DIXIT - Spiel Des Jahres 2010

Dixit

The most beautiful game you'll ever play with words you can't quite find.

Some games test your strategy. Dixit tests your imagination — and your ability to read the people sitting across the table from you.

Designed by Jean-Louis Roubira and illustrated with genuinely stunning, dreamlike artwork by Marie Cardouat, Dixit was released in 2008 and quickly became one of the most beloved storytelling games ever made. It won the 2010 Spiel des Jahres — the most prestigious award in board gaming — along with more than 30 other awards and nominations worldwide. 

How Dixit works

Each round, one player becomes the storyteller. They look at the surreal, beautifully illustrated cards in their hand and choose one — then offer a single word, phrase, or sentence that captures something about it, without showing anyone the card itself.

Everyone else quietly searches their own hand for a card that could also fit that clue, and passes it to the storyteller face down. All the cards — the storyteller's original and everyone else's guesses — get shuffled together and laid out for the whole table to see. Now everyone has to guess: which one was the real card?

Guess too obviously and everyone finds it immediately — the storyteller scores nothing. Be too vague and nobody finds it — same result. The sweet spot, the place where the real game lives, is somewhere in between. Score points by guessing correctly, and score points by tricking other players into picking your card instead. First to 30 points wins.

Why it's a genuine must-have

There's a reason Dixit keeps appearing on best-of lists more than fifteen years after release. The artwork alone is worth the price — every card feels like it was pulled from someone's dream. The gameplay rewards creativity and emotional intelligence over memorisation or maths, which means kids, grandparents, and everyone in between can play together on genuinely equal footing. It's one of the rare games that gets more interesting the better you know the people you're playing with.

The details

• Players: 3–6 (up to 8 with house rules, more with expansions)
• Playing time: 30 minutes
• Ages: 8+
• Designer: Jean-Louis Roubira
• Artist: Marie Cardouat
• Publisher: Libellud

Perfect for: Family game nights, mixed-age groups, creative thinkers, gift-giving, anyone who's tired of games that reward maths over imagination