World of Warcraft is a MMORPG, meaning millions of players are playing at once. There are servers in which a limited number of players can play at once (e.g. 10,000 or so) on one server. There are two factions to play, the Horde (monsterlike or creaturelike humanoids) or the Alliance (humans, or closely related humanoids). Each faction has 4 (6 with this new expansion) races to choose from. And several different classes to play, such as: warriors, hunters, priests, shamans, deathknights, mages, warlocks, paladins, Druids, etc. You can play by yourself or with others, as long as you are of the same faction. There are many paths to choose in wow. You could choose to fight monsters and quest or choose to battle actual players in a combat environment. There is just so much diversity in this game it is unbelievable. So many things to do, including fishing, cooking, and professions such as mining, skinning, engineering or blacksmithing, and much much more, so that you can make a living in the world. You can even have up to 10 characters on a server, each with their own individual identities. Just realize this game is extremely diverse and can be really assisting. I've been playing about 3 years and have put in over 120 days worth of play time. It can just be really addicting to some people and others just won't give it a chance. Which is there loss, it truly is a really great game, but remember not to get to sucked in.