As a newcommer and wannabe board game designer I found out that there are lot of abbreviations and acronymns used all around forums and materials. In the beginning I was very often wondering meaning of specific terms and acronymns and it made it a bit hard to follow the discussions or understand details of what was said.
Here’s a collection of the most common abbreviations that I’ve encountered in board game industry and their explanations.
General
- BGG – BoardGameGeek (popular board game database and community)
- PVP – Player vs. Player
- PVE – Player vs. Environment
- RNG – Random Number Generator (refers to randomness or luck in a game)
- TTS – Tabletop Simulator (digital tool for prototyping/playtesting)
Desing
- AI – Artificial Intelligence (opponent or automation logic in solo games)
- AP – Action Points
- GM – Game Master (more common in RPGs, but also used in narrative games)
- HP – Hit Points (health of a character/unit)
- KS – Kickstarter (crowdfunding platform)
- PnP – Print and Play (a downloadable version of a game for home printing)
- VP – Victory Points
- WIP – Work in Progress
Game Components
- D4/D6/D8/D12/D20 – Dice with 4/6/8/12/20 sides
- PCB – Player Control Board or Player Character Board
- SBS – Standee Base Slot (for punchboard standee tokens)
- Meeple – Stylized human-shaped token (from “My People” in Carcassonne)
Board Game Business
- CM – Contract Manufacturer
- FFL – Free First Look (marketing term for early preview copy)
- IP – Intellectual Property
- MS – Mass Market (e.g., Walmart, Target)
- MSRP – Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price
- MOQ – Minimum Order Quantity (for manufacturing)
- NDAs – Non-Disclosure Agreements
- POD – Print on Demand
Game details
- 1P / 2P / 3P… – Number of players (e.g., 2P = 2-player game)
- 4X – Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate (a genre of strategy games)
- Asym – Asymmetric Game (players have different abilities/roles)
- Co-op – Cooperative Game
- Solo – Single-player mode