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Whenever a significant awards ceremony nears, there’s always a clamor for introducing additional classifications to honor underappreciated efforts and delight the hearts of followers who have specialized interests.

My colleague previously argued for a horror game category. It would be amazing. The same goes for tabletop games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I possess a compelling case supporting my request is the most urgent above others. Here's the proposal: There should be an award type for logic-based games.

The Genre Classification Challenge

Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and it will always spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why cinema institutions steer clear of genre categories. 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 achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.

Present Award Structure

The major gaming awards presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these six categories actually cover numerous genres, making space possible for most games within them.

Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, showing diverse approaches: structural challenges from a specific release, intense tile-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Which classification works within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.

The Representation Problem

Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games published annually that have no home at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.

• One classic puzzle game got overlooked completely in 2014
• A different innovative game was excluded that year
• Popular arranging title was overlooked recently
• Just some logic titles barely qualified for independent or mobile categories

Significance of Puzzle Games

Frequently they represent modest productions, however the design of the puzzle game holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games count as most popular titles worldwide and have been for over a decade.

The legendary block-stacking game competes with popular creative games claiming status as best-selling game of all time; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and engaging with diverse game types.

The Solution and Justification

Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences.

And to reiterate, these represent titles that otherwise have no home during prominent ceremonies. Puzzle game makers are working at the challenging frontier interactive creation, creating some of essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.