{"id":6478,"date":"2026-04-22T11:37:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T10:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/?p=6478"},"modified":"2026-05-12T12:05:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:05:26","slug":"arydia-leads-golden-geek-nominations-with-nods-in-six-categories-vantage-and-fate-of-the-fellowship-up-for-five-each","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/arydia-leads-golden-geek-nominations-with-nods-in-six-categories-vantage-and-fate-of-the-fellowship-up-for-five-each\/","title":{"rendered":"Arydia leads Golden Geek nominations with nods in six categories, Vantage and Fate of the Fellowship up for five each"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Co-op fantasy adventuring game Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread<\/a> has scored six nominations in the 20th annual Golden Geek Awards, which are selected and voted on by BoardGameGeek users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cody Miller’s “green legacy” design, which can be fully reset after each dozens-of-hours-long campaign, is up for heavy game of the year, most innovative game and best thematic game, as well as for the best artwork, solo game and co-op game categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fellow open-world exploration game Vantage<\/a>, designed by Scythe and Viticulture creator Jamey Stegmaier, is challenging across five categories this year, as is Pandemic creator Matt Leacock’s spin-off design The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both those titles will battle it out for the Medium Game of the Year prize, which is also being contested by popular releases including Eternal Decks<\/a> and fellow Stonemaier Games title Finspan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eternal Decks, a limited communication co-op game designed by Hiroken, has picked up four nominations<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Other titles picking up nominations across multiple categories included Eternal Decks, Star Trek: Captain’s Chair<\/a> and Hot Streak<\/a>, with four each, while Magical Athlete<\/a>, Molly House<\/a>, Luthier<\/a>, Galactic Cruise<\/a>, Corps of Discovery<\/a>, The Old King’s Crown<\/a>, Speakeasy<\/a> and The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era<\/a> all picked up three nods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Golden Geeks is one of board gaming’s highest profile awards, as well as being among the earliest of the major competitions to unveil its winners each year – with the Dice Tower Awards<\/a> falling in May, the Spiel des Jahres<\/a> in July and Deutscher Spiel Priese<\/a> in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notable awards which have already named their winners this year include France\u2019s highest-profile board game prize, the As d\u2019Or<\/a>, which picked Paolo Mori and Alessandro Zucchini\u2019s Toy Battle<\/a> in its main prize for 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toy Battle is nominated in two categories in the Golden Geeks: best two-player game and best wargame. The latter category will see the title go up against a huge variety of different designs, including Memoir ’44-inspired Star Wars: Battle of Hoth<\/a>, whist-themed English civil war strategy title A Very Civil Whist<\/a>, and heavyweight GMT Games releases such as Congress of Vienna<\/a> and Seljuk: Byzantium Besieged, 1068-1071<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as published board games, the Golden Geeks also features categories for best print and play design, best board game app and best podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voting will be undertaken by BoardGameGeek users who have paid an annual support fee in any year, who pay a one-time 20 GeekGold fee, or who have purchased an avatar on the site. They will rank nominees in individual categories, with voting set to end on April 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year’s Golden Geeks<\/a> saw Arcs, the hybrid trick-taking wargame from Root and Oath designer Cole Wehrle, win a trio of awards, while fellow space-themed game SETI notched up a pair of wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year’s Golden Geek Awards nominations in full:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2-Player Game<\/strong>
Azul Duel<\/a>
Duel for Cardia<\/a>
Everdell Duo<\/a>
Flamecraft Duals<\/a>
Iliad<\/a>
Star Trek: Captain’s Chair<\/a>
Star Wars: Battle of Hoth<\/a>
Tag Team<\/a>
Toy Battle<\/a>
Zenith<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artwork & Presentation<\/strong>
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread<\/a>
Eternal Decks<\/a>
Galactic Cruise<\/a>
Hot Streak<\/a>
The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship<\/a>
Luthier<\/a>
Magical Athlete<\/a>
The Old King’s Crown<\/a>
Speakeasy<\/a>
Vantage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cooperative Game<\/strong>
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread<\/a>
Corps of Discovery: A Game Set in the World of Manifest Destiny<\/a>
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era<\/a>
Eternal Decks<\/a>
The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship<\/a>
Nemesis: Retaliation<\/a>
Regicide Legacy<\/a>
Take Time<\/a>
Unmatched Adventures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/a>
