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The Iconic Puzzle Game Couldn't Triumph at This Gaming Ceremony — A New Category Could Fix That

As any prominent honors show approaches, you'll find a demand for the addition additional classifications to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the spirits of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.

My colleague has already made for a horror game category. That would rule. So would strategy board titles, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. However, I must insist for pushing forward because like all single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request stands as crucial and significant. The demand is this: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.

The Genre Classification Challenge

Organizing artistic expressions is not a science; it’s very subjective, and inevitably start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that movie academies avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil in the world of video games, showing incredible range they hardly constitute a single creative category.

For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, genre categories are essential.

Current Gaming Award Categories

Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these award types successfully include many game types, making space possible accommodating various experiences.

This doesn't apply to puzzle games. There’s simply nowhere to put them. Think about these outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Where could they possibly go among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.

Acknowledgment Issues

There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly that have no home at major award shows, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.

  • A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated in any category during that awards season
  • A different innovative game received no nominations in 2019
  • Popular arranging title got ignored in 2021
  • Only a few logic titles managed to sneak into independent or mobile categories

Significance of Puzzle Games

Commonly they're small games, however the design of the puzzle game carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most popular titles in the world and have been for over a decade.

The legendary block-stacking game rivals famous sandbox experiences competing to become most purchased experience; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and engaging with almost every other genre.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. You could fill multiple candidates engaging, different, qualified experiences annually without trouble — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.

Restating the point, these are games without proper classification in important events. Puzzle game makers are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, creating some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay 35 years.

MR
About the author

Melissa Roth

Chess historian and database curator with over 20 years of experience in game analysis.

BritBase UK

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