Gaming has its jargon—and if you’ve ever caught yourself nodding your head while you had no idea what your friends were discussing, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Whether a beginner or a veteran, knowing fundamental gaming jargon can assist you in navigating conversations, tutorials, as well as gameplay better. Below are 30 fundamental gaming terms every gamer needs to have in his/her arsenal.
1. Campaign
The campaign is the single-player story mode of most games. It’ll typically guide you through a chain of missions or levels, usually connected by a plot.
2. Camping
Camping is holding a single strategic location, such as a corner or elevated viewpoint, hoping that enemies will come to you. It’s a contentious tactic: good, but not necessarily respected.
3. Casual
Casual games are designed to be simple and accessible. They’re great for players who want something fun without needing to invest a lot of time or learn complex mechanics.
4. CC (Crowd Control)
Crowd control abilities temporarily limit what enemies can do—stunning them, slowing them down, or silencing their abilities. You’ll see this a lot in games like MOBAs and RPGs.
5. Cheat
A cheat is a code, trick, or exploit that gives a player an unfair advantage, e.g., unlimited ammunition or invincibility. Cheats exist as tools for work, some for enjoyment.
6. Checkpoint
Checkpoints are save points in a game. If your character dies, you respawn at the previous checkpoint instead of the beginning.
7. Cheese / Cheesing
“Cheesing” a game is the use of an exploitative or mindless tactic to win, for example, luring enemies into a trap or using a flaw in the game’s design. It may not be elegant, but it works.
8. Clan
A clan (or guild) is a group of players who play together often, usually to complete missions, play, or participate in events.
9. Class
In RPGs and MMOs, a class defines the role of a character, e.g., tank, healer, or damage dealer, which has its own set of skills and gameplay.
10. Closed Beta
Closed beta is a limited test version of a game. It’s generally invite-only and used to get feedback and patch bugs before launch.
11. Co-op (Cooperative Play)
Co-op games allow you to play with other players to achieve goals. Consider multiplayer story modes in which cooperation is central.
12. COD (Call of Duty)
COD is short for Call of Duty, an extremely popular first-person shooter franchise. It’s a common shorthand in game conversations.
13. Combo
A combo refers to a series of attacks or moves done one after the other to be able to cause greater damage, found in fighting games and action games.
14. Complete / Clock / Beat
To beat or “clock” a game is to complete it—to finish all the levels, or make it through the main story.
15. Console
A console is a specialized gaming machine such as a PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch. In PC gaming, “console” also describes the in-game command input screen.
16. Cooldown
Cooldown is the time you have to wait after activating a special ability or item. You will have to wait for it to “cool down” before activating it once again.
17. CPU
In games, CPU refers to a computer-controlled character or enemy, not the actual hardware processor.
18. Crafting
Crafting lets you make items, such as weapons, armor, or potions, s—by assembling materials you gather while playing.
19. Critical Hit
A critical hit does a lot more damage than a normal attack. These are generally random but may be affected by skills or equipment.