2009 Mensa Mind Game Award Winners

American Mensa has announced the winners of their 2009 Mind Games competition. The five games chosen are awarded the Mensa Select seal. The winners are:

Cornerstone (designed by by Matt Mette and Mike Thompson, published by Good Company Games). This is a 3-D strategy game requiring a steady hand and clever mind in order to build, climb and race to the top before it all comes tumbling down.

Dominion (designed by Donald X. Vaccarino, published by Rio Grande Games). Players compete to create the best deck of cards by buying action (10 of 25 possible each game), treasure, and victory cards. The deck with the most victory points wins.

Marrakech (designed by Dominique Ehrhard, published by Fundex Games). Each player takes the role of a salesperson who tries to outwit the others. Roll the dice, move Assam, and determine whether you must make a payment to lay a rug.

Stratum (designed by by José L. Navas, published by Family Games). Following the layering laws each player tries to cover up their opponent's pieces. The player with most exposed pieces wins.

Tic-Tac-Ku (designer not credited, published by ColorKu). An exciting twist on the age old favorite, Tic-Tac-Toe. The game has nine playing areas. Each player determines in which playing area his opponent may play. Object: win the most playing areas.

During the Mind Games competition, Mensa members play and rate new board and card games. Mensa Select games are chosen based on a variety of categories including aesthetics, instructions, originality, play appeal and play value.

"Mensa gamers had a wide selection of innovative games to play and evaluate during Mind Games this year," Dr. John Sheehan, development officer of American Mensa, said in a press release. "Mensa Select games are chosen based on a variety of categories including aesthetics, instructions, originality, play appeal and play value. The five games chosen exemplify these qualities and more."

This year's Mind Games competition was held April 24-26 in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky. More than 230 players reviewed 43 game entries.

American Mensa is an organization open to anyone who scores in the top two percent on an accepted, standardized intelligence test. The organization has more than 57,000 members in the United States and more than 110,000 members around the world.