Tetris Didn't Succeed at The Game Awards — Another Award Type May Address This Issue

Whenever a significant honors show nears, you'll find a clamor for the addition of new categories to honor overlooked contributions and satisfy the hearts of followers with niche passions.

A fellow writer has already made for a horror game category. That would rule. Equally deserving are tabletop games, this being a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward because like all dedicated enthusiasts, there's a strong justification backing this proposal is the most urgent and significant. This is the request: We need a category for puzzle games.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Categorizing art by genre is not a science; it remains highly personal, and inevitably spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that cinema institutions avoid this approach. But it is an unavoidable compromise for the industry of gaming, showing incredible range they hardly constitute as a single art form.

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

Present Award Structure

Leading game ceremonies offer these genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these award types actually cover many game types, making space possible accommodating various experiences.

Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Think about these outstanding current releases, all very different: structural challenges from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.

Recognition Challenges

There are dozens outstanding logic titles released every year that have no home at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.

• One classic puzzle game wasn’t nominated for anything during that awards season
• Another creative title missed out during that ceremony
• Popular arranging title got ignored recently
• Limited numbers of brain-teasers managed to sneak into niche award types

Value of Brain-Teasers

Commonly they're modest productions, yet the craft behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among most engaged experiences in the world and have been for many years.

The legendary block-stacking game challenges popular creative games competing to become highest-selling title ever; it’s also in the running for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, while interacting across multiple categories.

Proposal and Rationale

Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.

And to reiterate, these are games lacking appropriate categories in important events. Brain-teaser creators function at the demanding boundary interactive creation, producing among essential manifestations of gaming itself. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Don't make them wait decades.