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Video Game Genres Explained for Beginners
Learn how to read genre labels on store pages, what each common label suggests about play, and what it leaves out, so you can pick games with fewer surprises.
Industry and History
Genres Explained
What the main game genres are and what each asks of a player.
Platformers Explained: Jumping, Timing and Momentum
See how jump physics, hazards and level rhythm combine to define platformer games, and what the genre asks of your timing, precision and patience.
Puzzle Games Explained: Types and What Each Asks of You
A guide to puzzle genres such as matching, logic, physics and spatial games, and the kind of thinking, patience and pattern-spotting each one asks of you.
Racing and Sports Games Explained
Learn how racing and sports games turn real activities into rules, handling models and competition, and what separates arcade-style play from simulation.
Roguelikes and Roguelites Explained
Understand run-based play, permanent loss and small lasting upgrades, and how roguelike and roguelite games differ in what they keep between attempts.
Role-Playing Games Explained: Stats, Quests and Growth
A plain guide to role-playing games: how character stats, quests and progression systems work, and what the genre asks of players who like long journeys.
Shooters Explained: Aiming, Cover and Pacing
How first-person and third-person shooters work: aiming methods, movement and cover, and how match pacing shapes the experience from tactical to frantic.
Simulation Games Explained: Systems You Can Play With
Learn how simulation games model a process such as farming, flying or running a city, and where designers trade realism for fun so the systems stay playable.
Strategy Games Explained: Real-Time Versus Turn-Based
Compare turn-based strategy and real-time strategy: how each handles pace, planning and decisions, and which skills and play styles each one rewards.
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