gamecraft

From game +‎ -craft.

gamecraft (uncountable)

1. Skill in the strategy and tactics of playing a game or games, as opposed to the physical skills of strength, dexterity, accuracy, etc.
   • 1936, The National Review - Volume 107, page 776:

     It is true that now and again, but very seldom, what I should call honest gamecraft like “bowling with the head” may be pursued dangerously near to downright cheating.

   • 2014, Alex Welsh, The Soccer Goalkeeping Handbook 3rd Edition, page 117:

     Most of his work involves gamecraft – dealing with through balls, distribution and organising the defence.

   • 1959, Brian Sutton-Smith, The Games of New Zealand Children, page 164:

     Nineteenth-century children showed no such ability to cross gamecraft barriers.

   • 2013 March, Jonathan Wilson, “Eat Them Like Bread”, in The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly, volume 8, page 115:

     regular competitive games against better teams of higher quality (so long as the gulf in quality is not too big) sharpens sides, teaches them how to organise themselves, gives them gamecraft.

   • 2016, Michael J. Martinez, The Daedalus Incident Revised:

     The captain merely smiled and said, “It is a bit of gamecraft, Doctor. This Bancroft is our man, and has been for some time.”

2. Artistry in the organization and elements used to design a game or storyline.
   • 2012, Philip Tallon, The Poetics of Evil: Toward an Aesthetic Theodicy, page 60:

     Using Gadamer's game terminology, the kind of artistry that Sayers describes is a form of gamecraft, wherein the artist is able to draw us into the “play” of the poem, film, novel, or play.

   • 2021, Richard J. Heggen, Underground Rivers, page 395:

     Most virtual-world gamecraft portrays underground rivers as static features to be negotiated, much the same as magic mountains or pits to doom.

3. Skill and knowledge about hunting and managing game.
   • 1883, Alfred Marshall Mayer, Sport with Gun and Rod in American Woods and Waters, page 669:

     While the woodcock and wilson's snipe are fated to disappear as civilization robs them of their restricted feeding-grounds, Bob White, if protected by the enforcement of judicious game laws, will thrive in the midst of cultivated lands, and will continue to test the gamecraft and marksmanship of future generations.

   • 1930, Sir Ewen MacLean, A B.M.A. Odyssey, page 40:

     […] men and women of fine physique, considerable intelligence and with a wonderful skill in gamecraft and all that pertains to obtaining the essentials of their existence — food and water.

   • 2013, Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids, Stories of the Buddha: Being Selections from the Jataka, page 171:

     “Here are those trappers, lady, well trained and stout of heart, In woodcraft wise, in gamecraft wise, their lives at my behest.”

4. (fantasy) A type of dominance competition practiced by werewolves that focuses on cleverness, wit, and cunning.
   • 1994, Mark Rein-Hagen, Robert Hatch, Bill Bridges, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, page 36:

     There are three primary means of establishing dominance: the facedown, the gamecraft and the duel.

   • 1995, Campbell, Savage Attack, page 90:

     In gamecraft, the Garou compete in a contest of skill or wits: a riddle contest, a chess match or the like. Gamecraft is usually considered a valid means of establishing dominance when facing mental conundrums.

   • 2001, Gherbod Fleming, Werewolf, page 266:

     Do you think these scars I wear are badges of gamecraft?