This document defines game genres and their characteristics. It discusses genres such as action, puzzle, strategy, adventure, role-playing games, construction/management simulations, and life simulations. Many genres involve combinations of skills like hand-eye coordination, logic, and resource management. Game genres also provide different types of challenges, narratives, discoveries, and engagements for players. In conclusion, there are often mixtures between genres rather than strict definitions.

1. Game Genres
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2. Play: Definition
• “… a free activity standing quite consciously outside
‘ordinary’ life as being ‘not serious’ but at the same
time absorbing the player intensely and utterly.”
Johan Huizinga
• Fundamentals:
– Activity of choice
– Alternate Reality (that does not affect real life)
– Where the player has some control or self expression
• Fun in Play is when the alternate reality aligns with
personal taste (Challenge Types, Engaging Factors).

3. Game: Definition
• A game is a structured play
(activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and
sometimes used as an educational tool).
• Key components of games are :
– Goals / Challenges
– Rules / Interaction
• Games generally involve mental or physical
stimulation, and often both.
• Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a
form of exercise, or otherwise perform an
educational, simulational or psychological role.

4. Narrative
Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Factors
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

5. Skill Types
Skill
Challenge

6. Skill Types
• Resource Management
Strategy • Time management
Luck
• Riddle
• Strength • Tiles
• Coordination Action Puzzle • Maze
• Timing • Construction
• Mechanical
• …

7. Action
• A genre of game that would normally concentrate on physical
challenges, hand-eye coordination and reaction time.
• Sub genres:
arcade, music, sports, shooters, fighting, platform, vehicle
simulation
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

8. Puzzle
• A genre of computer game that concentrates on solving puzzles.
The types of puzzles that need to be solved do vary on game to
game. These types of games require different skills such as
logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving and many more.
• sub-genres: hidden object,
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

9. Strategy (Turn-Based)
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

10. Action-Puzzle
• Examples: Zuma, Bubbles, Tetris
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

11. Puzzle-Strategy
• Examples: Scrabble, Rummikub, Clue
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

12. Action-Strategy
(RTS - Real Time Strategy)
• Examples: team sports
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

13. Adventure
• A game that contains aspects of investigation, exploration, puzzle
solving and plenty of interaction with game characters. Most
downloadable adventure games are designed for a single player as
story plays a large part of it.
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

14. Action-Adventure
• Action-adventure games tend to focus on exploration and usually
involve item gathering, simple puzzle solving, and combat.
• Sub genres: stealth, survival horror
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

15. RPG (Role Playing Game)
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

16. Construction and Management
Simulations
• Simcity, Sims
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

17. Charades
• OMGPOP/Draw My Thing
• Game Shows
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

18. Life Simulations
• Tamaguchi, Sims
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

19. Time Management
Narrative
Strategy Challenge Discovery
Gain
Engagement Community
Luck Factors
Action Puzzle
Self
Responsibility
Expression
Sensual
Experience

20. Conclusion
• There is NOT really perfect distinction
between game genres.
• They tend to mix skills and engagement
factors.