Does your child play a lot of video games? If so, you may hear them say some words or phrases that are unfamiliar or that might have a different meaning in other contexts. This might have begged the question: “What do the gaming terms my kids use mean?”.
Gaming is an entire culture, after all, and it covers such a broad area of discussion– which isn’t surprising, seeing as it’s a huge collection of virtual worlds beyond our own. Your child interacts with many of these worlds, which means learning a new lingo is expected as they progress through these games, especially if it’s a multiplayer game.
Thankfully, I’ve compiled a list of common gaming phrases parents should know. Let’s get right into it and take a look!
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In the world of online gaming, what does Speed Running mean?
First in our list of gaming terms defined for parents is the phrase, “speed running”. You might have seen this term as you were casually browsing YouTube, or in a gaming article your child might have read some time ago.
In the simplest sense, when you try to play a game with the goal to reach the end in the fastest time possible, you are speed running. Sometimes people attempt to speed run just a segment of the game, other times people attempt to speed run the whole game.
There are communities made around speed running, setting rules to how a speed run should be achieved, and verifying speed run attempts. While a lot of speed-runners adhere to these rules, others tend to use glitches, bugs, and other exploits to speed run, which are also very entertaining to watch.
Speed running is often an intense hobby, requiring a lot of practice, patience, and skill. To help you picture how intense it tends to be, the game Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time usually takes weeks and weeks of gameplay, but a few speed-runners managed to complete the game in just eight minutes.
In the world of online gaming, what does NOOB or Newbie mean?
The term “noob” came from the term “newbie”, which is a word used to refer to someone who is new to a particular hobby or activity. In the world of online gaming, you might see other people call someone a “noob” when that person does something one can consider “inexperienced” or one would not expect a veteran player to do.
While “newbie” tends to be on the nicer side, the term “noob” tends to be used in a negative manner, often as an insult, especially when the game reaches critical points. “Noob” can be used either seriously or jokingly.
Sometimes, however, the terms “newbie” and “noob” can be used interchangeably (“I am such a noob”), so getting to know the context of the situation it was used in is also important.
In the world of online gaming, what does 1v1 or 3v3 mean?
Some online games require players to play against each other using the mechanics or rules of the game they’re playing. A 1v1 means “one versus one”, which means the game will be similar to a standard boxing match where one boxer goes against another boxer.
Following this logic, a 3v3, means “three versus three”, which means three players are teamed up to go against another team of three. This term pertains to team games, similar to basketball (which is a 5v5 on the court) or soccer (11v11).
This format, in general, tells you how many players can be found in a team, and that the game is a versus match.
This format can also be used to describe an imbalance in the number of teammates, for example, 5v6, which could indicate that one teammate is not in the current location or has disconnected.
In the world of online gaming, what are crates or loot boxes?
In gaming, “crates” or “loot boxes” are an in-game reward. Think of them like mystery boxes, or unopened gifts with unknown items inside.
In most games, you usually get these boxes after leveling up or reaching a certain achievement. Such games also offer a paid option where you can purchase a number of crates or loot boxes with real life currency.
Although loot boxes are meant to be rewards, the down side to them is that you can’t choose what you’re getting, so getting what you want via loot box can seem more rewarding due to its randomness.
In the world of online gaming, what does grinding mean?
In gaming, grinding means to do a lot of repetitive tasks to obtain particular items, points, or rewards. Usually, when you grind, you are working for something, or are meaning to level up your characters or items.
Someone can consider a game (or their current situation in the game) “grindy” when the tasks that they do tend to feel more like work than play.
In the world of online gaming, what does Pwn or Pwned mean?
To “pwn” someone means that you have “owned” them, meaning that you have dominated them in some way, depending on the game. In a 1v1 first person shooter game, this could mean killing their character with a headshot. It implies “power over” or “mastery over” an opposing player.
In the world of online gaming, what are Skins?
Skins pertain to a cosmetic change to the characters in a game. They tend to be new designs or outfits for characters and can be obtained usually via loot boxes or in-game purchases (through either in-game currency or real currency). It’s good to note that skins don’t affect gameplay and are solely for aesthetic and cosmetic purposes.
In the world of online gaming, what does teabagging mean?
Now, this word might be a bit uncomfortable for most parents, but if you hear your child say this, it’s best to understand what it means.
When you teabag someone in a game, you usually do it over their character’s corpse, usually after you’ve shot or killed them. To teabag someone, you have to crouch up and down repeatedly over their character’s corpse as an act of dominance. This action has become a huge part of gaming culture back in the early days of gaming, especially in games like Halo. This act has been controversial since then, due to being sexually suggestive, but is still being done due to either a force of habit (for older gamers) or lack of context (for younger gamers).
In the world of online gaming, what does rekt or wrecked mean?
“Rekt” was derived from the word “wrecked”, which, in gaming, is used to describe another player who has been extremely or thoroughly dominated by another player (or, in offline games, by the computer-controlled player or AI). This term is similar to “pwned”; however, it usually signifies a much greater magnitude. When someone gets “wrecked” or “rekt”, it means they suffered a great, unfortunate loss in the game– especially if the game started in favor of the other team or player to begin with.
In the world of online gaming, what does ping or ping rate mean?
The term “ping” or “ping rate” is used exclusively in online games. This is because the “ping” tells you how fast your internet is at any given time. The lower the ping, the better the latency or internet connection.
Whenever there is a fluctuation on the network, you can usually tell due to the game starting to lag (sometimes even stop completely). You can check your ping rate (which is usually displayed somewhere on the user interface) to confirm if the lag you’re experiencing in-game is related to the network. Otherwise, it could be another problem altogether.
Having low ping or good net latency is extremely important in online games, especially in competitive matches where anything can happen in a split second, and most of the time, these split seconds can cost you a victory.
I hope this list of online gaming terms helps you in your future conversations with your little gamer. Do you have some notable experiences with these phrases, or have you heard some new ones that you’d like to know the meanings of? Feel free to leave a comment below!
