2020 – Diamond Climber Board Game Award Winners

Join us as we announce the winners of the Meeple Mountain 2020 Diamond Climber Awards.

2020 was rough; there’s no polite way to phrase it. But board games were a bright spot in a terrible year, and in some case even helped preserve our sanity. They continue to connect friends, family, and even perfect strangers, even when we can’t be together in person. The nominees on this list took us to the Red Planet with On Mars, and dungeon crawling with Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion. We made quilts for kitties in Calico, and tended our lawns in Village Green. We harvested the spice melange in Dune: Imperium, and dug our toes into the sandy beach of Santa Monica. But most of all we played games, and celebrated the fact that 2020 didn’t beat us.

So without further ado please join me in congratulating the winners of the 2020 Diamond Climber board game awards.

Best Artwork

On Mars

Best Artwork Nominees
Fan Favorite Winner: Excavation Earth

Best Light Game

Village Green

Best Light Game Nominees
  • Gudetama: The Tricky Egg Card Game
  • Ohanami
  • Unmatched: Cobble & Fog
  • Village Green
  • Zombie Teenz Evolution
Fan Favorite Winner: Silver & Gold

Best Family Game

Calico

Best Family Game Nominees
Fan Favorite Winner: My City

Best Coop Game

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion

Best Coop Nominees
  • Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
  • The Princess Bride Adventure Book Game
  • X-ODUS: Rise of the Corruption
  • Zombie Teenz Evolution
Fan Favorite Winner: Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps

Best Solo Game

Under Falling Skies

Best Solo Nominees
  • Aurelian Restorer of the World
  • By Stealth and Sea
  • The Hunted: Twilight of the U-Boats, 1943-45
  • Personal Space
  • Under Falling Skies
  • Warp’s Edge
Fan Favorite Winner: Under Falling Skies

Best Two Player Game

The Shores of Tripoli

Best Two Player Nominees
  • Aqualin
  • Far Away
  • Imperial Struggle
  • The Shores of Tripoli
  • Twin Princes: Reborn Edition
  • Unmatched: Cobble & Fog
Fan Favorite Winner: World of Tanks: Miniatures Game

Best Heavy Strategy / Euro Game

On Mars

Best Euro Nominees
  • Dune: Imperium
  • Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road
  • On Mars
  • Paris
  • Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun
Fan Favorite Winner: Lost Ruins of Arnak

Game of the Year

Calico

Game of the Year Nominees
  • Calico
  • Dune: Imperium
  • Lost Ruins of Arnak
  • Project L
  • The Shores of Tripoli
Fan Favorite Winner: Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps

Related board games

About the author

Andy Matthews

Founder of Meeple Mountain, editor in chief of MeepleMountain.com, and software engineer. Father of 4, husband to 1, lover of games, books, and movies, and all around nice guy. I run Nashville Game Night, and Nashville Tabletop Day.

3 Comments

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  • Wow, the trend continues… On Mars wins ‘Heavy Strategy/Euro,’ while Dune: Imperium bypasses it for ‘Game of the Year’ nomination. Third time this has happened in as many years and now I’m tempted to dig deeper into the data.

  • I love the mentions for Zombie Teenz. A great experience with my son, and ultimately more interesting gameplay than the original. Such a fantastic series.

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