Over the past few weeks, the jury has been smashing TVs, scoring plant and animal species, and playing mini-games – all in the form of games! Which creator will win this year’s award for the best new children’s game? Check out the top 10 games that are in the running for the Game Award and come and play them yourself during the Cinekid Festival!
This year saw even more submissions than last year: a total of 55 entries from 23 different countries.
The jury praises the creativity and artwork of the submitted games, and a notable trend this year is that many games focus on offering a relaxing experience, with beautiful visuals, calming soundscapes, and the exploration of new worlds and nature.
A jury of three game professionals selected the top 10: virtual reality developer and art designer Tim van Nielen, Martine Spaans from Dutch Game Garden, and Aran Koning from the game creators collective Sokpop. They used three selection criteria to determine their top 10 from all the submissions:
The Junior Crew – a group of children aged 7 to 12 who help shape the Cinekid Festival – will choose the final winner from the top 10. The creator of the winning game will receive the Cinekid Game Award on October 23, 2025, along with a Cinekid Lion and a cash prize of €2,500.
Cinekid is the world’s largest festival for children’s film and media. The 39th edition of the festival will take place from 11 to 26 October 2025. During the festival, Cinekid presents the MediaLab, an exhibition of interactive and immersive installations, workshops and games in Amsterdam and 14 other cities in the Netherlands.