514:, the meta is also played through character selection. The opposing character has various strengths that can be avoided and weaknesses that can be exploited more easily depending on the character you choose provided you are aware of those strengths and weaknesses (called a "match up"). For a basic example, a character with a projectile attack has the advantage over a grappler who must be close to the opponent to be effective. Match up metagaming is very important in tournament settings. In recent fighting games, blind select has been implemented for online modes. This makes it so that neither player can see what character the other player chose. In tournaments, players have the option to opt for a blind select where they tell a judge in confidence the character they intend to select in the match, making their character choice mandatory. A newer trend in more recently released titles is to allow the selection of multiple characters at once which the player can then switch between on the fly, rendering match-up picking excessively hard and virtually impractical.
369:, Garfield expanded on this, defining metagame as "how a game interfaces beyond itself", and asserted that this can include "what you bring to a game, what you take away from a game, what happens between games, what happens during a game". Stephanie Boluk and Patrick Lemieux extend and refine Garfield's term to apply to potentially all forms of play and gaming, arguing that metagames are often more important than video games themselves. They go on to describe that metagaming "results from the entanglement of philosophical concepts, the craft of game design, and the cultures of play that surrounds videogames."
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quickly recognizing what kind of deck opponents have and guessing their likely cards or moves, and during the deck building process, by selecting cards that do well against current popular deck types at the possible expense of performance against rarer ones. Another example of metagaming would be bluffing opponents into expecting cards that you do not have, or surprising the competition with novel decks that they may not be prepared for. The
381:, rule imprecisions and non-goal oriented play are not commonplace. As a result, the extent of metagaming narrows down mostly to studying strategies of top players and exploiting commonly-used strategies for an advantage. Those may evolve as updates are released or new, better, strategies are discovered by top players. The opposite metagame of playing a relatively unknown strategy for surprisal is often called
157:
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275:, broadly defined as "a game beyond the game", typically refers to either of two concepts: a game which revolves around a core game; or the strategies and approaches to playing a game. A metagame can serve a broad range of purposes, and may be tied to the way a game relates to various aspects of life.
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The metagame for game developers refers to the extra set of rules and logic that are independent of the core gameplay. This can involve extra progressions or an economic market appended to the core gameplay that add mid- and long-term goals for players. Some researchers argue that having a metagame
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is a special set of moves can allow a player to win in four moves, usually by and against beginners. An example where this meta can be exploited by the opponent is as follows: competitor A has been watching
Competitor B play chess, and the past five games in a row Competitor B has attempted to use
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players compete with decks they have created in advance and the meta consists of the deck types that are currently popular and expected to show up in large numbers in a tournament. The knowledge of metagame trends can give players an edge against other participants, both while they are playing by
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The meta in these environments is often affected by new elements added by the game's developers and publishers, such as new card expansions in card games, or adjustments to character abilities in online games. The metagame may also come within player communities as reactions to win over
498:, a player's previous matches with the same opponent have given them insight into that player's play style and may cause them to make certain decisions which would otherwise seem inferior. Another instance of using the meta in esports was in 2012 at
388:
This usage is particularly common in games that have large, organized play systems or tournament circuits. Some examples of this kind of environment are tournament scenes for tabletop or computer collectible card games like
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competition, when one team was able to exploit "predictable, economical strategies and that summer's metagame, the in-game decisions and team configurations that were fashionable" to counter a play by the other team.
285:, metagaming has been used to describe players discussing the game, sometimes simply rules discussions and other times causing the characters they control to act in ways they normally would not within the story.
683:. In particular, metagaming often refers to having an in-game character act on knowledge that the player has access to, but the character should not. For example, having a character bring a mirror to defeat
319:
was used in the context of playing zero-sum games in a publication by the Mental Health
Research Institute in 1956. It is alternately claimed that the first known use of the term was in Nigel Howard's book
348:, the metagame generally refers to any meaningful interaction between players and elements not directly part of the game. The concept gained traction in game design in a column written in 1995 by
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this four-move win. When
Competitor A sits down to play against Competitor B, Competitor A can play in a way to give them an advantage, assuming Competitor B repeats this line.
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published in 1966. In 1967, the word appeared in a study by
Russell Lincoln Ackoff and in the Bulletin of the Operations Research Society of America.
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In competitive games, the metagame can refer to the most popular strategy, often called a game's meta, or preparation for a match in general.
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of cards is heavily influenced by metagame trends: cards become more valuable when they are popular, often to the point of scarcity.
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Some consider metagaming to benefit oneself bad sportsmanship. It is frowned upon in many role-playing communities, as it upsets
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In competitive games, more pervasive forms of metagaming like teaming in free-for-all multiplayer games can be interpreted as
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More narrowly, the playing history (meta) of a player or small group of players can be used to gain an advantage. A
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when they are unaware her gaze can petrify them, or being more cautious when the game is run by a merciless
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1230:. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers. pp. 66–78.
