The Iconic Puzzle Game Wouldn't Triumph at The Game Awards — Another Award Type Might Solve This

Whenever a major honors show nears, there’s always an outcry for introducing of new categories to recognize unsung work and fill the hearts of enthusiasts who have specialized interests.

A fellow writer has already made advocating for terror-themed awards. That would rule. The same goes for tabletop games, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward because like all blinkered fanatics, there's a strong justification supporting my request is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: We need an award type for logic-based games.

The Genre Classification Challenge

Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it remains highly personal, and typically generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains an essential concession in the world of gaming, which are so diverse they barely qualify as a single art form.

To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, while allowing diverse titles to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial.

Present Award Structure

Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include classifications covering Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications effectively encompass many game types, and you can find room for most games within them.

Not so for puzzle games. No appropriate category exists to put them. Consider three of outstanding current releases, all very different: building puzzles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. Which classification works between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.

Acknowledgment Issues

Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles released every year lacking appropriate categories in entertainment awards, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.

  • A renowned logic title received no recognition for anything in 2014
  • Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
  • Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
  • Only a few logic titles managed to sneak into niche award types

Value of Brain-Teasers

Commonly they're compact experiences, yet the craft in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Well-known matching games stand as most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for many years.

The iconic tile-matching title competes with popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it also contends for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter such difficulty. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.

Restating the point, these include experiences that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the demanding boundary game development, developing some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.

Brett Murray
Brett Murray

A seasoned gaming journalist with a passion for uncovering the best online casino experiences and sharing actionable tips.