Play Styles
Think of your Play Style as a mirror—a reflective tool to see yourself more clearly. It reveals the unique patterns of how you naturally connect, create, and flourish. This is a map to help you tap into the resilient, energized, and curious part of yourself.
Play is Highly Personal.
Everyone has a unique play style, like a fingerprint. Neuroscience shows that play is a biological necessity embedded in our brains from birth. While adult responsibilities can often bury this natural spark, understanding your unique Play Style allows you to intentionally design environments that energize you.
Play Styles
This framework was JUST updated by Dr. Brown and our play science team to account for additional nuances in play.
The National Institute for Play has conducted thousands of play history assessments and recognized distinct patterns in the ways people play. While the drive to play is universal, how we play is not. You can think of the six play styles as a language for the innate preferences that shape your unique "play nature".
A creator finds joy in bringing something new into the world through imaginative expression. This can include art, music, stories, jokes, and performances.
The explorer is driven by curiosity and the quest to seek out new knowledge or experiences. This can be through adventure, research, tinkering, emotional exploration, or entrepreneurship.
The competitor is energized by games, mastery, and the thrill of a fair contest. This can be through sports, gaming, puzzles, or debate.
The organizer finds play in bringing order to things, leading people, or shaping social dynamics. This can be through directing, coordinating, collecting, or connecting.
The dreamer is energized by the limitless possibilities of the mind and internal world-building. This can be through fantasy, role play, or observation of others playing (sports fans, movie and theatre fans, and readers).
The mover finds play through physical engagement with the world. This can be through movement, sport, or physical thrill-seeking.
It is important to note that personality is a mysterious blend of biology and environment—far more complex than any framework can fully capture. You are likely a blend of several play styles that intertwine and shift depending on your stage of life. This assessment is simply a tool to help you identify your primary entry points to the state of play, giving you a compass toward a more flourishing, authentic self. It's not meant to be rigid or profiling.
Ready to Discover Your Spark?
Your Play Style is more than a preference, it is a map toward purpose and a compass toward fulfillment. Step into the conversation between science and soul, and discover the natural entry points that lead you toward your most energized, resilient, and authentic self.