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Each time a major honors show draws close, you'll find a demand to include fresh award types to honor unsung work and satisfy the spirits of fans dedicated to specific genres.

My colleague previously argued for a horror game category. It would be amazing. So would 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 have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent above others. The demand is this: There should be a category for puzzle games.

Categorizing Game Types

Organizing artistic expressions isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and it will always start arguments resulting in unclear classifications. This explains why cinema institutions avoid this approach. But it is a necessary evil within the realm of interactive entertainment, which are so diverse they hardly constitute one unified medium.

To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to be recognized, and to ensure all game types to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.

Present Award Structure

Leading game ceremonies currently feature award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these award types actually cover a lot of ground, allowing placement for most games within them.

Not so for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: the architectural riddles from a specific release, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.

The Representation Problem

Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games released every year that have no home at major award shows, if they accidentally match for categories like Mobile Game, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested small studio competitions.

• An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked in any category in 2014
• Another imaginative release missed out that year
• Popular arranging title was overlooked that year
• Limited numbers of logic titles scraped into independent or mobile categories

Significance of Puzzle Games

These are often modest productions, however the design of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Well-known matching games rank among most engaged experiences worldwide and have been for an extended period.

The famous puzzle experience rivals well-known building titles claiming status as most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Logic titles represent cornerstones to the art of video games, while interacting across multiple categories.

Proposal and Rationale

Puzzle games wouldn’t have that issue. You could fill a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.

To emphasize again, these are games lacking appropriate categories during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers operate at the demanding boundary interactive creation, developing some of most fundamental forms of the video game form. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they deserve recognition. Let’s not keep them waiting generations.