A sandbox game (or a video game with an optional sandbox mode) is a video game with an open-ended and non-linear style of gameplay, or a reduced emphasis on structure. The sandbox analogy is used to describe this style of gaming because, as with a physical sandbox, the user is entertained by their ability to play creatively, boundless of artificial structural constraints. While these games may or may not have a story or over-arching mission struc...
more
A sandbox game (or a video game with an optional sandbox mode) is a video game with an open-ended and non-linear style of gameplay, or a reduced emphasis on structure. The sandbox analogy is used to describe this style of gaming because, as with a physical sandbox, the user is entertained by their ability to play creatively, boundless of artificial structural constraints. While these games may or may not have a story or over-arching mission structure, they are considered sandbox games for their ability to allow players to think outside of these goals.
Role-playing game, including MMORPG, and various other types of games can be sandbox games as well. The best selling PC game of all time, The Sims, is a sandbox-style creation (though its predecessor, SimCity, has been described as merely open-ended). Space trading and combat simulator, such as Elite and Freelancer, are examples of sandbox games.
More "traditional" goal-oriented video games sometimes offer a sandbox mode, usually an...
less
