Friedberg, May 20, 2026: On Tuesday afternoon, the Spiel des Jahres (German Game of the Year) jury announced the shortlists and nominations for Children’s Game, Core Game, and Game of the Year 2026. Boss Fighters QR, from the Pegasus Spiele portfolio, has been nominated for Kennerspiel des Jahres (German Core Game of the Year). In this cooperative card game, developed by Michael Palm and Lukas Zach, with innovative app integration, players team up to battle various bosses.
Following Pegasus Spiele’s success last year, when Hisashi Hayashi’s Bomb Busters was awarded Spiel des Jahres, another title from the publisher’s portfolio has made it onto this year’s shortlist: Boss Fighters QR by Michael Palm and Lukas Zach has been nominated for Kennerspiel des Jahres 2026. Back in 2023, another game by the same design duo was named Spiel des Jahres: Dorfromantik – The Board Game. In Boss Fighters QR, the combination of classic card game elements and seamless app integration creates a unique gaming experience as two to four players aged ten and up team up to face ten unique bosses.
First, players freely combine a hero deck (jungle troll, hill halfling, copper dwarf, or wood elf) with a class deck (warrior, mage, rogue, or druid). Using the Scan & Play feature, the QR codes on the backs of the cards are then scanned using the front camera of a mobile device. The app guides players through the gameplay and controls the bosses, who constantly present exciting challenges with different attack patterns and tricky tactics in sessions lasting about 40 to 60 minutes each. With four different boss difficulty levels – from Beginners to Insane – the gaming experience can be customized for any group, from families to advanced gamers.
The Boss Fighters QR app, available for free on iOS and Android, not only manages the bosses and their attacks but also regularly provides free in-game updates, such as seasonal bonus bosses. During Christmas and Easter, players were able to face off against Grummelbart and the Eggsecutor, respectively. In the coming weeks, the first five bosses will also be released in their Elite Boss variants. This allows groups that have already completed the campaign to face a stronger version of the bosses. In addition to adapting to the upgrades and items the group collected during the campaign, the Elite Bosses also present small new challenges. The Boss Fighters QR playmats are also expected to be released in June. In a 4-pack, they include all four characters and provide an even more immersive gaming experience and added clarity on the game table. Additional app and physical content is currently in the works.
The jury explains its nomination of Boss Fighters QR for the 2026 Core Game of the Year award:
“Finding a common strategy as a group of heroes is a challenge that is as appealing as it is unifying. Individual strengths clash with surprising enemy abilities. The difficulty level can be adjusted to the group thanks to the intuitive app. Increasingly powerful bosses provide plenty of excitement.”
Pegasus Spiele is looking forward to the Spiel des Jahres awards ceremony on July 12, 2026, in Berlin, when the most prestigious awards for board, card, and party games will be announced.
