I'm a fan of awards, especially game awards, mainly because it gives us as a hobby and me personally a chance to reflect back on recent games and to compare them in an admittedly artificial yet potentially valuable way.  Often, reviews are written and games are evaluated against only some established standard, and from time to time I think that it's good to force ourselves to think about them in comparison to each other.  Of course, the awards themselves are completely subjective and dependent on both the criteria of the judging and the judges themselves, but that's what makes them a lot of fun to think about!  

To me, the Dice Tower Awards do a great job of comparing apples to apples because Tom and the rest of the gang give awards in so many different categories.  Liking both awards in general and The Dice Tower podcast quite a lot, I thought that I would spend a little time looking at their nominations and give what I think about them as well as making some predictions about what I think will win.  So here we go...  

Game of the Year:
Agricola
Battlestar Galactica
Dominion
Pandemic
Stone Age

My Opinion: Obviously, Pandemic would be my choice.  No need to expand on that more now.
My Prediction: This one is tough.  If it were just Tom and Sam, I'd say that Battlestar Galactica would take it for sure, but since the jury is quite a bit larger, Agricola certainly has a shot.  Arrrrghhh!  I could be wrong, but given who else is on the jury, my bet will be on Battlestar Galactica.

Small Publisher:
Galactic Emperor
Snow Tails
2 de Mayo
Pizza Box Baseball
Tinner's Trail

My Opinion: I guess that I really don't have one.  I haven't played any of these games, but based solely on reputation, I'd probably go with Tinner's Trail.
My Prediction: Again, my lack of experience with the games makes this difficult, but I think that the committee will vote for Tinner's Trail as well.

New Designer:
Ghost Stories (Antoine Bauza)
Timber Tom (Marco Bing)
Dominion (Donald X. Vaccarino)
Conflict of Heroes (Uwe Eickert)
2 de Mayo (Daniel Val)

My Opinion: First of all, it's a travesty that Matt Leacock isn't on this list.  I mean, Timber Tom is supposedly a nice game and all, but Pandemic is on a whole other level.  Of the ones nominated, I'd give the nod to Antoine Bauza for Ghost Stories. 
My Prediction: Hands down, I think that they'll give the award to Donald Vaccarino for Dominion. 

Best Reprint:
Formula D
Chinatown
Chicago Express
Cosmic Encounter
Talisman

My Opinion: This is a little tough for me as well.  I love Cosmic Encounter and picked up its reprint right away, but I think that I'd vote for Chicago Express myself, mainly because I doubt that I would have been exposed to it without the reprint.  There are a lot more copies of older Cosmic Encounter games floating around than there are of Wabash Cannonball, and I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to be exposed to this great stock-based train game. 
My Prediction: For my prediction, however, I've got to go with Cosmic Encounter.

Most Innovative:
Android
Battlestar Galactica
Dominion
Snow Tails
Space Alert

My Opinion: I'm not sure why Battlestar Galactica is on this list; I just don't see much unique about it.  Anyway, while Android had some really cool and groundbreaking mechanics on how to weave story and theme into a boardgame, I'd still have to give my vote to Space Alert for how it uses audio media and simultaneous action in a coop game (even though I've yet to see it in person).
My Prediction: Again, I assume that Space Alert will win.

Best Expansion:
Descent: Road to Legend
Last Night on Earth: Growing Hunger
Memoir '44: Mediterranean Expansion
Shadows Over Camelot: Merlin's Company
Time's Up: Title Recall

My Opinion: Descent: Road to Legend has certainly had more press, and I think that it does the most to revolutionize both how its base game is played and the whole way that it is framed as a campaign.
My Prediction: Descent: Road to Legend, definitely.

Best Artwork:
Battlestar Galactica
Formula D
Ghost Stories
Stone Age
Wasabi!

My Opinion: Battlestar Galactica makes another strange appearance on this list as well, because its graphic design is a mix of photographs from the series and functional but less-than-inspired art.  Somebody on the committee is just a little too BSG-happy.  Anyway, for me it's a toss up between Ghost Stories and Stone Age, with the nod probably going to Ghost Stories. 
My Prediction: I'm not sure, but I think that Stone Age may actually pull it out in the real voting. 

Best Family Game:
Formula D
Pandemic
Say Anything
Sorry! Sliders
Stone Age

My Opinion: In what may the only case where I wouldn't vote for Pandemic, I think that Sorry! Sliders is actually the best game for people of all ages on this list.
My Prediction: It's hard to say, but I'm going to be optimistic that the actual committee will be as enlightened as I am and say that Sorry! Sliders will take the award here as well.


That's my view on these nominations, and while I know that my opinion is clearly correct, what do y'all think?