!This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=17084359480.38209100 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.

There are several distinct types of multiplayer modes in VideoGames. This trope is a SisterTrope of CompetitiveMultiplayer, CoOpMultiplayer, and MassivelyMultiplayer.

!Meta Multiplayer
Only one player is present playing in their own game at a time, but there are other players doing this as well.

!!Leaderboards
Players compete with other single players for performance in the game.

Examples:
%%* ''VideoGame/{{Audiosurf}}''
%%* ''VideoGame/DeadRising''
* ''VideoGame/NetHack'' has the score list which can be seen by other players on the same system (e.g. a public server), and there are "bones files" that store the contents of a level on which a character died. The program "Hearse" can be used to exchange bones files with other players.
* Many WebGames and puzzle games (leaderboard for high score/best time).

!!SuccessionGame (aka "Hotseat")
Players take a turn in a single-player game, then relinquish control to another at a certain point in the game's progress. Almost any game can be played this way, even if it isn't part of the game design.

Examples:
* Succession games are very common in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'', such as the infamous LetsPlay thread Blog/{{Boatmurdered}}.
%%* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' for the Platform/{{NES}}.
%%* ''Link's Crossbow Training'' for the Platform/{{Wii}}

!!Non-Preemptive Multiplayer
Two individual games that take turns. The two game sessions are kept entirely separate. Both scores may be tracked and directly compared for competition.

Examples:

* Most UsefulNotes/{{Arcade Game}}s with 1 joystick and a "2-player" mode, such as ''VideoGame/PacMan''.

!![[RacingGhost Recorded/Ghost Matches]]
One player's game is recorded from start to finish, and another player competes directly against the recorded game.

Examples:

* ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}} Friends'' uses this method for most of its multiplayer games.
* ''VideoGame/GratuitousSpaceBattles'' has a variation of this, with players creating Challenge Fleets for other players to download and fight against.
* ''VideoGame/TrackMania'' is entirely this but also allows you to have 'live' ghost matches with dozens of people on the same track. If you feel like it you can look up the time other people set and download their ghost ride and race against it. You can challenge other people by message or mail as well.
* ''VideoGame/WanganMidnight Maximum Tune'' from the third installment onwards has Ghost Battle mode, where you race the car of an opponent that's following its owner's previous performance. Doing races in Ghost Battle mode earns points that can be used to [[CosmeticAward modify your car's visual appearance]]. ''Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3'', ''3 DX'', and ''3 DX Plus'' allow racing against opponents whose ghosts are stored on the machines, but starting in ''Maximum Tune 4'', opponent ghosts are stored on online servers and can be challenged from any machine on your region's[[note]]There's five segregated regions: Japan, Indonesia, China, the rest of the Asia/Austrailia Pacific, and North America[[/note]] network.
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