> I’m not sure I understand how the Theme criteria will be applied by the judges in that case.
The theme is "Now That's What I Call A Theme!", so while you get to pick any theme you want you also need to completely embrace it. The more obvious and the more well implemented, the higher your score. If we can't tell what the theme is that'd be a low score.
Get the judges exclaim "Now That's What I Call A Theme!" when they play your game.