Metagame: Game Within a Game
When playing a game you actually play a game within the game. This is called the metagame, and it is every competition.
The metagame only really reveals itself at the high-level competition. It gives you an edge in the game itself and is sometimes required to follow to stay at a competitive level.
Videogames
A videogame that requires metagame knowledge is Overwatch. Overwatch is a first-person shooter where your team of six faces off against another team of six to complete an objective. In this game, you each choose a character out of many available characters each with different skills, abilities, and play styles. At low-level gameplay, you can choose any character and play the game as usual. But at a high level, some characters have severe disadvantages which make them unplayable. Or some characters are so overpowered in you must choose that character to stay competitive.
Here is the current Overwatch Tier List
This requires players at the high level to focus less on the objective of the game and instead on the game within the game. This is because the players at the high level are so good at the game that they can easily take advantage of players who don’t follow the metagame.
Balancing
Videogame developers prevent this by balancing the game. Basically, they adjust the strengths and weaknesses of the characters to make the characters more equal. The goal is to limit as much metagame as possible. If the characters are equally balanced then you can use any character and still be competitive at a high level. There is good and bad metagame. A bad metagame is how in Overwatch you have unplayable and must-play characters.
Good Metagame
A pitcher on a baseball team intentionally walking a player who has recently been on a home run hot streak is an example of a good metagame. If you have an unknown random MBL batter, as an MBL pitcher, you would pitch normally and have no reason to intentionally walk him. But the metagame is studying your opponent so you know what pitches to throw to that specific player.
Study the Player, not the Game
There is a crazy example in the NFL where Peyton Manning (quarterback) is going to play Ed Reed (safety) next week. Manning studied Reed’s tape from earlier that season, looking at his coverage to prepare for their game. This is Manning playing the metagame, studying his opponent, and taking advantage of them. Hence why he is a hall of fame quarterback.
The next week when they play, Reed picks off Manning! But how did that happen?! I thought Manning studied Reed’s coverage so this exact thing wouldn’t happen.
Reed earlier in the year knew he was going to play against Manning. So he intentionally played some coverages wrong at the beginning of the season, knowing Manning would study the tape. So when they played, Reed changed his coverage specifically for Manning and was able to pull off an interception of Manning. The epitome of the metagame.
In just about any competition there is a metagame, if you want an advantage in this competitive field, study the game within the game. But tread carefully because the metagame won’t help you if you are not already competing at a high level.