2026 Playlin Awards
The finalists
43 games made the finalists in 10 categories, picked by our editorial team from the 1,002 games in the running.
The finalists are announced when voting opens on September 30.
Voting is open in the player categories until November 29.
Cast your voteVoting has closed. Winners are announced December 8.
Players vote
One winner in each, decided by public vote. Vote in these categories
Best Game to Pick Up & Play
For the game you understand in seconds and want to play again tomorrow.
- Dartwords Guess the target word with clues from Darty.
- GIOTTO by Mudball Media Get as close to perfect as you can.
- Namesake by Brent Peterson, Margot Newton, and Jessica Peterson Pair up famous people or characters by shared first name.
- Scrandle 2 by danbo Guess which food is ranked higher.
- Thruline Guess the word that connects four images.
Best Game to Test Your Patience
For the game you’d have quit by now if it weren’t this good.
- Does Monday Work? by Raymart Pamplona Schedule a month of events around logical rules that evolve.
- Kesto by Hiking Studio Move blocks around walls to their final destination.
- Krillion Answer prompts to dive as deep as you can.
- Periodic Times Table by Here's What You Do Use atomic-number clues to find the hidden number.
- Poople by Elias Furst Turn today’s word into POOP.
The TIL Award
As in today I learned. For the game that leaves you knowing something you didn’t know at breakfast.
- Catfishing Guess articles from category clues.
- Drug or Demon Sort five strange names into real prescription drugs or demons.
- FactMap Read the fact. Pin the location. Score points.
- Real Bird Fake Bird by Studio Folly Not about birds. Sort reals from fakes.
- Size It Up by GriddleLink Games Match each silhouette to its true scale.
The Speedrun Award
For the game that’s the most fun to finish fast, and the most tempting to finish faster.
Judges decide
Our judging panel names a winner and a runner-up in each of these.
Outstanding Original Game
For a game built on an idea of its own, one you can’t fairly describe as a version of something else.
Best Visual Design
For the game with the best look and feel, from the first screen to the result you share.
- All/Some by Stephanie Simoes and Igor Grechishkin Find the matching set diagram for the given terms.
- Cubewords by Space Inch A daily crossword wrapped around a cube.
- Dialed.gg by Dialed Rebuild what you saw, heard, or felt from memory.
- Runes by Dan Moramarco and Glenn Moramarco Form words on spinning letter rings.
- WordWavr by Ciesukki Guess the word by matching its visual waveform.
Best Geography Game
For the best game about places, from maps and borders to flags and capitals.
- Around Here Somewhere Hunt for a mystery object across the globe in Street View.
- GeoSlice by GeoTom Split the population in half.
- Globle by Trainwreck Labs Guess the mystery country.
- MapTap by nibble.games Pinpoint world cities on a 3D globe.
- Sporcle WorldPlay by Sporcle Fly between cities to uncover a mystery destination.
Best Logic Game
For the best puzzle solved by reasoning alone, with no guessing required.
- All/Some by Stephanie Simoes and Igor Grechishkin Find the matching set diagram for the given terms.
- Clues by Sam by Ad Artis Oy Follow the clues and find the criminals.
- enclose.horse Trap the horse before it escapes the field.
- Number Waffle by Waffle Studio Waffle, but with numbers and a little math.
- Stars by Inkwell Games Place exactly two stars in every row, column, and region.
Best Math Game
For the best game built on numbers, where the math is the puzzle and not just the scoring.
- Crossnum by Crossnum Games Place numbers in the blanks to solve a math crossword.
- Dozenal by Christopher Mjelde and Rory McMeekin Slide and merge tiles until you hit 12.
- Fermi by Flatwhite Studios Estimate impossible numbers using napkin math and intuition.
- Number Salad by Bleppo Connect numbers to reach the target sum.
- Sumplete by Hey, Good Game Remove numbers to make every sum work.
Best Word Game
For the best game built on words, whether you’re spelling, finding, guessing or arranging them.
- Glyph by Stephen Cassilo Decode the hidden word from a stacked glyph.
- References by @referencesgame Guess the target word with reference clues.
- Ribbit by Puzzmo Form words to clear letters and uncover frogs beneath.
- Tiled Words by Blue Ox Family Games Crossword meets jigsaw: spin, slide, and solve.
- Waffle by Waffle Studio Word game in the shape of a waffle.
Made the finalists? The finalist campaign kit has your badge and ready-to-use copy for sharing the news.
