SRP: Gaming Terms & Types - HOLDERNESS FREE LIBRARY

Level Up At Your Library!
Common Gaming Terms Explained

XP (Experience Points): Points earned by completing tasks or challenges, used to level up or track progress.

Level Up: To gain enough experience to reach a higher skill or power level.

Quest: A mission or task a player takes on, often with a goal and a reward.

NPC (Non-Player Character): A character in a game who is not controlled by a player, often gives quests or information.

HP (Hit Points): A measure of health that decreases when a character is hurt.

Class (or Archetype): A type of character role, like a Fighter, Mage, Healer, or Rogue, each with unique abilities.

Stats (Statistics): A number that represents a character’s skill or ability in a specific area.

Roll (a Die): The action of rolling dice to determine the outcome of an action, such as hitting a monster or sneaking past a guard.

d20: Short for "20-sided die," used to resolve actions in many RPGs.

Party: A group of players working together in a game.

PC (Player Character): A character controlled by a player rather than the game master.

GM / DM (Game Master / Dungeon Master): The person who runs the game, narrates the story, and controls the world and its characters.

Character Sheet: A page that holds all the details about a player's character, like stats, gear, and abilities.

Role-Playing (RP): Pretending to be a character in a game or story.

Loot: Treasure or rewards earned from completing a challenge.

Side Quest: A smaller, optional challenge separate from the main story.

Grind: Repeating a task to slowly make progress or earn rewards.

Session: One play period or meeting of the group, like a single chapter in an ongoing story.

Campaign: A longer story or adventure arc that unfolds over many sessions.

One-Shot: A short RPG adventure that begins and ends in a single session.

Types of Games
Ranked by Popularity, With Examples 🎲

RPG (Role-Playing Game): A game where players create characters and act out stories, often using dice to determine outcomes. (Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Fate Core)

Board Game: A game played on a flat surface with pieces, cards, or dice, and structured rules. (Monopoly, Candy Land, Catan, The Game of Life)

Card Game: A game that uses a deck of cards for gameplay, often involving luck, skill, or both. (Uno, Go Fish, Pokémon TCG, Exploding Kittens)

Cooperative Game: A game where players work together to beat the game rather than compete against each other. (Pandemic, Forbidden Island, Outfoxed!, Mysterium)

Competitive Game: A game where players try to win individually by scoring the most points, finishing first, or eliminating others. (Sorry!, Ticket to Ride, Clue, Magic: The Gathering)

Strategy Game: A game that emphasizes planning and smart choices over chance. (Catan, Risk, Carcassonne, Azul)

Party Game: A casual, often silly game that’s fun with groups and easy to learn. (Apples to Apples, Pictionary, Telestrations, What Do You Meme?)

Dice Game: A game where dice rolls determine actions or outcomes. (Yahtzee, Farkle, King of Tokyo, Dungeon Roll)

Social Deduction Game: A game where players try to figure out hidden roles or secrets by observing behavior.
(Werewolf, Among Us (IRL version), Spyfall, Coup)

Deck-Building Game: A game where each player builds their own deck during play to improve performance.
(Dominion, Clank!, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle)

Bluffing Game: A game where players mislead others or hide their intentions to win. (Sheriff of Nottingham, Skull, Liar’s Dice)

Push-Your-Luck Game: A game that lets players take increasing risks for potential greater rewards.
(Zombie Dice, Can’t Stop, Incan Gold)

Roll-and-Write Game: A game where players roll dice and write results on a sheet to complete goals.
(Welcome To..., Railroad Ink, Qwixx)