Turn, round and phase
A turn is commonly one player's opportunity to act. A round is a larger cycle, perhaps ending after everyone has acted or after all players pass. A phase is a named part of either sequence, such as income or cleanup. These layers can nest: a round might contain several player turns followed by a shared scoring phase. Read the sequence rather than assuming one round always means exactly one turn each.
An action is something a player does within that sequence. A turn may grant one action, several action points or a choice among different actions. A free action usually has a special timing or cost rule; free does not mean unlimited unless the game says so. A reaction or interrupt may happen during somebody else's turn, but only under its stated conditions.
Hand, deck, discard and supply
Your hand is the set of cards available to you, often hidden from other players. A deck is an ordered or randomised stack from which cards are drawn. A discard pile holds used or rejected cards. It may be face up, face down or eventually shuffled back into a deck. Discarding is therefore different from removing a card from the game, sometimes called trashing or exhausting a supply.
A supply is a shared collection of available pieces or cards. A market is commonly a visible selection from which players can choose. Neither term tells you whether the contents are limited. If a hypothetical game runs out of coin tokens, you must check whether coins are intentionally scarce or whether substitutes are allowed. Do not automatically apply a rule learned from another game's bank.
Resources, costs and rewards
A resource is something players gain, hold or spend, such as wood, energy or money. A cost is paid to perform an action; a reward is gained after its conditions are met. Requirements can differ from costs. Needing three buildings might make an action available without requiring you to remove those buildings. Look for the instruction that tells you whether something is spent.
Income describes a recurring gain, but its timing comes from the rules. A discount lowers a cost, while a conversion exchanges one item for another. A modifier changes a value used in a calculation. If an effect reduces a cost by two, check whether the game permits the result to fall below zero. General vocabulary cannot answer a specific arithmetic exception.
Points, objectives and end conditions
Victory points are a common way to compare final achievement. Some are recorded immediately; others remain on cards until final scoring. An objective is a condition to work toward, which may award points or determine victory directly. Public objectives are visible to everyone, while secret objectives restrict what others know. Hidden information does not necessarily mean players may lie about it; communication rules still apply.
An end trigger starts or causes the finish. It may be separate from the winning condition. Emptying a deck could end a game in which somebody else has the highest score. A tie-breaker determines what happens when the main comparison is equal. Some games allow a shared victory, so do not invent a secondary contest merely because nobody has a higher number.
Open information and simultaneous choices
Open information is information players are allowed to know, such as a public score or face-up card. Hidden information might include a private hand or facedown objective. Ask whether an apparently public total must be announced or may simply be counted from visible pieces. Memory requirements sometimes depend on whether previously revealed information remains accessible.
Simultaneous selection means players choose at the same time, but resolution may still happen in a specified order. Two people choosing a move together does not prove both effects occur together. Initiative, first-player status or a priority value may determine who resolves first. These distinctions matter when both choices target a limited space or the same reward.
Common descriptions of game structure
Cooperative games ask players to pursue a shared outcome against the game's system. Competitive games compare players or teams against one another. Semi-cooperative is a broader label for arrangements that mix shared and individual interests; read the actual objectives because the label covers very different experiences. Solo means playable by one person, but that person may control several characters or manage an automated opponent.
An expansion adds material to an existing game and may require the original box. A standalone expansion can be played on its own, although it may also combine with another product. A campaign links sessions through progress, a continuing story or persistent changes. Legacy is often used for games with lasting alterations, but the exact reset options must be checked for the specific product.
Terms describing mechanisms tell you about repeated decisions. Drafting involves selecting from an available set; deck-building changes a personal deck during play; worker placement uses pieces to claim actions or spaces. These labels help compare experiences, but a single game can combine several mechanisms. Ask what you actually do on a normal turn before deciding whether the label appeals.
