WHAT IS A GAME?
Games are participatory
Games are a form of play Unlike many other forms of
Most games are played for recreation, entertainment, games are not just
others are played by amateurs and about observing. They are about taking
professionals alike, and some are even action.
used as tools for training and education.
Games have objectives or goals GAME MEDIUM
that players work to achieve
Game medium
Games have rules Refers to the various platforms or
Rules govern the components of the formats through which games are
game and the ways that players interact played and experienced.
with those components and each other.
Each medium offers unique gameplay
Games have feedback. mechanics, challenges, and
As players work toward their goals, the experiences, contributing to the
game provides information about how diversity of the gaming landscape.
they are doing. Scores are a form of
feedback. Design considerations vary across
mediums, with factors such as physical
Games have challenges components, spatial arrangement, and
In the vast majority of games, the rules, player interactions shaping the game's
other players, or other elements design.
impede player progress toward the
objectives.
PHYSICAL GAMES AND SPORTS
Games employ a variety of skills
Ball games and sports are physical as
These include physical abilities,
are other games like capture the flag,
communication, strategic thinking,
which involve athletic activities and are
patience, observation and problem
played with special equipment like
solving.
balls, nets, or sticks
Games present choices
The gameplay usually revolves around
Players make meaningful decisions in
one or more specific physical actions
order to affect game outcomes.
and the objectives reward players who
most skillfully perform those actions.
Basketball is built around dribbling,
passing, and shooting the ball.
those already placed and then
replenishing their hand with new tiles.
The shape and details of the field of
Scoring is usually performed when tiles
play are an important part of the game
are played. Examples include Dominoes,
design.
Scrabble and Mahjong.
Rules and objectives are often related
to specific portions of the field.
DICE GAMES
BOARD GAMES
Dice Games are often used to introduce
Board games usually involve placing chance into games.
and moving pieces on a game board. Some games, such as Yahtzee, use
They come in a variety of gameplay standard 6-dided dice.
types: Others, such as Boggle, replace the dots
with letters or special symbols.
Abstract games in which the board is
Dice games can usually be played by
divided into regular spaces and the
any number of players with the dice
players compete to claim pieces or
being passed from player to player.
spaces like checkers and chess.
A turn calls for the player to roll the
dice.
Territorial strategy games like Risk
where the board is a map with Games are usually scored with the
distributed resources and attributes. various combinations of dice having
specific scoring.
Race-to-the-end games where players
race along a linear track such as Candy
CARD GAMES
Land and Game of Life.
Building games where players compete
Party Games are generally for 4 to 12 or
to reach construction objectives such as
more players often arranged in teams.
Ticket to Ride.
Gameplay emphasizes interactions
between players and usually involves
TILES GAMES
some form of creativity.
Drawing, acting, singing, giving word
clues and trivia games.
Tile Games are played with a limited set
Party games place special emphasis on
of tiles that may contain dots, letters, or making the game fun for players and
special symbols.
observers.
Play consists of players placing one or
Examples include Twister, Trivial
more tiles from their hand adjacent to
Pursuit, and Pictionary.
MINIATURES Electronic games present information
to players through video screens and
Games with miniatures are played with audio signals.
small, detailed models of pieces and Players interact with the games through
terrain. electronic sensors, control pads, and
Settings include historical computer mice. Examples include DoTA,
reenactments, fantasy, and science Cyberpunk 2077, and Super Mario Bros.
fiction.
Most miniature games are turn-based. _____________________________
They are also commonly used in
Gameplay is affected by medium but is
tabletop roleplaying games to act out
not completely constrained by medium.
the action.
Many games can be replicated in
ROLE PLAYING GAMES several different mediums i.e.
Electronic and card versions of
Text-Based Role-Playing Games is most Pokémon.
easily described as interactive Mediums can be mixed together to
storytelling. utilize the advantages of each one.
A ruleset or system is used to define the Monopoly is a board game, but it also
gameplay, but the objectives may uses stacks of cards that can be mixed
change during play. up, dice, and miniatures that add an
Players take on the roles of distinct element of chance to player movement.
characters within a fictional setting and More examples: Doom, Stardew Valley
then take actions based on the
capabilities of those characters. PLAYER FORMAT
These capabilities increase over time
and allows players to take on Player format is the number,
progressively more challenging game arrangement and alignment of players
scenarios. in a game.
