The term friendly match, or "friendlies" as most competitive smashers call it, are matches that do not count towards tournament progression. When players have free time between tourney matches, they may engage in some friendly one-on-one or team matches with other players.

The term "friendly" though makes these matches sound like fun, carefree battles where both players are friendly towards each other. But in actuality, these matches can be anything but friendly (in terms of Smash that is). Friendly matches are taken seriously, and it's a chance for advanced players to practice with others at their level. It becomes more of a fierce battle to victory that even sometimes evolves into "money matches", a video game version of gambling. Money matches themselves have their own claim-to-fame and can become addictive. Some players simply look forward to tournaments for the sake of winning money this way.

Friendly matches are done in good humor though. No one is dead-set on beating someone mercilessly and making him cry. That's not what Smash is about. It's just that the term "friendly" could be saved for matches that are less serious and more about having fun. I guess I'll write about these "fun" matches next time!

Labels: games, lexicon, smash bros