi Kokusai/Waste International)
Switch To: mor! (Yontousei)

Art Award

Winner: Sweet Lands, Totsuca Chuo (Uchibacoya) – art by Tatsuki Asano and Broni120
A Boar, Crab, Dung Beatle, Takuya Iwamura (Kyuhachi Dog) – art by Takuya Iwamura
Ghost Lift, Onegear (Engames) – art by Sai Beppu

Graphic Design Award

Winner: Tornado Splash, Moyuki Adisawa (ArcLight Games) – graphic design by iD Creative
Vidro, Keita Kasagi (Bamboo Games) – graphic design by Kakuzato
Shady Lady, Kaya Miyano (Mob+) – graphic design by Sai Beppu

Best Production

Winner: National Economy, Hiroshi Nishimura (Korokorodou)
Down Down Dungeon, Reiner Knizia (ForGames)
Pose Mania!, Suitashi (Avignon Games)

Best Rulebook

Winner: Down Down Dungeon, Reiner Knizia (ForGames)
Electra Select (The Society for Appreciating Swaying Buds)
Snowp, Eisuke Fujinawa, Kazunori Hori (SzpiLAB)