Actual play, also called live play, is a genre of podcast or web show in which people play tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) for an audience. Actual play often encompasses in-character interactions between players, storytelling from the gamemaster, and out-of-character engagements such as dice rolls and discussion of game mechanics.
Sounds simple, right? Actual Play (AP) is a show where people actually play a TTRPG, instead of just talking about TTRPG. But the term is contentious in certain circles. Historically, AP was primarily a game demo -- a way for people to showcase a game as instruction and marketing. If you're like me, the idea of reading game instructions makes your brain start to melt; I'd much rather just watch people play and glean the rules through a sort of fun-adjacent osmosis. But then at some mysterious pointcriticalrole, broader audiences started appreciating these game-performances as works themselves, as a kind of theatre.
💠Some people bristle at the term, thinking that it requires a kind of performance that feels inauthentic.
💠Some people don't like that AP is associated with money and content, like the growing popularity of the medium cheapens it.
💠Some people are tired of being constantly asked "what's actual play?" because the term isn't very descriptiveit's me I'm these people
I see it as a value-neutral descriptive term. It's important to know it, because it will help you find relevant material, but you can call your show a live play, a D&D show, or "just a bunch of buds at a table" if you want. I won't judge.
Ok, but like, what IS actual play, really?
Now that I've establish that no one seems to agree, I can share my take. AP is a type of performance and meta-performance intertwined. It's like if you went to the theatre, and they put spotlights on the gaffers as well as the actors. The performers move in and out of character, second-guess themselves, question the mechanics, and generally play jump rope with the line between reality and fiction. Of course, the big secret is that there is another meta-layer that the audience doesn't see. There may very well be off-screen crew making things happen. There is pre- and post-production. And within each performer's mind, there is a level of thought that goes into the performance that isn't shared.An actual play is essentially two shows in one: the fictional story of the characters and the reality/game show of the actors playing the game. Think Drag Race meets Survivor, but with more snacks, less nature, and even less money.
What the fuck is actual play? by Rowan Zeoli