Words Worth Knowing: Ganking
Words Worth Knowing was a vertical I wrote weekly explaining key pieces of gaming jargon to parents, guardians and teachers, as part of the larger overall GameHub outreach effort. The column ran for nearly two years and resulted in around 60 WWK articles. GameHubHQ.com closed in late 2017. This piece originally appeared on Sep 21, 2016.
What It Is: Ganking = "Ganging up" on a weaker player.
What It Means: Ganking is a descriptive term, referring to the act of stronger, more able players "ganging up" on a weaker one. Though sometimes an act of fun, ganking is often a form of low-level online bullying, in which a player is attacked unrelentingly and thus prevented from participating fully in gameplay.
Why You Care: Ganking can be a malicious action which causes the target player upset. Being "insta-killed" over and over by a far more powerful player prevents the victim chasing objectives in the gameplay proper. Players who are subjected to ganking in online multiplayer games should be encouraged to switch to another match with more friendly players if they are becoming frustrated or upset.
