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What are good words for "stacking" and "non-stacking"?

English Language & Usage Asked by Noralie on May 21, 2021

For a boardgame I am designing, I need some help finding the right words.

Simply put, there are objectives people need to fullfill. For these objectives they need to collect ‘tags’. The objectives are divided into 2 types, A and B.

For type A, every tag needs to be unique. So if you have 2 objectives of type A that need a tag (say one needs 2 and the other needs 3) then you need to have the total of that (so 5 in this case).

For type B, they dont have to be unique. If you need a tag for 2 objectives (again 2 and 3 in the example) then they can overlap, and you can use a tag for both (so you only need 3 in total).

I hope this makes sense.

So the problem I am having here, is which words do I use? First, ‘stacking’ felt good, but when I explained that to people they said they could use that word for both types. ‘Unique’ also felt like an option for one, but then what is the word used for the other? It also doesnt quite describe it. ‘Overlapping’ is something else that felt close, but then its also hard to find which word to use for the opposite. So after looking at a thesaurus for way too long, I hope someone here can help me out.

What words do I need to accurately describe these 2 objective types?

2 Answers

For the type A tags:

  • "unique"
  • "exclusive"

For the type B tags:

  • "common"
  • "shared"

Answered by Melon Dusk on May 21, 2021

First, although you do not say what you want these words for (adjectives to describe the tags for your "How to Play" instructions? As the names of the 2 kinds of tags?) I assume you mean the latter since you have pretty clearly already described your tags without finding those elusive words.

Second, I don't think the names for your 2 kinds of tags need to be explanatory at all. You explained it well enough to us, and I'm sure you can do as well in your game instructions. That done, you can do what you've done here: just call them Type A and Type B or some other arbitrary contrasting labels, like Blue and Red or Teapot and Turnip.

But, if you think you need descriptive tags, I suggest these contrasts:

Type A/Type B
Pinpoint/General
Bullseye/Net
Special/General
Unique/Generic
Diva/Glee Club

Best of luck with your game.

Answered by PoloniusMonk on May 21, 2021

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