{"id":6485,"date":"2026-04-22T13:17:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T12:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/?p=6485"},"modified":"2026-04-22T14:40:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:40:40","slug":"high-iq-society-mensa-reveals-its-top-board-games-after-annual-four-day-judging-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/boardgamewire.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/high-iq-society-mensa-reveals-its-top-board-games-after-annual-four-day-judging-marathon\/","title":{"rendered":"High-IQ society Mensa reveals its top board games after annual four-day judging marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The American arm of high IQ society Mensa<\/a> has unveiled the latest crop of board games winning its Mensa Select seal, which are voted on by hundreds of organisation members during an annual four-day gaming marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Cutler and Peter C Hayward both saw two of their creations win the seal this year, including their co-design Critter Kitchen<\/a>, Hayward’s Things in Rings<\/a> and Cutler’s A Place for All My Books<\/a> – which he co-created with Michael Mihealsick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things in Rings publisher Allplay<\/a> also saw its title Twinkle Twinkle<\/a>, designed by Ammon Anderson, pick up a Select seal, while other winners this year included Matthew O’Malley and Ben Rosset’s Fromage<\/a>, Yoann Levet’s Got Five<\/a> and Tom\u00e1\u0161 Holek design Galileo Galilei<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entries to the annual Mensa Mind Games<\/a> are judged on aesthetics, instructions, originality, play appeal and play value, Mensa says, with the award aiming to highlight games that are original in concept, challenging and well-designed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all games released during the past year are eligible for the award, however – entries carry a fee of several hundred dollars each, and games up for consideration need to have an average play time of 90 minutes or less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barnes & Noble and other major retailers have previously given special consideration to games bearing the Mensa Select seal, while winning games are also featured by American Mensa\u2019s official online retailers and on its website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fromage is the most decorated of this year’s seal winners, having previously won the Origins Award for best light strategy game, as well as picking up nominations for medium game of the year, most innovative game and best artwork in the 2024 Golden Geek Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fromage, designed by Matthew O’Malley and Ben Rosset<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Things in Rings was previously nominated in both the Golden Geeks and Origins Awards in the best party game category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year’s Mensa Select seal winners<\/a> included\u00a0Agueda: City of Umbrellas<\/a>, Diatoms<\/a>, Hutan<\/a>,\u00a0In the Footsteps of Marie Curie<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Farms Race: Deluxe Edition<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year’s Mensa Select seal winners in full:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n