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Whenever a prominent honors show approaches, you'll find a demand for the addition of new categories to acknowledge unsung work and satisfy the passions of followers with niche passions.

A fellow writer previously argued supporting a scary games classification. It would be amazing. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. Yet I need to apologize in advance for pushing forward just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument for why my demand remains most pressing above others. This is the request: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Organizing artistic expressions defies precise measurement; opinions vary greatly, and it will always generate discussions concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations don’t do it. Yet it remains an essential concession within the realm of video games, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify as a single art form.

For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.

Present Award Structure

Leading game ceremonies currently feature classifications covering Action-oriented games, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Together, these award types successfully include a lot of ground, allowing placement for numerous titles.

Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Think about these outstanding current releases, showing diverse approaches: building puzzles from a specific release, fast-paced pattern recognition in a different title, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles from additional release. Which classification works among existing types? Simply put, no category fits.

Recognition Challenges

Many instances occur outstanding logic titles released every year lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.

• An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked for anything during that awards season
• A different innovative game missed out that year
• A beloved organization game was overlooked in 2021
• Limited numbers of logic titles barely qualified for niche award types

Value of Brain-Teasers

Frequently they represent compact experiences, but the art in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles rank among most popular titles worldwide continuing this trend for over a decade.

The iconic tile-matching title rivals well-known building titles competing to become most purchased experience; it’s also in the running for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and they are in conversation with almost every other genre.

Proposal and Rationale

Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. One could readily select a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles every year with ease — perhaps, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave numerous deserving experiences.

Restating the point, these include experiences lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Logic title developers operate at the challenging frontier of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations of the video game form. Just like movie stunt professionals, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.