It's one of the first things you see when you come to StartPlaying — Find Game! There's hundreds of games to search for, but how does the Game Search work?
The Find Games page is where players browse and book games on StartPlaying. Games are sorted by how soon they start, and a range of filters help players narrow down exactly what they're looking for.
How are games ordered on the Find Games page?
Games are sorted by how soon their next session starts. Games closest to their start time appear at the top. Games with sessions days away appear lower down.
If you apply filters like Day of Week or Start Time, the results still sort by soonest start within that filter.
No secret tricks like number of reviews or games run to get to the top. If your game is starting soon, it'll be up at the top! 😁
What do "Ready to Play" and "New" mean?
These are the two status options under the Status filter. They apply to every game on the website:
Ready to Play: The game has enough players to start, or has already started. These are Active games.
New: The game is still recruiting players and has not started yet. These are Pending games.
How can I filter for games on the Find Games page?
We have a number of different filters to help you find the game that's right for you!
Schedule Filters
Frequency: Filter by how often the game meets: Weekly, Every other week, Monthly, or Custom
Day: Filter by which days of the week you want to play
Start Time: Filter by the earliest and latest time you want a session to start, in 1-hour or 30-minute intervals
Status
You can select from Ready to Play and New games.
Ready to Play = Have enough players to start/have already started
New = Recruiting players to begin, has not started yet
Game Filters
Game System: Search for a specific TTRPG system, such as D&D 5e or Pathfinder 2e. Note: only systems that currently have active games listed will appear in this filter. The full list of systems is only visible on the GM side when creating a Game Template.
Game Type: Filter for one-shots or campaigns
Story and Setting (D&D 5e and Pathfinder 2e only): Filter by official published adventure or setting (e.g. Curse of Strahd, Forgotten Realms), or select Original/Homebrew if you want GM-created content. Leave these blank to see all available games.
Theme: Filter by genre or tone, such as Gothic Horror, High Fantasy, or Space Western
Price and Format filters
Price Range: Filter by the minimum and maximum price per session you want to pay
Duration: Filter by how long you want each session to run
Game Platform: Filter by Virtual Tabletop (VTT) or communication platform. Also use this filter to find Play by Post (PBP) games.
Status: Filter by Ready to Play (Active) or New (Pending) games
Other Filters
Favorite Game Masters: Show only games from GMs you have favorited
Why is my game not showing up on the Find Games page?
If your game isn't appearing in search, check the following:
The game must be set to Public. Private games will not appear in search.
Active games must have at least one session scheduled. An Active game with no upcoming sessions will not appear in search. This does not apply to Pending games. Pending games appear in search without needing a scheduled session.
The game must not have passed the cut-off time. Check the cut-off time settings on your Adventure. This applies to Pending and Active games.
The game must not be fully booked. Games with no seats remaining are removed from the Find Games page.
Why can't I find a specific game system in the filter?
Only game systems that currently have active games on StartPlaying will appear in the Find Games page search filter.
If you're a GM and can't find your system when creating a Game Template, contact support@startplayinggames.com to request it be added.
See How Do I Add a Game System? for steps.