Style of Play is the way you can engage with a particular game. This might be with another person in the same room, with an online team or competing against the computer. These are the ways we can play games on our own or with other people.

Video games are unlike other types of media because they are an encounter between an interactive experience and a person. Style of Play is one of the four ways we help you find the sorts of interactions that are the best fit for your family:

• Style of Play: How you want to play games together (Split-Screen, Co-operative, Competitive, Online).
• Game Genres: Which interactions and game structures you enjoy (Adventuring, Racing, Puzzling, Strategising).
• Game Components: The elements that you play with and the kind of world you are playing in (Dice, 3D, 2D, Cards).
• Curated Lists: What themes you want to engage with (Trust, Identity, Justice, Hope, Love).

Along with finding games for a particular system, these two aspect of video games combine to offer almost endless ways of playing games together, particularly when you consider different numbers of players and whether you play online or in the same room.

If you are looking for different styles of games for your family, or trying to identify what it is about your favourite games that make them a brilliant fit, considering Style of Play is really helpful. Different play-styles help identify the human side of the video game fun, so you can both understand it and find new options.

 

Co-Play Styles of Play

This is a special group of Styles of Play that capture how a child develops their play of a game. Unlike other Styles of Play, these relate to a specific scenario and context rather than being dictated by the game itself.
 

 

Competitive Styles of Play

These relate games that focus on the competitive side of video games. Whether that's esports titles, or simply games that are great for families to compete against each other, they are all player versus player experiences.
 

 

Cooperative Styles of Play

These relate to games that are played cooperatively. Where one player aims to work with another human player in the game.
 

 

Digital Stories Styles of Play

These relate to games that tell stories in different ways. Like novels, picture books, movies and theatre, video games can create narratives. However, they do this in new and unexpected ways. They uncover some different styles of storytelling in video games.
 

 

Equipment Styles of Play

These relate to games that work with specific peripherals, controller and equipment that enable people to play with each other in different ways.
 

 

Sequence Styles of Play

These Styles of Play define different ways that games sequence of turns. This describes how play is ordered and how players organise themselves to play the game.
 

 

Team Structure Styles of Play

These Styles of Play describe how different teams of players and computer controlled characters can play together.