What the game is

One world, many players

Old School RuneScape is an online role-playing game set in the world of Gielinor. Thousands of people play at the same time, spread over many copies of the world called worlds. Each person controls one character, and everyone else they see is either another player or an NPC run by the game.

The game is RuneScape as it was in 2007, relaunched by Jagex in 2013 and built on ever since. Most new content goes to a vote of the players before it is added, which is why the game still looks and plays like it did.

No single goal

Nothing tells a player what to do next. Instead there are many long goals running side by side:

• Skills. 24 of them, from Fishing to Magic, each trained from level 1 to 99. Skills and levels explains how.
• Quests. 182 stories with puzzles and fights. Many unlock new places, items and abilities. See Quests.
• Combat. From chickens outside Lumbridge up to bosses that take a team. See Fighting.
• Money. Prices are set by players on the Grand Exchange, and they rise and fall. See Money.
• Collecting. The collection log records every rare item a character has found.

Most players mix these. A common start is a few short quests, then whichever skill looked fun along the way.

Free or members

The game is free to play with no time limit. Free players get 15 skills, 24 quests and part of the map. Members pay for 9 more skills, the other 158 quests and the rest of the world. Starting free is normal, and every level gained counts after joining. Free-to-play and membership has the detail.

One account, any device

The same character plays on a computer or a phone, but can only be logged in once at a time. RuneScape 3, the modern version of the game, uses the same login and the same membership, but its characters are separate: progress in one does not carry over to the other.