Keltis, a board game designed by Reiner Knizia and published by Kosmos, has won the 2008 Spiel des Jahres, a German award for Family Game of the Year. Based on Knizia's brilliant archaeology-themed card game Lost Cities, Keltis is for 2 to 4 players. It is scheduled to be published in English by Rio Grande Games as Lost Cities: The Boardgame. Hopefully, that version will be available by the end of the year. This is the first SdJ for Knizia, one of the most accomplished game designers in the world. Other games nominated for the 2008 Spiel des Jahres included Blox, Suleika, Stone Age and Witch's Brew.

The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies, so seeing a new card game based on the film is exciting. The Princess Bride: Storming the Castle, published by Toy Vault, is for 2 to 4 players, has a suggested retail price of $25, and is expected to be available in July. According to the publisher's web site, Storming the Castle allows players to choose one of the "four major characters from The Princess Bride." The gameplay is described this way: "Face your opponents, cards against cards, in this fast-paced adventure. With only a handful of cards, your wits and luck, your goal is to storm the castle and save the Princess."