🔗 Share this article The Iconic Puzzle Game Wouldn't Succeed at This Gaming Ceremony — An Additional Classification Might Solve This As any major honors show approaches, one notices an outcry for the addition additional classifications to honor unsung work and fill the passions of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres. My colleague previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would rule. So would tabletop games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward just as with other blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request is the most urgent and important of all. This is the request: We need a classification for brain-teasing titles. The Genre Classification Challenge Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and typically generate discussions and end in fuzzy definitions. It's understandable that movie academies don’t do it. However, it represents an unavoidable compromise within the realm of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they barely qualify as a single art form. For comprehensive acknowledgment of interactive entertainment excellence to gain proper attention, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, classification by type becomes crucial. Existing Game Classification System The major gaming awards presently include award types recognizing Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these classifications actually cover many game types, allowing placement accommodating various experiences. Not so for logic-based experiences. There’s simply nowhere to accommodate them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: building puzzles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching from another release, and the sweetly sociological logic puzzles in another game. Which classification works within current classifications? Simply put, no category fits. The Representation Problem Numerous examples exist outstanding logic titles launched regularly without proper recognition in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging Indie races. An iconic brain-teaser received no recognition in any category in 2014 Another imaginative release was excluded in 2019 Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year Just some puzzle games managed to sneak into niche award types Significance of Puzzle Games These are often compact experiences, yet the craft of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Well-known matching games count as most engaged experiences worldwide maintaining this status for over a decade. The famous puzzle experience competes with famous sandbox experiences for the title of best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for top gaming experience. Puzzle games are foundational to the art of video games, and they are in conversation with diverse game types. Proposal and Rationale Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter this problem. One could readily select five nominees with fascinating, diverse, deserving games annually without trouble — actually, with challenge, given the need to exclude numerous deserving experiences. To emphasize again, these are games without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Brain-teaser creators function at the hard edge of video game design, creating some of the purest expressions of gaming itself. Just like cinema stunt performers, they merit acknowledgment. Don't make them wait decades.