metagames
Strategy beyond rules
Metagames refers to the strategies and knowledge that exist outside a game's formal rules but shape how it's played.
In competitive gaming, the metagame is the current landscape of dominant tactics, popular character picks, and counter-strategies: The metagame shifted after the patch nerfed that weapon.
More broadly, metagaming means using external information to gain advantage—in tabletop roleplaying, a player metagames when their character acts on knowledge the player has but the character shouldn't: He's metagaming—his wizard wouldn't know about that trap.
Selected equipment configuration
- tempoRate of musical performance
- economySystem of trade and production
- counter-strategyResponse to thwart tactics
- positioningArranging in specific locations
bluffing · bait · trap · prediction · exploit · optimization · min-maxing
Path selection process
- glitchMinor system fault
- skipTo deliberately exclude
- categoryA class of things
- 100%Full amount possible
tool-assisted · optimization · split · personal-best · leaderboard · marathon
Scheduled competitive pairing
- banOfficial restriction on something
- draftPreliminary version of text
- readsInterprets written symbols
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
tournament · bracket · seeding · prep · scouting · conditioning · mixup · risk-reward
Balanced gains and losses
- minimaxWorst-case loss reduction
- signalingConveying information nonverbally
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
loadout
Selected equipment configuration
- tempoRate of musical performance
- economySystem of trade and production
- counter-strategyResponse to thwart tactics
positioning · bluffing · bait · trap · prediction · exploit · optimization · min-maxing
routing
Path selection process
100% · tool-assisted · optimization · split · personal-best · leaderboard · marathon
matchup
Scheduled competitive pairing
adaptation · tournament · bracket · seeding · prep · scouting · conditioning · mixup · risk-reward · punish
zero-sum
Balanced gains and losses
- minimaxWorst-case loss reduction
- signalingConveying information nonverbally
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
nerf
Reduce in-game effectiveness