{{short description|Person who plays a game}}

{{Refimprove|date=January 2017}}

A '''player''' of a [[game]] is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in [[game theory]] and in ordinary recreational [[game]]s.

Normally, there are at least two players in a game, but one-player games exist and are collectively known as [[wikt:solitary|solitary]] games (such as the ''[[Solitaire]]'' card game and many [[video game]]s).

"To become a player, one must voluntarily accept the rules and constraints of a game." <ref>{{cite book|author=Fullerton|title=Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach To Creating Innovative Games|url=http://host.conseiljedi.com/~kira/Game%20Design%20Workshop-A%20playcentric%20approach%20to%20creating%20innovative%20games-2nd%20Edition.pdf|year=2008|publisher=Elsevier|language=English|ref=harv}}</ref>

==Players in competition==

In most games, one player (or team) is declared the [[wikt:winner|winner]], the player who performed the best. Some multiplayer games can have multiple winners, but in [[Western world|Western]] societies, one player (or team) is normally considered to be the "1st place", or best, among them, and tie-breaking structures are commonly used to ensure a singular "1st place". This is not true universally, however; for example, in [[Japan]], ties are considered to be wins for both sides. Some games use multiple means of [[Score (gaming)|scoring]] or determining the conditions of victory; in these games, it may be possible for two or more players or teams to simultaneously win, which, depending on the game, may be counted as wins for both or simply a tie.

Among the players on a team, the one who plays the best in a given contest may be deemed the player or over the course of a series or season may be deemed the [[most valuable player]] for that period. They may also be identified as a [[player of the Match]], [[Player of the Week (disambiguation)|player of the week]], [[player of the month (disambiguation)|player of the month]], [[player of the year]], or even [[player of the century]].

==See also==

* [[Agent (economics)]]

* [[Gamer]]

* [[Player character]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Game terminology]]

{{Game-stub}}