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As any prominent prize-giving event approaches, you'll find a demand for introducing of new categories to recognize overlooked contributions and fill the spirits of fans dedicated to specific genres.

Another commentator previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. The same goes for strategy board titles, this being someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize since similar to single-minded supporters, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand remains most pressing and important of all. The demand is this: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and inevitably spark debates and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why film award organizations don’t do it. However, it represents a necessary evil within the realm of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them as a single art form.

For the full spectrum of achievement in video games to be recognized, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.

Present Award Structure

Prominent interactive entertainment events presently include award types recognizing Action, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Collectively, these award types successfully include a lot of ground, making space possible for numerous titles.

Different situation exists for brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists for their placement. Consider three of this year’s best games, all very different: building puzzles in a particular game, fast-paced pattern recognition of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges in another game. Which classification works within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits.

The Representation Problem

Numerous examples exist of brilliant puzzle games published annually lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, unless they happen to qualify award groups including Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, or the intensely contested Indie races.

• A renowned logic title got overlooked in any category during that awards season
• A different innovative game was excluded in 2019
• Well-received sorting experience was overlooked that year
• Just some puzzle games scraped into independent or mobile categories

Value of Brain-Teasers

These are often compact experiences, but the art of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Well-known matching games rank among the most-played games worldwide maintaining this status for over a decade.

The famous puzzle experience challenges popular creative games competing to become best-selling game of all time; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks within interactive entertainment, and they are in conversation across multiple categories.

Proposal and Rationale

Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. It would be easy to populate five nominees interesting, varied, worthy titles annually without trouble — perhaps, with difficulty, given the need to exclude many worthy titles.

And to reiterate, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories in important events. Brain-teaser creators function at the challenging frontier of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.