As any major honors show approaches, there’s always a demand for the addition fresh award types to honor unsung work and fill the spirits of followers with niche passions.
A fellow writer previously argued for a horror game category. That would rule. The same goes for board games, representing a passionate advocate's mission. Yet I need to apologize in advance when I prioritize since similar to blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case backing this proposal remains most pressing and significant. Here's the proposal: We need an award type for logic-based games.
Categorizing art by genre defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and it will always start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason cinema institutions don’t do it. However, it represents an essential concession for the industry of video games, showing incredible range it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.
For the full spectrum of interactive entertainment excellence to be recognized, while allowing diverse titles to compete fairly, genre categories are essential.
Prominent interactive entertainment events currently feature genre categories for Action, Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Combat games, Simulation and strategy titles, plus athletic and racing experiences. Between them, these classifications effectively encompass a lot of ground, allowing placement for most games within them.
Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Think about these recent excellent titles, all very different: the architectural riddles of one title, the pulse-pounding block-matching in a different title, thought-provoking social scenarios of a third title. What category would fit them among existing types? Unfortunately, nowhere.
There are dozens of brilliant puzzle games published annually lacking appropriate categories at major award shows, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the intensely contested independent game categories.
Commonly they're small games, however the design in brain-teasers holds tremendous importance. Iconic mobile puzzle games stand as most popular titles worldwide maintaining this status for over a decade.
The famous puzzle experience rivals popular creative games claiming status as highest-selling title ever; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, and engaging across multiple categories.
Brain-teasers wouldn't encounter that issue. One could readily select a field of five engaging, different, qualified experiences every year with ease — or rather, with difficulty, because you’d have to leave so many good games out.
And to reiterate, these include experiences without proper classification in important events. Puzzle game makers function at the hard edge of video game design, developing some of essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Comparable to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting decades.
A seasoned gaming journalist with over a decade of experience in the UK casino industry, specializing in slot machine analysis and player safety.
News
News
News
News
News
News
By Damon Johnson
•
03 Oct 2026
News
By Damon Johnson
•
03 Oct 2026
News
By Damon Johnson
•
03 Oct 2026
News
By Damon Johnson
•
02 Oct 2026
News
By Damon Johnson
•
02 Oct 2026
News
By Damon Johnson
•
02 Oct 2026