So often people think of games they only think of their favorite game type, or couple of types of games. While having a specialized knowledge of a game type is helpful, especially if you will be working on developing that type of game, it is helpful to know about other types of games. Whether it is to give you new opportunities or to learning how to mix types to help improve the design and play-ability of a game.
Game genres range from classic board games and dice games to immersive role-playing games (RPGs), complex strategy games, and popular video game genres like first-person shooters (FPS), tower defense, and sports games. Each type of game offers unique game mechanics, storytelling opportunities, and ways to engage players—whether through cooperation, competition, or open-ended sandbox play.
By exploring the differences between game genres and understanding their core design principles, you can make informed decisions about mechanics, pacing, and audience appeal. Whether you’re comparing board games vs. video games or looking for inspiration across tabletop and digital formats, this guide will help you identify the strengths, challenges, and creative potential in each game category.
Table Top / Board Games
Tabletop games played on a defined surface (often with pieces, cards, or tiles) where movement and interaction follow a set of rules. They can be competitive or cooperative.
Examples: Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Monopoly.
Co-op (Cooperative) Board Games
Players work together against the game system rather than against each other. Success or failure is shared by the group, often requiring strategic communication and role specialization.
Examples: Pandemic, Forbidden Island.
Dice Games
Games where dice rolls are the primary mechanic for determining outcomes, often involving luck management and probability strategies.
Examples: Yahtzee, King of Tokyo, Farkle.
Role-Playing Games (RPGs)
Players assume fictional roles, often making decisions that shape the game world or narrative. RPGs can be pen-and-paper (tabletop) or digital, with mechanics emphasizing character development, stats, and immersive storytelling.
Examples: Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Final Fantasy.
Strategy Games
Games emphasizing long-term planning, resource management, and tactical decision-making over luck. Strategy can be turn-based or real-time.
Examples: Chess, StarCraft, Civilization VI.
Card Games
Games centered on card play, with rules built around deck management, hand strategy, or combinations.
Examples: Magic: The Gathering, Uno.
Deck-Building Games
A card game sub-type where players build a personal deck during play, improving capabilities over time.
Examples: Dominion, Clank!.
Puzzle Games
Games centered on solving logic, spatial, or pattern-based challenges.
Examples: Tetris, The Witness.
Party Games
Lightweight games designed for social interaction, often with simple rules and a focus on humor or quick rounds.
Examples: Codenames, Charades, Jackbox Party Pack.
Video Games
Digital games played on computers, consoles, or mobile devices, with diverse genres and mechanics. These may be a simulation of a table top game, or something completely different. It may occur in 2D or 3D.
Tower Defense
Players protect a base or area by strategically placing defensive structures that attack incoming enemies. The focus is on resource allocation, timing, and map control.
Examples: Plants vs. Zombies, Kingdom Rush.
Sports
Digital recreations of athletic activities, often simulating real-world rules and player physics. Can be arcade-style or realistic simulations. For every sport out there, there is almost certainly a video game form from golfing, to basketball, from baseball, to soccer, to many many more.
Football (Sports Sub-type)
Based on American football rules, emphasizing plays, team management, and tactical formations.
Examples: Madden NFL, Axis Football.
Soccer (Sports Sub-type)
Simulates association football (soccer) rules with emphasis on ball control, passing, and formations.
Examples: FIFA, Pro Evolution Soccer.
Racing (Sports Sub-type)
Focused on speed and maneuvering, with mechanics based on time trials, track control, or vehicle upgrades.
Examples: Mario Kart, Gran Turismo.
Side Scroller
Games viewed from a side perspective, with player movement primarily on a two-dimensional plane. Emphasis may be on platforming, combat, or exploration. This is a 2D game.
Examples: Super Mario Bros., Hollow Knight.
First-Person Shooter (FPS)
Action games where the player experiences the world through the protagonist’s eyes, focusing on ranged combat and aiming accuracy.
Examples: Call of Duty, Halo.
Simulation Games
Replicate real or fictional systems for the player to manage or experience, often with open-ended play. This could be a life simulation, a business simulation, or even simulating racing, piloting, etc.
Examples: The Sims, SimCity.
Adventure Games
Narrative-driven games with exploration, puzzles, and often minimal combat.
Examples: Monkey Island, Life is Strange.
Survival Games
Players gather resources, manage health/hunger, and adapt to environmental hazards to endure as long as possible.
Examples: Minecraft (Survival mode), Don’t Starve.
Roguelike / Roguelite
Games with procedural generation, permadeath, and high replayability, often requiring adaptation to changing conditions.
Examples: Hades, Dead Cells.
Sandbox Games
Offer open-ended creation and exploration with minimal preset objectives, allowing emergent gameplay.
Examples: Minecraft, Terraria.
Different Types of Games was originally found on Access 2 Learn
