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Each time a major awards ceremony draws close, there’s always a demand for introducing additional classifications to honor overlooked contributions and fill the spirits of fans with niche passions.

A fellow writer previously argued for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are tabletop games, representing someone's personal cause. However, I must insist when I prioritize just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent and significant. The demand is this: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.

The Genre Classification Challenge

Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; it remains highly personal, and inevitably start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. It's understandable that movie academies avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil in the world of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they barely qualify a single creative category.

For comprehensive acknowledgment of achievement in video games to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, classification by type becomes crucial.

Existing Game Classification System

The major gaming awards currently feature classifications covering Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these classifications successfully include numerous genres, allowing placement for numerous titles.

Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from this year’s best games, each quite distinct: building puzzles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Which classification works among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.

The Representation Problem

Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games launched regularly without proper recognition in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit award groups including Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.

• A renowned logic title got overlooked completely in 2014
• Another creative title received no nominations during that ceremony
• Well-received sorting experience got ignored that year
• Limited numbers of brain-teasers barely qualified for small studio or handheld classifications

Value of Brain-Teasers

Frequently they represent modest productions, but the art behind logic titles is of massive significance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most popular titles worldwide continuing this trend for many years.

The legendary block-stacking game competes with popular creative games for the title of best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.

Proposal and Rationale

Logic titles wouldn't face that issue. One could readily select five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude so many good games out.

Restating the point, these are games without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the demanding boundary interactive creation, developing some of the purest expressions of the video game form. Similar to film action specialists, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay decades.