The final nominees for the 11th annual International Mobile Gaming Awards have been announced following a 48-hour judging session in Marseille.

The awards aim to celebrate the best mobile games of the year, including those with technical excellence, moving stories, and beautiful design.

From 26 – 29 January, a jury made up of journalists, publishers, developers and industry experts descended on the French city to whittle through over 1,000 entrants from across the globe.

It marked the biggest year of the awards yet, with the entrants whittled down by the judges to just 93 nominees. The creators of these games are now invited to the IMGA ceremony taking place on 3 March at GDC in San Francisco.

"An IMGA nomination gives an independent proof of quality, not linked to any publication, corporation or platform," IMGA's founder and CEO, Maarten Noyons, told us.

"In a world where thousands of games are coming out each month, this type of distinction is important."

The best of the best

Previous winners of the IMGA Grand Prix title include Badland and The Walking Dead, while the winner of the People’s Choice Award 2014 is currently open for public vote.

This years entries, Noyons says, have been increasingly varied. "Storytelling is becoming an important new genre on all platforms," he notes. "Many of them are very immersive and of a cinematic quality in terms of script, character, image, sound.

"A second trend is innovation. VR and new use of the accelerometer in smartphones. We saw a lot of innovative concepts using different VR tools, from Oculus and the Epson BT 200 to Google Cardboard.

"Multiplayer, both live and turn-based is a trend this year I must mention. And finally: Humor. There are some really very funny games in the year’s selection. Humor is a great asset!"

You can read the full list of nominees for 2014 below and vote here.

Excellence in Innovation

• Soccer Physics
• Strung Along
• Sometimes You Die
• Threes!
• Monument Valley
• Framed
• Bounden
• Watchdogs Companion

Best Quickplay Game

• Pako
• UsiDorobo
• Alone…
• Zoi
• Crossy Road
• Threes!
• Retry
• Dumb Ways to Die 2
• Timberman

Guilty Pleasure

• Pair Solitaire
• Zombie Highway 2
• Tap Titans
• Candy Crush Soda Saga
• Goat Simulator
• LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum
• Desert Golfing
• Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker
• FootLOL: Crazy Soccer
• Flappy Bird
• 2048

Best Meaningful Play

• Scrap Squad
• Valiant Hearts: The Great War
• Papers, Please
• Twelve
• Counting Kingdom
• First Strike
• Dumb Ways to Die 2

Excellence in Storytelling

• Thomas Was Alone
• The Banner Saga
• Valiant Hearts: The Great War
• 50 Days
• Framed
• Games of Thrones
• The Wolf Among Us
• Out There
• Kim Kardashian Hollywood

Excellence in Gameplay

• Leo’s Fortune
• Hearthstone
• Wayward Souls
• Papers, Please
• Faster Than Light
• Table Tennis Touch
• Mujo
• Royal Revolt 2
• Motor Sports Manager
• Smash Hit!

Best Technical Achievement

• Aerena Clash of Champions
• Snowboard Party
• Ace Fishing: Wild Catch
• XCOM: Enemy Within
• Bounden
• World of Tanks
• Galcon 2
• Vainglory
• Skylanders Trap Team

Excellence in Audio Visual Art & Design

• Godfire
• Notespace Beat
• Haunt the House: Terrortown
• Monument Valley
• Tengami
• Leo’s Fortune
• Rival Knights
• Framed
• Alone…
• Chronology

Best Multiplayer Game

• Fates Forever
• Brain Wars
• Hearthstone
• Vainglory
• Bounden
• Mucho Party
• Trivia Crack
• Soccer Physics
• World of Tanks Blitz
• Boom Beach

Best Upcoming Game

• Tropical Wars
• Prune
• Prismatica
• Space Noon
• Koi
• Wings of Fire
• Towerslash
• Swapquest
• Mikma
• Hoardmaster