Bartle's Personality Typology

In 1996, British professor and game researcher Richard Bartle published the article ‘Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDS’. His typology is based on categorizing players of so-called multi-user dungeons. MUD was an internet environment where players interacted with objects, game characters, or other players using text commands.

Our questionnaire is based on Bartle’s, but focuses on online game players in general. We translated the questionnaire into Czech and adapted it. For example, we changed the wording of some questions that no longer made sense in the 21st century. But the original typology remained the same.

The questionnaire classifies players into four types: Socializer, Explorer, Achiever, and Killer. Your type is then defined by the game elements that are most important to you in the game. Each player is then assigned one dominant type and one subtype, although a bit of all lives in each of us.

Original Study

Bartle, R. (1996). Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades: Players who suit muds. Journal MUD Research, 1(1).

Socializer

Socializers want to enjoy the company and community that a game can offer. They derive the greatest enjoyment from interacting with other players. Sometimes, mere companionship and communication with characters within the virtual world itself (NPCs) is enough for them. For Socializers, the game is primarily a means that enables them to meet and connect with others.

The virtual world thus serves mainly as a shared space for social encounters. Relationships between players are what matter most: empathizing with others, sympathizing with them, joking, having fun, and listening. Games - whether video games, board games, or even playing football behind the house - have always had a social component.

Many players often forget this aspect, but not Socializers, for whom social interaction in games is indispensable. They enjoy helping other players, offering their services, and building their own virtual communities. Meeting new people and deepening relationships with them is key for Socializers. The game world comes alive through other players, who give it energy and meaning.

Killer

Killers focus on winning, rankings, leaderboards, and direct competition with other players. They are engaged in a constant and never-ending effort to outperform others. Ideally, they want to see their name high on the leaderboard.

Their primary concern is not completing standard in-game challenges, such as defeating a boss or performing a speedrun, but proving that they perform better than others. Their main goal is dominance over other players, and their driving force is the direct impact they have on the game world around them.

Although they are not necessarily driven by vindictiveness or malice, they have only one goal in games: victory at any cost. They want to demonstrate their ability to excel above other players.

Explorer

Explorers focus on discovering and uncovering the unknown. They want to go where no one else has gone and know what no one else knows. Explorers are motivated by moments of surprise that games offer them. They seek feelings of awe and wonder.

Gaining experience points is of little importance to them, as it contradicts what they see as the essence of games - freedom and openness, through which the virtual world truly lives and breathes. Chasing predefined achievements or developer-imposed objectives is considered secondary.

Explorers take pride in their knowledge of even the smallest details of a game. They are curious players who eagerly explore every inch of the game world in search of all “Easter eggs” and rare items, regardless of their value or significance. For Explorers, there is no such thing as “failure,” only discovery. When they stumble along the way, they learn from their mistakes and avoid repeating them in the future. They leave no stone unturned and document their journey through trial and error.

Achiever

Achievers focus on gaining status, position, and prestige. At the same time, they aim to reach clearly defined goals through various means - for example, through speedrunning (completing a game or part of it as quickly as possible) or by collecting a complete set of trophies or achievements.

By acquiring these rewards, they clearly demonstrate their abilities to others. At the core of every game lies a set of rules that allow players either to win or to lose. Achievers understand this principle better than anyone else.

Of course, the act of playing games itself is highly enjoyable, but defeating the game and mastering it is even more satisfying. Victory is rewarding in its own right, but it is also important for Achievers that other players can witness their success - for example by seeing the trophies and achievements they have earned. They tend to avoid interaction with others, but do not shy away from it when it is advantageous to them - for instance, when another player knows how to achieve something, or when eliminating that player would bring a specific benefit.

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