Players using a dance mat to play Dance Dance Revolution, one of the most successful rhythm games.

Rhythm game, or rhythm action, is a type of music-themed action video game. These games mostly focus either on dancing or simulating the playing of musical instruments. Players must press buttons in time with commands from the game, which are in time with the rhythm of a song. Doing so will cause the game's protagonist or avatar to dance or play their instrument correctly, thus achieving a greater score. They can be played with a hand-held controller, though different control devices have been made to play rhythm games, such as guitar- and drum-shaped controllers for musical instrument games, and pressure-sensitive pads (called dance mats) that the player must step on for dancing games. The Kinect for the Xbox 360 allows the player to use their whole body to control the game by tracking their movements. Some games have a multi-player mode, where players can play as members of a band or dance crew, or compete against each other.