Social games are not just multiplayer games. With social games, existing social relationships add context and motivation to the gameplay. Social games are more fun to play than the average multiplayer game, because you're almost always playing with people you know, rather than with anonymous strangers. Social games are now played predominantly through online social networks.

A casual game is a video game targeted at a mass audience of casual gamers. Casual games can have any type of gameplay, and fit in any genre. They are typically distinguished by their simple rules, in contrast to more complex hardcore games. They require no long-term time commitment or special skills to play, making them accessible to just about anyone interested in a short-term distraction.

Serious Games represent the application of gaming technology, process, and design to the solution of problems faced by businesses, government and other organizations. Serious Games promote the transfer and cross fertilization of game development knowledge and techniques in traditionally non-game markets such as training, product design, sales, and marketing.