Welcome to the Gaming Glossary. Essentially, it’s a cheat sheet of gaming terms that you might not know or heard of before that I may talk about.
A
Accessory – something that is used to play a game but not always necessary such as a play mat or upgraded components.
B
BGG – Board Game Geek is the go to website/YouTube channel for anything gaming related. They publish a list of the Top 100 games and regularly update it with new releases etc.
C
CCG – Customisable Card Game. A game where you build decks to take on an opponent using cards you buy in boosters or expansion packs. Examples – Star Wars CCG, Magic: The Gathering.
Co–op – a cooperative game is where players team up to complete an objective or scenario. Examples – Pandemic, Arkham Horror: The Card Game
D
DM – A Dungeon Master is the story teller in a role playing game (RPG). They are the person that guides a party of players characters through a series of encounters in a story of their choosing or design. Can be interchanged with GM (Games Master). Example- Dungeons and Dragons.
D&D – Dungeons and Dragons is the most popular fantasy RPG and has been around for over 45 years. Currently in its 5th edition (5e), D&D has many players around the world including Vin Diesel, Jon Favreau, Joe Manganiello and Felicia Day. It also appeared in ET -The Extra Terrestrial and Stranger Things.
D# – A d/D followed by a number represents the type of dice used in a game. A d6 would represent a standard six sided die. The standard dice used in most games are d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20 although you can get a d100. Be warned, the dice gods may not always be on your side.
Deck-building – used primarily in card games (CCG/LCG/TCG) to include different strategies and combos to defeat your opponent. Some games incorporate deck building the game’s mechanics and gameplay like Dominion.
Dungeon Crawler – the primary focus of the game is to go through dungeons or similar setting to complete objectives. Examples – Descent: Journeys in the Dark, Space Hulk.
E
Expansion – an add-on for games that are sold separately but add extra elements to the game. Different games have different types of expansions such as Star Wars: Legion units or Mythos packs for Arkham Horror.
F
FFG – Fantasy Flight Games are an American based games designer/publisher with many releases under their belt using their licences including Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and Marvel. Examples – Star Wars: Legion, Game of Thrones: The Board Game & Marvel Champions
FLGS – is your Friendly Local Gaming Store where you get all your gaming goodies from.
G
Gateway Game – an introductory game that will start you on the slippery slope of tabletop gaming. Some great gateways include Catan, Carcassonne and Pandemic.
GM – Games Master (see DM). Some people prefer to use the term GM when they run their games. Examples – Pathfinder/Starfinder.
H
I
IP – An Intellectual Property is used by games publishers to release games using particular licences such as Star Wars, Marvel and Lord of the Rings.
J
K
L
Lead Mountain – refers to the amount of metal miniatures a gamer has to assemble and paint.
LCG – is a living card game where you build decks to beat a scenario or player similar to a CCG/TCG but instead of buying boosters to try and get cards you need, the cards are readily available for all in expansion packs. Examples – Arkham Horror: The Card Game, Marvel Champions
M
Meeple – is a playing piece included in some games that represents a human or player piece. They are typically made from wood and now is a term used for different types of playing pieces. First coined by Alison Hansel during a game of Carcassonne in 2000 when she fused the words “my” and “people” which has then stuck.
Miniature – typically made from plastic or resin, a miniature is a representation of a person, vehicle, creature etc. They are typically built and painted by the player to a tabletop standard they are pleased with. They are used in primarily in war games and board games but can be used in RPGs to represent PCs etc on a map.
N
NPC – is a Non-Player Character usually created by the DM/GM for PCs to interact with to progress the story. They can give clues of what to do next or guide the PCs to their next location. They can even slow the party down for other nefarious purposes.
O
Organised Play – similar to a tournament structure but encompasses board games and RPGs too.
P
PC – is a Player Character who is used by someone in RPGs and some board games. The player would normally create their characters using the rule books of games including their background, and how they look.
Pile of Shame – is the mountain of unpainted miniatures a gamer has to paint but they keep adding to it.
Plastic Crack – a term used by wargamers to describe miniatures and their addiction to buying/owning them.
Q
R
RPG – sadly not a Rocket Propelled Grenade but a Role Playing Game where a person plays as a character and acts as that character during the game/campaign. Examples – Call of Cthulhu, D&D, Pathfinder, Starfinder.
S
Skirmish Game – smaller that a war game which uses a smaller board size and fewer miniatures where you have to complete a series of objectives. Examples – Frostgrave, Necromunda.
Sprue – miniatures come attached to sprues that need to be cut off and assembled.
T
TCG – Trading Card Game is another name for a CCG. Examples – Pokemon, Lord of the Rings TCG.
Terrain – used in war/skirmish games to enhance the board. Can be anything from buildings and ruins to trees and hills.
Tournament – is where players compete in some games to win prizes. They can range in size from four players to hundreds of players. Prizes can include gaming merchandise, promotional cards, trophies and even money in some cases. One of the top prizes for Magic: The Gathering is $50,000.
U
V
W
War game – typically a battle or scenario taking place on a large board with a lot of miniatures. Examples – Bolt Action, Warhammer 40K
Warhammer 40,000 – or 40K as it’s known to the gaming community. A futuristic miniature war game from Games Workshop currently in it’s ninth edition.
WFB – Warhammer Fantasy Battle was a miniature war game by Games Workshop and had eight editions before it became the Age of Sigmar. It has now been given the nickname “Oldhammer”.
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