An Adventure is the live game listing that players can find and book on StartPlaying. To create one, you need an approved Game Template first. Once your Adventure is created and Active, you can schedule sessions for players to join.
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
Do I need an approved Game Template before I can create an Adventure?
Yes. You cannot create an Adventure until you have at least one approved Game Template. If your template is still in Draft or Pending Review, you'll need to wait for approval before proceeding.
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?
Go to your Listings page
Click the black Add Adventure button on your approved Game Template
Fill out the Adventure settings (see field descriptions below)
Click Save
Your Adventure will be created in Pending status.
What are the Adventure settings fields?
Number of Players
Set the minimum and maximum number of players for your game.
Players in scheduled sessions will be charged, even if the minimum player count is not met.
Day
Choose the day of the week your game will run.
Time
Choose your session start time, configured to your time zone. Times can be set on the hour (:00) or half hour (:30).
To confirm your time zone is correct, check your Player Profile Settings.
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
Add tags to help players find your game by style or tone.
See What are Game Style Tags? for more detail.
Cut-Off Time
Set how many hours before a session your game stops appearing in search. Once the cut-off time is reached, your listing will no longer show on the Find Games page.
Players who find the game directly can still join, and will be warned they may not have enough time to prepare.
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 edit this at any time.
What is Pending status and when does it change to Active?
All new Adventures start in Pending status. This means:
You cannot schedule sessions yet
Players can sign up but will not be charged
Your game will appear on the Find Games page but not with a scheduled session
Once you reach your minimum player count, you can change the game to Active. This enables session scheduling and player charging. See How do I Start an Adventure? for steps.
📌 Note: GMs are capped at 20 Pending Adventures at a time.
How do I schedule a session?
Once your Adventure is Active:
Click on the name of your Adventure, or click the three dots next to it and click Edit
Under Schedule, click Add session or Add multiple sessions
Select your date(s) and time(s) in the pop-up
Click Add
Sessions will appear on your Adventure page and your game will show up in search.
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.
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.