Bartle's Taxonomy

Achievers (Diamonds)

Players who prefer to gain "points", levels, equipment, and other concrete measurements of succeeding in a game. These rewards can be cosmetic only.

Every game that can be "beaten" in some way caters to the Achiever play style by giving them something to accomplish. Games that offer a 100% completion rating appeal to Achievers. They value (or despise) the competition from other Achievers, and look to the Socializers to give them praise. 

Explorers (Spades)

Players that have a tendency to dig around, are players who prefer discovering areas, and immerse themselves in the game world. They are often annoyed by time-restricted missions as that does not allow them to traverse at their own pace. They enjoy finding glitches or a hidden easter egg. 

Combat and gaining levels or points is secondary to the Explorer, so they traditionally flock to games such as Myst. In these games, the player finds themselves in a strange place, and the objective is to find their way out by paying close attention to detail and solving puzzles. The Explorer will often enrich themselves in any back story or lore they can find about the people and places in-game. Whereas an Achiever may quickly forget a gaming adventure; the Explorer will recall fond memories about their experience. 

Explorers will often become bored with any particular multiplayer game when they have experienced its content. They will tire quicker than other gamer types, and feel the game has become a chore to play. 

Socializers (Hearts)

 Players who play games for the social aspect, rather than the actual game itself. They gain the most enjoyment from a game by interacting with other players, and sometimes, computer-controlled characters with personality. The game is merely a tool they use to meet others in-game or outside of it. Some socializers enjoy helping others for the sake of altruism, while explorers help for the sake of discovering previously unattained areas, and achievers or killers want to help for the sake of an extrinsic reward such as points. 

Since their objective is not so much to win or explore as it is to be social, there are few games that the Socializer enjoy based on their merits. Instead, they play some of the more popular games so that they can use the multi-player features. However, there are some games designed with their play style in mind, which socializers may in particular enjoy. Games of the earliest video game generations seldom have longer dialogue trees, but newer games that offer significant player-NPC relationship interaction and development include the titles Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Baldur's Gate. Socializers are especially keen at sharing their gaming experiences on forums and social media. 

The online environment is very appealing to the Socializer, as it provides near limitless potential for new relationships. They take full advantage of the ability to join guilds or kinships in many online games. 

Killers (Clubs)

Killers are motivated by powergaming and eclipsing others. They want to achieve first rank on the high score board or beat another speedrunner's time record. 

Causing mayhem among computer-controlled people and things may be fun to the Killer, but nothing amounts to the joy of pitting one's skills against an actual player-controlled opponent. For most, the joy of being a Killer results from a friendly competitive spirit. For others, it's more about power and the ability to hurt others or the thrill of the hunt. One such example is "ganking" or "owning", a process where the Killer takes their strong character to a place where inexperienced or weaker characters reside, and proceeds to kill them repeatedly.

Application and Expansion

This taxonomy is not a perfect representation of gamers but can be used to help with designing features for a game. Think about what type of audience your game is trying to attract. What feature will work best for that audience given this taxonomy?

Bartle also created a version of his player types model that included a third axis of implicit/explicit. This axis splits each category into two new ones for a total of eight player types. (Planner, Opportunist, Scientist, Hacker, Networker, Friend, Politician, Griefer)

Take this test and find out where you land in the taxonomy (I'm a EKSA):