The word "video" in "video games" might imply that screens or monitors are essential to the experience, but is that really the case? Games like Papa Sangre on iOS and the Copenhagen Game Collective's Johann Sebastian Joust now suggest otherwise, as they rely primarily on sound, force feedback, and other off-screen elements to communicate with the player.

How would you react if asked to create a game without any on-screen visuals? How would you work within these unconventional limitations?

Game Career Guide challenged its readers to design a game that, while running on gaming-enabled hardware, does not use a monitor at all during gameplay. Title screens and pause menus are allowed, of course, but once the game begins, the display is off-limits.

What follows are the best and most original entries we received. Here are our top picks.

Best Entries

Matthieu Cheynut and Shu Yan, War in the neighborhood  (see page 2)

Rodolphe Recca, Designer at Beenox / Activision, Sensitive Race (see page 3)

Sandro Bordier, Game design student at Supinfogame in Valenciennes (France), Minefields (see page 4)

Nicolas Salzer, Psychology student at University Hildesheim, Blind Trust (see page 5)

Tejas Oza, Backstage Pass School of Gaming, Hyderabad, The Compass (see page 6)

Kenneth Ng Jin Zhen, Asia Pacific University College of Technology and Innovation, Blind Samurai (see page 7)

Chad Asbjornsen, Art Institute of Portland, AR Assassin (see page 8)

Stephen Miller, Game Development Student at Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, Prescience (see page 9)