After you have created your Game Template, you need to create an Adventure and schedule a Session! Here is a step-by-step guide to creating your first adventure.
The full process in order:
Create and get a Game Template approved
Create an Adventure from that template
Set your Adventure to Active once you reach your minimum player count
Schedule sessions
How do I get to the Listings page?
Click on the GM Navigation Icon (shaped like a book) in the upper right-hand corner
Click on Listings on the left-hand side of the screen
Can I make an Adventure before my Game Template is approved?
No, you cannot make an Adventure until your Game Template is approved.
See How Do I Create a Game Template? if you haven't created one yet.
Why can't I see the Add Adventure button?
The Add Adventure button only appears on approved Game Templates. If you don't see it, check the status of your template on the Listings page:
Pending Review: Your template is still being reviewed. Approval takes 24–48 hours on average.
Draft: Your template was rejected or saved without submitting. Check your email for feedback on what needs to be fixed, then resubmit.
Once your template is approved, the Add Adventure button will appear.
How do I create an Adventure?
Click the black Add Adventure button
Fill out the information in the Add Adventure page, including:
Number of Players
Choose the minimum and maximum number of players you want for your game.
📌 Note: Players will only be charged once your game is Active and sessions are scheduled. Players are never charged while your game is Pending.
Day
Choose the day of the week your game will run.
Time
Choose your session start time, configured to your time zone.
To make sure your time zone is correct, check your Player Profile Settings.
Times can be set on the hour (:00) or half hour (:30).
Frequency
Choose how often your game will meet: Weekly, bi-weekly, once a month, or another custom schedule.
Prep Materials and Links
Add links to Discord, Roll20, or any other resources players need before the session. This section is only visible to players who have already joined your game.
See What are Prep Materials? for more detail.
Game Style
Tag your game with relevant style tags to help players find what they're looking for.
See What are Game Style Tags? for more detail.
Cut-Off Time
Choose how many hours notice you need to prepare a player for your game.
Once the Cut Off Time has been reached, your game will no longer appear in search.
This feature will not prevent a player from joining your game, but will warn players they may not be able to play.
📌 If your game is not showing up in search and you're not sure why, check whether your Cut Off Time has passed for the current session.
Publicly Listed
Check this box to make your Adventure searchable on the Find Games page. Uncheck it to keep the Adventure private.
Notify Followers
Check this box to notify your followers you've created a new Adventure.
Adventures must be publicly listed to use this feature.
See Follow & Favorite Game Masters for more detail.
Instantly Bookable
Check this box to automatically accept players who sign up. If unchecked, you must manually approve or deny each player before they can join.
Games with Instant Book enabled have a 30% higher conversion rate.
See What is Instant Book? for more detail.
Special Event
Check this box if you are participating in one of StartPlaying's monthly events in partnership with charities or TTRPG companies.
You can always go back and edit this on the Edit Adventure page.
Pending vs. Active Adventures
All new Adventures start in Pending status.
Pending means:
You have not reached the minimum players to run your game. Or, you may have hit the minimum number of players, but you have not clicked the blue Start Adventure button.
✅ Your game is visible on the Find Games page and players can browse and sign up for it.
❌ You cannot schedule sessions of your game.
❌ Your players will not be charged until the game is set to Active.
📌 Note: Pending games appear on the Find Games page but will not display a scheduled session time. A session time will only show once your game becomes Active and you have scheduled sessions.
Active means:
You have reached the minimum number of players and clicked the blue Start Adventure button. Or, you reached the minimum number of players for a one-shot and it auto-activated.
✅ Your game is visible on the Find Games page with a scheduled session time.
✅ You can schedule sessions.
✅ Players will be charged at session time.
📌 One-Shot shortcut: One-Shots will automatically become Active once the minimum player count is reached — you don't need to click Start Adventure.
Game Masters are capped to 20 pending listings at a time. To free up space, you can remove outdated listings, activate games that meet requirements, or optimize underperforming listings.
Once you hit your minimum player count, you can switch your game to Active.
How do I schedule a session?
Once your Adventure is Active:
Click on the name of your Adventure, or click on the 3 dots and click Edit
Under Schedule, click Add session or Add multiple sessions
In the pop-up, select your date(s) and time(s)
Click Add
What is the difference between a Campaign and a One-Shot?
These are the two Adventure types on StartPlaying:
Campaign: A series of connected sessions. Players who sign up are automatically included in every session and charged per session they attend.
One-Shot: A single self-contained session. Players are charged once. If you want to run the same one-shot again, you'll need to duplicate or create a new Adventure for it.
If your game will take more than one session to complete, set it up as a Campaign — not a One-Shot — so players don't need to manually sign up for each session.
See What is a One-Shot? What is a Campaign? for more detail.
Why isn't my Adventure showing up in search?
If your game isn't appearing on the Find Games page, check the following:
The Adventure must be set to Public. Private Adventures will not appear in search.
Active games must have at least one session scheduled. An Active game with no upcoming sessions will not show up. Pending games do not need a scheduled session to appear.
The cut-off time may have been reached. If your next session is within your cut-off window, your listing will be temporarily hidden from search.
The game may be fully booked. Games with no remaining seats are removed from the Find Games page.