🔗 Share this article Tetris Wouldn't Win at The Game Awards — Another Award Type Could Fix That As any major prize-giving event nears, one notices a demand for the addition additional classifications to honor unsung work and fill the hearts of fans dedicated to specific genres. A fellow writer made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. The same goes for tabletop games, representing someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front because like all dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification backing this proposal remains most pressing above others. This is the request: We need an award type for logic-based games. Categorizing Game Types Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and it will always spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is an unavoidable compromise within the realm of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they hardly constitute a single creative category. For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial. Current Gaming Award Categories Leading game ceremonies offer these genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these classifications successfully include many game types, allowing placement for numerous titles. Not so for brain-teasing titles. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: building puzzles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them within current classifications? Unfortunately, nowhere. Acknowledgment Issues There are dozens outstanding logic titles published annually without proper recognition at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive Indie races. One classic puzzle game received no recognition completely in 2014 A different innovative game received no nominations that year A beloved organization game was overlooked in 2021 Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for independent or mobile categories Significance of Puzzle Games These are often small games, but the art behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most engaged experiences in the world continuing this trend for over a decade. The iconic tile-matching title competes with famous sandbox experiences for the title of highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting with almost every other genre. Recommendation and Reasoning Logic titles wouldn't face such difficulty. You could fill five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences. To emphasize again, these represent titles that otherwise have no home in important events. Puzzle game makers are working at the demanding boundary of video game design, creating some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Just like cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay decades.