How to create a shortcut to a VMWare Workstation Player 15 VM?

tl;dr: Required command vmplayer.exe HelloWorld.vmx

First find the vmplayer.exe executable full path. Default path is:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Player\vmplayer.exe" 

Run that path with --help option in Command Prompt for the help window:

Usage: vmplayer.exe [OPTION ...] [--] [configuration file]

where OPTIONS are:

-v          Show program version
-X          Enter full screen mode
            when a virtual machine is powered on
--unity     Enter Unity
            when a virtual machine is powered on

vmware_player_help_window

Now find the required VMware virtual machine configuration file with .VMX file extension. For example:

"%UserProfile%\Desktop\Virtual Machines\Windows 10 x64\Windows 10 x64.vmx" 

Hence the full command will be like this:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Player\vmplayer.exe" "%UserProfile%\Desktop\Virtual Machines\Windows 10 x64\Windows 10 x64.vmx" 

Too long, isn't it? Create a shortcut of vmplayer.exe with that command. This also works in Command Prompt. Make sure to user double quote the path because the path contains spaces. This may help.