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Whenever a major awards ceremony draws close, there’s always a clamor to include additional classifications to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and satisfy the hearts of fans dedicated to specific genres.

My colleague made the case supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. So would strategy board titles, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me if I try to elbow in front because like all single-minded supporters, there's a strong justification supporting my request stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: We need a category for puzzle games.

Categorizing Game Types

Classifying creative works is not a science; it remains highly personal, and it will always spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is an essential concession for the industry of gaming, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.

For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.

Existing Game Classification System

The major gaming awards currently feature genre categories for Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these award types successfully include many game types, making space possible for most games within them.

Different situation exists for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Think about these outstanding current releases, all very different: structural challenges from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles of a third title. What category would fit them between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.

The Representation Problem

There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition at major award shows, if they accidentally match award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.

• One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely that year
• Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
• A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
• Limited numbers of puzzle games scraped into niche award types

Value of Brain-Teasers

Commonly they're modest productions, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as the most-played games worldwide and have been for over a decade.

The legendary block-stacking game challenges well-known building titles for the title of best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running as greatest title ever. Logic titles represent cornerstones within interactive entertainment, and engaging with almost every other genre.

Proposal and Rationale

Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. It would be easy to populate five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent numerous deserving experiences.

Restating the point, these represent titles that otherwise have no home at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the hard edge interactive creation, developing some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. We shouldn't delay 35 years.