When it comes to evaluating the various Awards, it is important to know the voting system employed.  For example, if it is a general vote the result will inevitably be related to the number of people who own the game. 

A vast number own DOMINION; I’m one of them but there is no way I’d regard it as the year’s top game.  But if only a small percentage of the huge ownership like it a lot the vote will dwarf the number of people who own PLANET STEAM, for example, even if 100% who own it vote for it.

But, as I say, all of this only applies if this is the voting system used by Spielfrieks.

[I seem to remember that one year LOST CITIES was voted #1.]

Lost Cities won in 1999.  Here is the Meeples’ Choice website, with all of the past winners from 1995 through 2006:

http://www.meepleschoice.org/

That’s a shame about Ghost Stories.  Now my Game of the Year hasn’t overlapped with the Meeples’ Choice selections since Santiago in 2003.

Derek, there’s no question that more popular games will do better in the voting than the fringe titles.  But obviously popularity and quality aren’t independent of each other:  better games appeal to more people and therefore sell better.  These days, it’s harder and harder to find hidden gems; there’s so much information available that a lot of people are familiar with games from even the smallest publishers.

As you say, the voting system affects the results a lot.  The IGA awards, which are voted on by no more than 20 people, are very good at recognizing little known games.  The DSP’s, which are voted on by the gaming world at large, focus almost exclusively on widely available games.  I think the MCA’s fall somewhere in the middle.  We tend to have around 140 people vote and based on their voting patterns, they seem to be knowledgeable about that year’s games and familiar with a wide number of titles.  Some narrowly focused (at the time) games have done very well in the past and almost won.  Both Twilight Struggle and Through the Ages finished fourth in ‘05 and ‘06, respectively, despite a very limited number of published games.  Both probably would have grabbed one of the top spots had the voting occured a few months later.  So we have a balanced approach and a pleasing one, to my way of thinking.  This is particularly true since we have the IGA’s to recognize the lesser known games each year.

By the way, I expect this is just the beginning of the honors for Dominion.  It’s at least the co-favorite for the SdJ, presumably the overwhelming favorite for the DSP, and will certainly be one of the leading games for the IGA.  It isn’t my Game of the Year either (it doesn’t even make my Top 10 list), but its appeal to a wide number of gamers is obvious.  So this doesn’t figure to be a quirky choice by the MCA’s.

Finally, Lost Cities was one of the winners in 1999, but it actually finished third in the voting, behind Ra and Union Pacific.  The voting was conducted two years after the game’s appearance, which might have affected things.  The game that LC beat out for the third spot was Tikal, which, since it swept all the other major awards, was undoubtedly the most popular game that year.  So make of that what you will.

Thanks Larry for the very detailed explanation.  Much appreciated.