Berlin, May 19, 2026 - Great joy for publisher Schmidt Spiele and author Markus Slawitscheck: the spring novelty "Morty Sorty Magic Shop" has been nominated for this year's "Game of the Year". Every year, the prestigious award recognizes the best games of the year. Last year, Schmidt Spiele was already delighted to be nominated and ultimately even win the title of "Children's Game of the Year" for "Topp die Torte!". Now everyone is looking forward to the award ceremony on July 12, 2026 in Berlin. Particularly noteworthy: Markus Slawitscheck would make history with a win - as the first author whose games have won awards in all three "Game of the Year" categories (Game of the Year, Connoisseur Game of the Year and Children's Game of the Year). But the joy of the nomination already outweighs the joy of the nomination, because this alone is considered a great recognition: in total, only nine titles were able to prevail across all three categories from an impressive selection of 571 games.
The nominated game: "Morty Sorty Magic Shop"
The famous "Morty Sorty Magic Shop" - the first port of call for witches, wizards and quacks - is a hive of activity. The budding two to four sorting masters aged eight and over have to put the jars of ingredients on the shelves as skillfully as possible. Vying for the owner's favor, the magical youngsters gradually fill their own shelf tableau, which consists of three rows, with a jar of ingredients from the display drawn for the round. Strict but simple rules apply: The color of the lid determines which level the jar may be placed on, while the numbers per row must be in ascending order. The magic kittens and special jars that have been won give players small but significant advantages when putting things away. The shelves fill up slowly but surely until the bag with the jars of ingredients is empty. Then the moment of truth arrives for the apprentices: who has sorted their shelves the smartest and collected the most star points by using the same ingredients, complete rows of shelves, scoring rolls and badges? The family game "Morty Sorty Magic Shop" by Schmidt® Spiele offers a quick introduction and at the same time has a high replay value. Thanks to two-sided game boards, different badges and a variety of scoring rolls, new combinations are constantly being created - and therefore plenty of variety for anyone who wants to turn order into adventure.
Type: Tile placement game | Brand: Schmidt® Spiele | Number of players: 2-4 people | Age: 8 years and up | Time: approx. 30 minutes | Price: 32.99 euros (RRP)
The author: Markus Slawitscheck
Markus Slawitscheck, born in 1992, works as a teacher and game designer in Vienna. He loves inventing board games and testing them at weekly get-togethers with lots of wonderful people. But his favorite thing to play and test is with his partner July, who unfortunately wins against him far too often. It is important to him that his games evoke strong emotions. "Morty Sorty Magic Shop" is his eighth published game.
About Schmidt Spiele
The publisher Schmidt Spiele is one of the best-known German game manufacturers. It comprises the brands Schmidt® Spiele for puzzles, plush, children's, family and adult games, Drei Magier®, which stands for sophisticated children's games, and Selectra® for wooden toys. The foundation stone for the Schmidt® Spiele brand and the traditional company was laid in 1907 by Josef Friedrich Schmidt with the invention of the board game Mensch ärgere Dich nicht®. Other classics are Kniffel® and Ligretto®. The portfolio also includes numerous award-winning children's, family and connoisseur games. in 1997, Schmidt Spiele was taken over by Good Time Holding GmbH, headquartered in Berlin.
Further information: www.schmidtspiele.de
Image link (Credits: Schmidt Spiele): Morty Sorty Magic Shop
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