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Metagaming: Playing, Competing, Spectating, Cheating, Trading, Making, and
Breaking Videogames
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has also been interpreted as a form of metagaming, sometimes considered as unfair.
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currently-popular strategies, creating ebbs and flows of strategy types over time.
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deliberately support metagaming and encourage shared storytelling among players.
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1267:. Jon Cogburn, Mark Silcox. Chicago: Open Court Pub. 2012. pp. 271–283.
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A Model Study of the
Escalation and De-escalation of Conflict, Volume 1
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as "Most
Effective Tactics Available" to tersely explain the concept.
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Bulletin of the
Operations Research Society of America, Volumes 15-16
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published in 1971, where Howard used the term in his analysis of the
636:. They became popular after World War I as high-ranked players like
592:. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.
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Paradoxes of
Rationality: Theory of Metagames and Political Behavior
123:. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.
43:
List of metafictional works § Interactive media and video games
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Dungeons and
Dragons and Philosophy: Raiding the Temple of Wisdom
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Howard, Nigel (1966). "Metagame Analysis in Political Problems".
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1197:"Five Types of Troublesome Players – and How to Deal With Them"
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for players can increase user engagement with those games.
1093:"What Is Metagaming? [A Beginner-Friendly Guide]"
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or as bad sportsmanship. Writer Richard Garfield's book,
982:. Peace Science Society (International). pp. 50–63.
936:"Metadiscourse in Collaborative Narrative Construction"
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Forum-Based Role Playing Games as Digital Storytelling
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Scrye Collectible Card Game Checklist & Gaylord
303:– (from μετά, meta, meaning "beyond") and the noun
181:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1037:"Proving Grounds: The Geography of the MOBA Map"
1002:Management Science Center. 1967. pp. 52–86.
655:or for strategically denying subsequent use of
30:"Metagaming" redirects here. For the book, see
27:Approach transcending a game's prescribed rules
456:, each battleground has a different metagame.
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958:Mental Health Research Institute Publications
328:political landscape using a variation of the
34:. For the board game publishing company, see
8:
1316:GNS and Other Matters of Role-Playing Theory
1117:"What is a metagame and why use it | Adjust"
943:Kwansei Gakuin University Humanities Review
834:Boluk, Stephanie; Lemieux, Patrick (2017).
82:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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608:Learn how and when to remove this message
259:Learn how and when to remove this message
241:Learn how and when to remove this message
139:Learn how and when to remove this message
1173:"What is the Bongcloud Attack in chess?"
1143:Lost in the Shuffle: Games Within Games
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914:"Metagaming and metagames in Esports"
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332:., however Howard used the term in
41:For metafictional video games, see
874:Garfield, Richard (May 11, 2000).
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1063:"Pros react to Dota 2 Patch 7.00"
63:This article has multiple issues.
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918:International Journal of Esports
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166:needs additional citations for
71:or discuss these issues on the
407:, tabletop war-gaming such as
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1156:Miller, John Jackson (2003),
840:University of Minnesota Press
1224:Zalka, Csenge Virág (2019).
1171:Kelemen, Luci (2023-01-29).
398:Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
677:tabletop role-playing games
632:. A particular example are
588:the claims made and adding
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450:. In some games, such as
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707:indie role-playing games
365:. In a 2000 talk at the
1312:"Chapter Three: Stance"
696:suspension of disbelief
640:started to play them.
464:Metagaming and cheating
1295:: CS1 maint: others (
934:Senna, Manuel (2016).
794:"What Is A Meta-Game?"
1310:Edwards, Ron (2001).
888:on February 27, 2008.
518:In trading card games
1336:Brandstater, Nadav.
965:. 1956. p. 240.
848:10.5749/j.ctt1n2ttjx
634:hypermodern openings
529:Magic: The Gathering
392:Magic: The Gathering
355:Magic: The Gathering
175:improve this article
979:Papers, Volumes 6-9
806:on August 27, 2021.
753:Mornington Crescent
453:Heroes of the Storm
36:Metagaming Concepts
1401:Actions per minute
1389:Real-time strategy
773:Prisoner's dilemma
681:fictional universe
649:unpopular openings
573:possibly contains
524:trading card games
373:Competitive gaming
330:Prisoner's Dilemma
104:possibly contains
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768:Poietic Generator
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671:In tabletop games
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1203:. 2014-04-18
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1043:. 2016-09-22
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598:August 2023
522:In popular
478:tournaments
421:multiplayer
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1347:2024-02-08
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190:"Metagame"
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1291:cite book
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586:verifying
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