I’ll admit that there are a lot of conversations with my gamer boyfriend that go completely over my head. So many acronyms, lingo and terms used in the world of gaming that I literally would just stare blankly. Which is why I made myself a gaming glossary full of gaming terms that I have learned over time. By no means are these official definitions. But it’s a helpful list that I can use to navigate conversations that feel like I’m drowning in a bowl of alphabet soup.
Why go through all this effort in making a gaming glossary?
Whenever I have a conversation with my boyfriend or my sister (who also plays games), I sometimes find myself having to ask what certain terms mean. There are so many unique gaming lingo and a lot (I mean A LOT) of acronyms.
I figured if this happens to me as often as it does, I thought perhaps there may be other fellow non-gamers or casual gamers out there who may also find themselves in similar situations. So I started to keep track of some of the jargon that I’ve learned over time and compiled some of them in one spot.
First off, there is no shame in asking questions if you don’t know what something means. I used to feel bad for having to interrupt mid-conversation to ask questions. But what ended up happening is when I ask my boyfriend to explain what he was talking about, he was excited to answer my questions. This was because to him, it showed that I was showing interest in something he cared about.
Isn’t “gaming glossary” a bit vague?
Why yes… yes it is. But that’s because the world of gaming is so incredibly broad.
But fear not, I separated them into two separate glossaries: Table Top Games Glossary and Video Games Glossary. I know there may be some repeating terms but for the most part they have their own terminology.
And it keeps growing!
There are so many more terms that are still unknown/new to me. I am almost certain that there are more terms out there that I have never even heard of.
Luckily, my plan is to keep this an ongoing glossary, always growing and expanding with new definitions. So feel free to submit any gaming terms I may miss. I’ll run them by my in-house expert (aka gamer boyfriend) and if you check back later, you may see your term submission in the glossary. The only thing I ask is to keep it relevant, keep it clean, and keep it kind.
We are all friends, so feel free to reference if you ever find yourself asking “what in the world were they talking about?”