Yard Play Sets

Is it better to just let the grass and place of the play structure above, with the mowing around the structure? fix or mulch on top of the grass? or remove the grass and level the ground, then lay the mulch, if I go with the later how do I go about removing the grass and leveling the ground?

and depends on personal taste. You love your lawn? Recently, I put in a play set in my own backyard. we left the grass and found that it became torn. also our ground around here is hard clay and so on. so it was hard to fall for children. Now we have a bit of straw covered with bark chips. softer.
for grading, we did not do it. we have a yard and dug a little lumpy where the need for media at all levels.
buy a weed / grass killer that lasts all season.
You can also rent a water-filled ussually rolling device from your local hardware store. you wet your yard and then use the roller Flaten area as needed. (?) Who would work. Local materials can also have some ideas to offer as well.

I square off the first box. Then I would spray something on the grass to kill it before placing plastic landscaping on it. Then place the red rubber mulch that is used on school grounds, etc. This way, you do not have to mow around the whole game and your children have a safe surface below them to play . This is what really counts. I'm sure the instructions on the back of mulch "rubber" will give you directions for the work of preparation before putting down the mulch special. I saw that the rubber mulch at Lowe's, but I'm sure you can find at Home Depot or other places.