Tetris Didn't Win at The Game Awards — A New Category Could Fix That

As any significant awards ceremony approaches, one notices an outcry to include fresh award types to acknowledge unsung work and fill the spirits of enthusiasts dedicated to specific genres.

Another commentator has already made for a horror game category. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are strategy board titles, this being a dedicated supporter's campaign. But they will have to forgive me when I prioritize because like all blinkered fanatics, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request stands as crucial and significant. Here's the proposal: It's essential to create an award type for logic-based games.

Organizing Gaming Categories

Classifying creative works defies precise measurement; it’s very subjective, and typically spark debates resulting in unclear classifications. It's understandable that film award organizations don’t do it. However, it represents a necessary evil in the world of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute as a single art form.

To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to receive proper recognition, specific award classifications remain vital.

Present Award Structure

The major gaming awards currently feature classifications covering Action, Action/Adventure, RPG experiences, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, and Sports/Racing games. Between them, these six categories effectively encompass numerous genres, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.

This doesn't apply to brain-teasing titles. No appropriate category exists to accommodate them. Consider three of recent excellent titles, all very different: structural challenges of one title, fast-paced pattern recognition from another release, thought-provoking social scenarios from additional release. Which classification works between these six categories? Nowhere, that’s where.

Acknowledgment Issues

Many instances occur excellent brain-teasers launched regularly without proper recognition in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit for categories like Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, and the highly challenging independent game categories.

  • One classic puzzle game got overlooked in any category that year
  • Another imaginative release received no nominations in 2019
  • Well-received sorting experience received no acknowledgment that year
  • Just some brain-teasers managed to sneak into niche award types

Significance of Puzzle Games

These are often small games, but the art behind logic titles carries substantial weight. Famous handheld logic titles count as most popular titles worldwide maintaining this status for many years.

The iconic tile-matching title challenges famous sandbox experiences for the title of most purchased experience; it also contends for best game of all time. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks for gaming as medium, while interacting across multiple categories.

Recommendation and Reasoning

Logic titles wouldn't face this problem. It would be easy to populate a field of five interesting, varied, worthy titles each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent so many good games out.

And to reiterate, these are games that otherwise have no home in important events. Puzzle game makers operate at the demanding boundary of video game design, creating some of most fundamental forms of gaming itself. Comparable to cinema stunt performers, they deserve recognition. We shouldn't delay 35 years.

Juan Evans
Juan Evans

A seasoned betting analyst with over a decade of experience covering UK and European sports markets.