DTSS's popular American football game, he said, now supported head-to-head play by two humans. Kemeny wrote in 1972 that software running on the Dartmouth Time Sharing System (DTSS) had recently gained the ability to support multiple simultaneous users, and that games were the first use of the functionality.

Real-time play requiring quick reaction.

Incomplete information resulting in suspense and risk-taking.

Multiple humans competing with each other instead of a computer.

Ken Wasserman and Tim Stryker identified three factors which make networked computer games appealing: The games had broader consoles to allow for four sets of controls. Gauntlet (1985) and Quartet (1986) introduced co-operative 4-player gaming to the arcades.

Danielle Bunten Berry created some of the first multiplayer video games, such as her debut, Wheeler Dealers (1978) and her most notable work, M.U.L.E. All players' scores are often displayed onscreen so players can see their relative standing. In such games, play is alternated at some point (often after the loss of a life). Other early video games included turn-based multiplayer modes, popular in tabletop arcade machines. Multi-user games developed on this system included 1973's Empire and 1974's Spasim the latter was an early first-person shooter. The first examples of multiplayer real-time games were developed on the PLATO system about 1973.

Some of the earliest video games were two-player games, including early sports games (such as 1958's Tennis For Two and 1972's Pong), early shooter games such as Spacewar! (1962) and early racing video games such as Astro Race (1973).

Board game online local multiplayer