games.atplay.taxonomy.category

Games where strategy is the whole point and theme is absent or purely decorative.

Games that depend on physical skill, timing, or coordination (flicking, stacking, dropping, catching).

Characters pursue a quest or journey through a story-driven setting, overcoming obstacles along the way.

Set during the 17th and 18th century Enlightenment, including the intellectual, political, and military events of that era.

Set during the United States Civil War of 1861–1865.

Set during the conflicts between the United States and Native American peoples from colonial times into the late 19th century.

Set during the American War of Independence from 1775 to 1783.

Set in the American frontier or Old West — cowboys, outlaws, settlers, and the landscape of the westward expansion.

Set in antiquity, covering civilizations and events before the medieval period (roughly pre-500 CE).

Animals are the central subject, whether as characters, collectibles, or the world the game depicts.

Set in the historical or mythic Arab world.

Themed around aircraft and flight, from early aviation to modern air travel.

Players gain an edge by misleading opponents about their intentions, holdings, or capabilities.

Based on or tightly inspired by a specific book.

Played primarily with cards; the deck is the core component.

Designed specifically for young children, with simple rules and age-appropriate content.

Players construct and grow settlements or cities over the course of play.

Set during a civil war (other than the American Civil War, which has its own category).

Players guide the development of a civilization across long sweeps of time, typically spanning multiple eras.

Components are sold in randomized packs or otherwise collectible, so players build personal libraries outside of any single game.

Based on a comic book, graphic novel, or comic strip.

Players reason from clues and partial information to identify hidden facts or culprits.

Dice are the central component and their results drive the game's decisions.

Themed around economic systems — production, trade, markets, and money management.

Designed primarily to teach a subject while being played.

Uses electronic components, a dedicated device, or a companion app as part of play.

Themed around ecosystems, conservation, climate, or humanity's relationship with the natural environment.

Discovering unknown territory, tiles, or content is a central activity.

Set in a world with magic, mythical creatures, and imaginative non-real elements.

Themed around growing crops, raising livestock, and running a farm.

Direct combat between characters or units is the central activity.

A ruleset and component base that supports many different games, scenarios, or campaigns.

Themed around dread, monsters, the supernatural, or other horror tropes.

Comedy is central to the experience, with mechanics or content designed to be funny.

Themed around building and running factories, production chains, or other industrial activity.

Set during the Korean War of 1950–1953.

Themed around organized crime families and their rivalries.

Arithmetic or mathematical reasoning is a core mechanic.

Contains content intended for adult audiences only.

Navigating or building a maze is central.

Themed around medicine, hospitals, or epidemiology.

Set in the medieval period of European history (roughly 500–1500 CE).

Recall of previously seen information is a central challenge.

Uses detailed miniature figures as components, often assembled and painted by the player.

Set in contemporary or near-contemporary military conflicts (roughly post-World War II).

Based on or inspired by a specific movie, television program, or radio show.

Players investigate a crime — usually a murder — to identify the culprit.

Themed around music, musicians, or musical performance.

Draws its setting and characters from a real-world mythological tradition.

Set during the Napoleonic era (roughly 1799–1815).

Set at sea and themed around ships, sailing, and maritime life.

Themed around bargaining, deal-making, or diplomacy between players.

Based on or tightly inspired by a specific novel.

Numbers and numerical relationships are the central material of play.

Designed for large groups and casual social play rather than deep strategy.

Set during the pike-and-shot era of early-modern European warfare (16th–17th centuries).

Themed around piracy — sea-going outlaws, treasure, and naval plunder.

Themed around politics, governance, elections, or policy-making.

Set between the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the start of World War I.

Set before recorded history — cavemen, early humans, or the deeper past.

Distributed as files that players print and assemble themselves.

Solving a puzzle is the core activity.

Competitors race to a finish line or to be first to reach a goal.

Play happens continuously in real time, with real-world seconds as a central constraint.

Themed around a real-world religion, religious history, or religious practice.

Set during the Renaissance period of European history (roughly 14th–17th centuries).

Set in a science-fiction world — future tech, alien life, or speculative science.

Themed around exploring outer space, visiting planets, or charting the unknown reaches of the cosmos.

Themed around espionage, secret agents, and covert operations.

Themed around a real-world sport.

Players claim, build out, and develop territories as a central activity.

Themed around trains and railroads.

Themed around moving goods or people between places.

Themed around travelling to real or imagined destinations.

Answering trivia questions is the core activity.

Based on or inspired by a specific video game.

Set during the Vietnam War.

Simulates military conflict with detailed rules for units, terrain, and combat resolution.

Building, spelling, or playing with words is the core activity.

Set during the First World War.

Set during the Second World War.

Themed around zombies and the undead.