Vantage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expansion<\/strong>
Castle Combo: Out of the Oubliette!<\/a>
Clank!: Catacombs \u2013 Underworld<\/a>
Dune: Imperium \u2013 Bloodlines<\/a>
Earth: Abundance<\/a>
Heat: Tunnel Vision<\/a>
The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth \u2013 Allies<\/a>
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Twisted Paths<\/a>
Sea Salt & Paper: Extra Pepper<\/a>
SETI: Space Agencies<\/a>
Wyrmspan: Dragon Academy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovative<\/strong>
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread<\/a>
Corps of Discovery: A Game Set in the World of Manifest Destiny<\/a>
Eternal Decks<\/a>
Hot Streak<\/a>
Light Speed: Arena<\/a>
Molly House<\/a>
Moon Colony Bloodbath<\/a>
The Old King’s Crown<\/a>
Tag Team<\/a>
Vantage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Light GOTY<\/strong>
Duel for Cardia<\/a>
Flamecraft Duals<\/a>
FlipToons<\/a>
The Hobbit: There and Back Again<\/a>
Hot Streak<\/a>
Magical Athlete<\/a>
Railroad Tiles<\/a>
Star Wars: Battle of Hoth<\/a>
Take Time<\/a>
Toy Battle<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medium GOTY<\/strong>
The Druids of Edora<\/a>
Eternal Decks<\/a>
Finspan<\/a>
Formaggio<\/a>
The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship<\/a>
Moon Colony Bloodbath<\/a>
Sanctuary<\/a>
Skara Brae<\/a>
Vantage<\/a>
Zenith<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heavy GOTY<\/strong>
Ada’s Dream<\/a>
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread<\/a>
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era<\/a>
Galactic Cruise<\/a>
Luthier<\/a>
Molly House<\/a>
The Old King’s Crown<\/a>
Speakeasy<\/a>
Star Trek: Captain’s Chair<\/a>
Sweet Lands<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Party Game<\/strong>
Alibis<\/a>
Barbecubes<\/a>
Brick Like This!<\/a>
La Cuenta<\/a>
Hitster Rock: Bob!<\/a>
Hot Streak<\/a>
Light Speed: Arena<\/a>
Magical Athlete<\/a>
Take Time<\/a>
Wine Cellar<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Print & Play<\/strong>
52 Duels<\/a>
Chronicles of Civilization<\/a>
Crosswhords!<\/a>
Dungeons of the Oak Dell<\/a>
Elevation (fan expansion for Android: Netrunner)<\/a>
The Promise<\/a>
Rise of the Oak Dell<\/a>
Terra Mystica: Fan Factions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solo Game<\/strong>
The Anarchy<\/a>
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread<\/a>
Corps of Discovery: A Game Set in the World of Manifest Destiny<\/a>
Deckers<\/a>
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era<\/a>
The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship<\/a>
Skara Brae<\/a>
Star Trek: Captain’s Chair<\/a>
Unstoppable<\/a>
Vantage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thematic Game<\/strong>
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread<\/a>
Galactic Cruise<\/a>
The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship<\/a>
Luthier<\/a>
Molly House<\/a>
Moon Colony Bloodbath<\/a>
Nemesis: Retaliation<\/a>
Speakeasy<\/a>
Star Trek: Captain’s Chair<\/a>
Vantage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wargame<\/strong>
Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars<\/a>
China’s War 1937-1941<\/a>
Congress of Vienna<\/a>
Cross Bronx Expressway<\/a>
Fields of Fire: Deluxe Edition<\/a>
General Orders: Sengoku Jidai<\/a>
Seljuk: Byzantium Besieged, 1068-1071<\/a>
Star Wars: Battle of Hoth<\/a>
Toy Battle<\/a>
A Very Civil Whist<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Podcast<\/strong>
Blue Peg, Pink Peg<\/a>
Board Game Hot Takes<\/a>
Board Games Insider<\/a>
Decision Space<\/a>
Five Games for Doomsday<\/a>
Game Brain: A Board Game Podcast About Our Gaming Group<\/a>
Shelf Stable: A Board Gaming Podcast<\/a>
Space-Biff! Space-Cast!<\/a>
Sporadically Board with Mike and Dan<\/a>
Talk Cardboard<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Board Game App<\/strong>
Ark Nova<\/a>
Carnegie: The Board Game<\/a>
Cascadia Digital<\/a>
Caverna<\/a>
The Isle of Cats<\/a>
Kingdomino: The Board Game<\/a>
MicroMacro: Downtown Detective<\/a>
Reiner Knizia’s My City<\/a>
SpaceCorp<\/a>
Watergate – The Board Game<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more stories like this direct to your email inbox, click here to sign up for BoardGameWire’s free email newsletter. \n\nAnd if you’ve found our reporting interesting or useful, please consider a paid subscription to help support our journalism!<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Other titles picking up nominations across multiple categories included Eternal Decks, Star Trek: Captain’s Chair and Hot Streak, with four each, while Magical Athlete, Molly House, Luthier, Galactic Cruise, Corps of Discovery, The Old King’s Crown, Speakeasy and The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era all picked up three nods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2292,2293,16,6,135,14,2108,307,18,19,2294,2295,673,2147],"class_list":["post-6478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-arydia","tag-arydia-the-paths-we-dare-tread","tag-award","tag-board-game","tag-board-games","tag-boardgamegeek","tag-fate-of-the-fellowship","tag-game-of-the-year","tag-golden-geek","tag-golden-geek-awards","tag-lord-of-the-rings-fate-of-the-fellowship","tag-nomination","tag-nominees","tag-vantage"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t