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Whenever a major awards ceremony nears, one notices a demand to include fresh award types to recognize underappreciated efforts and fill the spirits of followers who have specialized interests.

My colleague made the case for a horror game category. That would rule. So would board games, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist when I prioritize since similar to blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand remains most pressing above others. Here's the proposal: We need a category for puzzle games.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and typically start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil in the world of video games, showing incredible range they barely qualify one unified medium.

For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.

Existing Game Classification System

The major gaming awards offer these award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these classifications actually cover a lot of ground, allowing placement for most games within them.

This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Think about these outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. What category would fit them between these six categories? Unfortunately, nowhere.

Recognition Challenges

Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the extremely competitive independent game categories.

• One classic puzzle game received no recognition in any category in 2014
• Another creative title missed out during that ceremony
• Popular arranging title got ignored that year
• Only a few brain-teasers managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories

Value of Brain-Teasers

Commonly they're small games, but the art of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most popular titles in the world maintaining this status for over a decade.

The iconic tile-matching title competes with famous sandbox experiences claiming status as most purchased experience; it also contends for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. It would be easy to populate a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.

And to reiterate, these include experiences without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, developing some of the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.