subgame

English

Etymology

sub- +‎ game

Noun

subgame (plural subgames)

1. (game theory) A subset of a game that can be considered a game in its own right.
   • 1992, Robert Gibbons, A Primer in Game Theory, Prentice-Hall, page 94:

     A subgame is a piece of a game—the piece that remains to be played beginning at any point at which the complete history of the game thus far is common knowledge among the players.

2. (video games) A minor or incidental game within a larger video game; a minigame.
   • 2007, Nintendo Power, volumes 214-216, page 78:

     There was a subgame that was very well-recieved ^[sic] in the previous Paper Mario RPG [Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door], where you would play through this side-scrolling stage as a gigantic Bowser.