The most well-known example is Single Player: One player vs. game
system Examples include any of the
Dungeons and Dragons.
Solitaire card games and the electronic
ELECTRONIC GAMES game Minesweeper.
Head-to-Head: One player vs. one
Electronic Games are the largest player or PvP Examples include Chess,
growing game medium today. Cribbage, Backgammon, and Tennis
Almost every other game type can be Cooperative or Player vs. Environment
implemented in an electronic form. (PvE): Many players vs. game system
This is common in online games like
“World of Warcraft”. Some purely
cooperative board games exist too, GAME OBJECTIVES
such as “Pandemic”.
One Against Many: One player vs.
many players In the game Dead By
Objectives determine whether a player
has advanced or won a game.
Daylight and Identity V, one player
takes the role of a serial killer trying to Objectives could be any of the
hunt down the other players while they following:
work together to escape. SCORE Get more points than your
Free-For-All: One player vs. one player opponent or be the first player to reach
vs. one player vs… Perhaps the most a particular number of points.
common player structure for The game ends after a certain amount
multiplayer games. This can be found of time and the best score wins.
everywhere, from board games like CAPTURE/DESTROY Eliminate all of your
Candy Land, racing games like Forza opponent’s pieces from the game such
Motorsport, to battle royale games as in Chess, Battleships, Command and
such as PUBG. Conquer, and Stratego.
Predator-Prey: Players form a real or COLLECTION
virtual circle, and everyone’s goal is the Games that involve collecting a set of
attack the player on their left and something to win Many electronic
defend themselves from the player on games require the player to collect a
their right. Games like Call of Duty certain number of objects scattered
(Deathmatch), Mario Kart and Super throughout the levels.
Smash Bros. are examples of this
SOLVE
format, where the strongest will come
The board game Clue is an example of a
out on top
game where the objective is to solve a
puzzle.
Team Competition: Many players vs. Games like Portal, Lara Croft Go, and
many players. This is a common Myst has the same objectives
structure found in most team sports,
team-based games like League of CHASE/RACE/ESCAPE
Legends and DoTA 2, and outdoor
Any game where you are running
games like capture the flag
toward or away from something.
Candy Land and Game of Life is a race
to the finish.
Playground tag is another example.
SPACIAL ALIGNMENT Games GAME RESOURCES
involve the positioning of elements as
an objective such as Tic -Tac-Toe, Resources are all the things directly
Othello or Tetris.
under a player's control that can be
used as the game advances.
BUILD
Examples include:
Players use resources to build
structures or assets Example is SimCity. o Pieces in chess.
o Money in Monopoly.
AVOIDING A LOSS o Territory in Risk.
Some games end when one player o Known information (the
performs an act that is forbidden by suspects you have
the rules. Examples include Twister and eliminated) in Clue.
Jenga. o Objects that can be picked
up in video games (weapons,
ADVANCE THE STORY coins, power-ups).
Sometimes the objective of a game is
just to continue a storyline and see
what happens next to the characters. OVERALL THEME
This is common in role-playing games, Themes include a game’s setting, story
point-and click adventure games, and and/or characters.
games made by TellTale Games They answer the question, “What is this
game about?”
EXPLORE Not every game has a theme, but a
Game worlds like The Legend of Zelda theme can:
series and Super Mario Odyssey
o Help players become more
encourage players to travel around the
engaged.
world and discover new characters and
places
o Make a game easier to learn.
o Tell a compelling story
GAME RULES
PLAY VALUE
There are three categories of rules in a
game. This refers to the reasons that a
Setup: Things you do once at the player chooses to play a particular
beginning of the game. game.
Progression of Play: What happens Game experiences can be rated on 5
during the game. areas of play value:
Resolution: The conditions in which the o Novelty: Imaginative, new,
game ends and how an outcome is or unexpected experiences.
determined. o Challenge: Tasks that must
be practiced and mastered.
o Stimulation: The emotional
excitement of play.
o Harmony: Player-to-player
interaction.
o Threat: Tension, danger, and
humiliation.
Most games incorporate multiple
types of play value.
o Basketball involves novelty
(playing against different
teams), challenge (mastering
skills such as shooting and
dribbling), stimulation (a fast
pace), harmony (cooperating
with your team), and threat
(playing against a good
team).
There are also other reasons people
play games:
o Help build and strengthen
social ties.
o Games can help start
conversation.
o Competition helps motivate
people to practice skills and
think of different ways to
succeed.
