MapleStory is a free-of-charge, 2D, side-scrolling massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Developed by Nexon for Windows. Although playing the game is free, character appearances and gameplay enhancements can be purchased from the "Cash Shop" using real money. MapleStory has a combined total of over 50 million subscriber accounts in all of its versions.
There are four main continents common to all versions in the MapleStory world: Maple Island, Victoria Island, Ossyria and Masteria. Players can play various minigames, both solo and multi-player: Omok (the Korean cognate of the Japanese game “Gomoku,” akin to tic-tac-toe), Match Cards (also known as “Concentration,” can be played with grids of 3×4, 4×5, and 5×6 cards), Gachapon (a vending machine, in which the player inserts a ticket bought from the Cash Shop and a random prize comes out), Rock, Paper, Scissors (based on the actual game, in which one plays against an NPC), Fishing King (currently available in TaiwanMS and ThailandMS), and The Fishing System (currently available in all versions except KoreaMS, GlobalMS and EuropeMS).
In the game, players travel the “Maple World”, defeating monsters and developing their characters’ skills and abilities as is typical in role-playing games. Players can interact with others in many ways, such as through chatting, trading, and playing minigames. Groups of players can band together in parties to hunt monsters and share the rewards. Players can also join a guild to interact more easily with each other.