🔗 Share this article The Iconic Puzzle Game Wouldn't Triumph at The Game Awards — An Additional Classification Might Solve This Whenever a major honors show draws close, there’s always an outcry to include of new categories to acknowledge overlooked contributions and delight the spirits of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres. My colleague made the case for a horror game category. That would rule. The same goes for tabletop games, which is a passionate advocate's mission. However, I must insist when I prioritize since similar to single-minded supporters, I possess a compelling case for why my demand stands as crucial above others. Here's the proposal: There should be a category for puzzle games. Organizing Gaming Categories Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; it remains highly personal, and inevitably spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that film award organizations avoid this approach. Yet it remains an essential concession in the world of gaming, showing incredible range they barely qualify as a single art form. For comprehensive acknowledgment of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial. Current Gaming Award Categories Leading game ceremonies offer these classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, making space possible accommodating various experiences. This doesn't apply to logic-based experiences. No suitable classification appears for their placement. Examine these examples from outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles in a particular game, intense tile-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Which classification works between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere. The Representation Problem Many instances occur outstanding logic titles released every year that have no home in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging Indie races. One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely in 2014 Another creative title was excluded in 2019 A beloved organization game got ignored that year Only a few logic titles barely qualified for niche award types Significance of Puzzle Games These are often small games, yet the craft of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as the most-played games globally maintaining this status for many years. The legendary block-stacking game challenges famous sandbox experiences claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with diverse game types. Proposal and Rationale Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. You could fill multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles. To emphasize again, these represent titles lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers operate at the hard edge interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. We shouldn't delay 35 years.