THE BOARD GAME JURY PÅ FASTAVALAT FASTAVAL
Every year at Fastaval, a board game jury is appointed to decide which designer board games are nominated for and win the Otto Awards. For many participants, it can be difficult to understand how the process of reading, testing and selecting the board games works and how much work the judges put into being fair and balanced towards both the board games and the designers. Below, you can read about how the judges are selected and how their assessment process works.
This year's board game jury at Fastaval 2026
Head Judge
Steen Bach Hansen
Steen has spent one year as a regular member of the board-game jury and is now serving his third and final year as head judge. His love of board games spans wide, whether he is immersing himself in complex games that challenge the player and demand dedicated focus, or enjoying simple games that create space for cosy conversation and laughter. During his time at Fastaval, he has far more often been found at the board-gaming tables than at the role-playing sessions.
When it comes to complex games, Steen is especially fond of titles that offer multiple paths to victory and allow players to surprise one another or shift the state of the game precisely because of those varied routes to success. Steen is particularly fond of Ameritrash and eurogames.
When the focus is on being social and having a good laugh, he prefers games that balance simple rules with social interaction—where the game remains in focus without demanding all of the players’ attention. Games like Alias and Cards Against Humanity can keep Steen entertained for hours.
These days, Steen spends his board-gaming time on Fantasy Planet and on teaching his family why complex games are the best kind of games.
Anna Alberte Krølner
Anna has been playing board games for as long as she can remember, having grown up in a family that loves board games. She first attended Fastaval in 2023 with two friends and won Gamerush. The following year, she participated as a designer, and since then she has been captivated by board game design and mechanics. At the last Fastaval, she had the pleasure of participating as a board game judge, which was a fantastic and educational experience.
In addition to her passion for board games, she is also passionate about all forms of voluntary association work. Anna’s favourite board game is definitely Spirit Island, as she loves how all the different elements fit together. The more she has to sit and keep track of things and think, the better! But when there is no time for longer board games, she is always ready for a round of Love Letter or Escape: The Curse of the Temple. This is her fourth year at Fastaval, and she is very much looking forward to diving into all the games and the big “judge live” on Saturday.
Anne Lykke Pedersen
Anne has participated in Fastaval for many years, where she primarily played board games and bar-live. In 2026, she is joining as a jury member for the third time. She greatly appreciates the exciting process of evaluating the many new and interesting games created each year for Fastaval. Approaching games in a more analytical way has also inspired her to begin working on her own game—so perhaps you’ll find her listed as a designer at a future Fastaval.
Anne enjoys discovering new games as much as revisiting old favourites such as Terraforming Mars and Carcassonne. Heavy eurogames and legacy games hold a special place in her heart, but more accessible titles—such as deduction, trick-taking, puzzle, and party games—also have their rightful place on the board-game shelf at home.
This year, Anne and the rest of the jury will once again focus on making the board-game competition even better, more streamlined, and more visible at Fastaval—hopefully to the benefit and delight of both players and designers.
Pax Meier
Since their first year as a board-game Otto judge in 2024, Pax’s energy in the field has not faded—in fact, quite the opposite. You can spot Pax wearing their designer hat all over the world, from Designer Retreat or the Board-Game Festival in Aarhus to “Test-a-Board-Game” in Odense. As a designer themself, Pax views games with an analytic eye and appreciates elegantly crafted designs with good flow and short downtime between meaningful decisions. Those meaningful decisions are the key to Pax’s heart.
Their favourites range from A Feast for Odin and Ares Expedition to Gaia Project, Root, and Dune: Imperium. Pax has played games their whole life, growing up on Myretuen, Monopoly, and Magic: The Gathering. When they moved out, the board-game collection was easily what took up the most space—and in Pax’s view, that’s exactly how it should be.
They are very much looking forward to once again playing all the year’s games and continuing the strong results from the past two years, during which they have made an effort to be visible and in close contact with the board-game designers throughout Fastaval.
Anne Mee Kalvig
Anne Mee is extremely fond of board games and spends much of her free time playing them. Over the years, she has accumulated more than 100 different titles in her own board-game collection, and she happily supports crowdfunding campaigns—both for brand-new games and for special editions of (old) classics.
Her love of board games is wide-ranging, but she has a clear preference for more complex games and heavy eurogames. Games that involve bluffing or a significant amount of luck—such as dice-rolling—are not the types she appreciates most, mostly because she is generally terrible at lying and doesn’t consider herself particularly lucky when it comes to rolling dice.
Some board-game mechanics Anne Mee is especially fond of include worker placement, action drafting, and hand management. In recent years, she has become a big fan of the new wave of legacy games, but she also enjoys board games with mechanics that feel unlike anything she has tried before.
Her current favourite games are Ark Nova, SETI, and Gloomhaven. Anne Mee is looking forward to trying lots of new board games at Fastaval.
Sif Larsen
Sif has always had a special fondness for board games. There’s something truly unique about gathering around a table, putting the phone aside, immersing yourself in a shared universe, and taking a break from everyday life.
Over the years, Sif has become a seasoned Fastaval participant, spending much of her time playing both familiar and new board games.
Board games give her the chance to challenge herself on several levels. She enjoys the sense of strategy, excitement, and the small tactical choices that can turn an entire game around. This is especially true when Sif plays one of her favourite games, Shadows Over Camelot.
In recent years, Sif has helped playtest a few games still in development, and that process has been incredibly exciting and engaging. It’s one of the reasons she agreed to join the board-game jury this year.
Every game has its own atmosphere, making the experience new each time. That may be why Sif always says yes to a game—it’s not just a hobby, but a small joy she never grows tired of.
BEFORE FASTAVAL
The head jury is found at Fastaval the year before and is usually picked by the previous head jury. The head jury then appoints a jury consisting of a total of five members, including the head jury. These members are selected with the aim of creating a diverse and balanced jury with both game designers and players, as well as people with different tastes in board games.
Before the board games are submitted, the jury holds meetings where, among other things, they agree on the process and how the Otto categories are to be interpreted.
When the rules are submitted in the month leading up to Fastaval, they are read through by the jury, and this is where first impressions of the material can be formed.
DURING FASTAVAL
During Fastaval, the jury will play the games themselves so that each game is played by at least two of the jury members. In addition, they will communicate with players and designers after the games have been played to get a better impression of the games. The judges will also collect feedback notes from the players, which will be important for the final decision.
On Saturday, the jury will lock themselves away for the whole day to decide who to nominate and who will win. The assessment will be based on 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 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 receive their feedback slips back while the judges finalise the last details 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, which can be found here . These definitions were discussed by the jury before the games were submitted. The games are largely judged on their own merits. For example, a party game will be judged on whether it actually creates social interaction rather than on its strategic depth.
All the games will be thoroughly discussed to ensure that every angle is covered and every argument is examined from every angle. This is not just a simple vote.
AFTER FASTAVAL
After Fastaval, the jury will begin writing feedback to all participating designers. The feedback is intended to be used both to improve the game with a view to possible further development and to develop new games for Fastaval or elsewhere.
