This paper examines “Wörter des Jahres”, annually compiled and published by the “Gesellschaft für Deutsche Sprache”, as an innovative approach to teaching German as a Foreign Language and “Landeskunde” in particular. Since they deal with as well as illustrate new developments in German both linguistically and thematically, the “Wörter des Jahres” seem particularly useful for a concept of teaching informed by pedagogic models of games. Simultaneously, a light can be shed on the existing social and political debates crystallized in “Wörter des Jahres”. This newly devised game model intends to establish a cultural, didactic and intertextual approach for teaching German as a Foreign Language while combining different media and texts.