🔗 Share this article

Whenever a significant prize-giving event approaches, there’s always an outcry to include fresh award types to honor unsung work and delight the spirits of followers dedicated to specific genres.

Another commentator previously argued supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. So would strategy board titles, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front because like all blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification backing this proposal is the most urgent above others. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create a classification for brain-teasing titles.

The Genre Classification Challenge

Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and inevitably spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains an unavoidable compromise in the world of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.

For the full spectrum of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.

Present Award Structure

Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications successfully include many game types, allowing placement for most games within them.

Not so for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears to accommodate them. Consider three of outstanding current releases, each quite distinct: building puzzles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. Which classification works between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.

The Representation Problem

Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.

• An iconic brain-teaser wasn’t nominated completely during that awards season
• Another imaginative release missed out that year
• Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
• Only a few logic titles managed to sneak into niche award types

Value of Brain-Teasers

These are often small games, however the design behind logic titles is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles globally and have been for many years.

The legendary block-stacking game competes with popular creative games competing to become best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and engaging with diverse game types.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. You could fill a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.

And to reiterate, these represent titles without proper classification at major gaming awards. Logic title developers function at the challenging frontier of video game design, producing among most fundamental forms within interactive entertainment. Just like film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay 35 years.