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Thursday, October 15, 2026
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Tetris Wouldn't Win at The Game Awards — An Additional Classification Might Solve This

Each time a major honors show nears, one notices a clamor to include additional classifications to acknowledge underappreciated efforts and delight the hearts of fans with niche passions.

Another commentator previously argued supporting a scary games classification. That would be fantastic. Equally deserving are board games, which is someone's personal cause. But they will have to forgive me for pushing forward because like all dedicated enthusiasts, I have a cast-iron argument supporting my request stands as crucial above others. This is the request: It's essential to create a category for puzzle games.

Categorizing Game Types

Classifying creative works is not a science; it remains highly personal, and typically start arguments and end in fuzzy definitions. This explains why film award organizations don’t do it. But it is an essential concession within the realm of interactive entertainment, that demonstrate such variety it's challenging to consider them one unified medium.

To recognize the complete range of achievement in video games to receive acknowledgment, and for games of all stripes to have a chance for representation, specific award classifications remain vital.

Present Award Structure

Leading game ceremonies currently feature genre categories for Action, Adventure-action titles, Role-Playing, Fighting, Sim/Strategy, plus athletic and racing experiences. Collectively, these classifications successfully include a lot of ground, and you can find room for numerous titles.

Not so for logic-based experiences. No appropriate category exists to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: structural challenges from a specific release, intense tile-matching of another game, thought-provoking social scenarios in another game. Which classification works among existing types? Nowhere, that’s where.

Acknowledgment Issues

Numerous examples exist excellent brain-teasers launched regularly that have no home in entertainment awards, unless they happen to qualify classification types such as Handheld titles, Virtual reality experiences, or the extremely competitive small studio competitions.

  • A renowned logic title wasn’t nominated for anything in 2014
  • Another imaginative release missed out in 2019
  • A beloved organization game received no acknowledgment in 2021
  • Just some brain-teasers managed to sneak into niche award types

Importance of Logic Titles

Commonly they're compact experiences, however the design behind logic titles holds tremendous importance. Famous handheld logic titles stand as most popular titles in the world and have been for over a decade.

The iconic tile-matching title challenges well-known building titles for the title of highest-selling title ever; it also contends for top gaming experience. Brain-teasers form essential building blocks to the art of video games, while interacting with almost every other genre.

The Solution and Justification

Puzzle games wouldn’t have this problem. It would be easy to populate multiple candidates with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — or rather, with difficulty, since numerous excellent so many good games out.

And to reiterate, these are games without proper classification during prominent ceremonies. Logic title developers are working at the challenging frontier game development, producing among essential manifestations within interactive entertainment. Similar to cinema stunt performers, they warrant appreciation. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.

The writer

Diane Barry

A tech journalist and digital strategist with over a decade of experience covering Canadian innovation ecosystems and startup culture.

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