A "game" in which a group of [players] each take on the role of usually one, though sometimes more, characters and combine to create a series of events by deciding the actions of the character and the way said character interacts with other characters and the environment.

Most commonly, the players are trying to tell a coherent story about the characters, achieve a set of objectives on behalf of the characters in the fictional universe, or accurately simulate the characters' responses to situations in the fictional universe.