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Abstract quantity associated with a player or team in a game

In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points (except in game shows, where scores often are instead measured in units of currency), and events in the game can raise or lower the score of different parties. Most games with score use it as a quantitative indicator of success in the game, and in competitive games, a goal is often made of attaining a better score than one's opponents in order to win.

In video games that feature scoring, points are usually an optional, side component of gaming. Players may achieve points through normal gameplay, but their score will often not have an immediate relevance to the game itself. Instead, playing to beat a "high score" set by the game program, another player or oneself becomes an extra challenge, adding replay value. In modern gaming, the presence of a score is not as ubiquitous as it was in the past. During the era of arcade games, when, because of the technical limitations of the time, games could not be "won" or "completed" but were instead endless cycles of continuous gameplay, points had a much greater relevance. Many modern games no longer keep track of scores, and many no longer feature an option to save or record high scores. However, some games, such as role playing games, have experience points, skill points, and use money or treasure, which can all be used to buy or upgrade skills and objects. In fighting games, scoring a very high number of points could result in unlockable players or modes. In some games, reaching certain scores gives an extra life, or a continue.

In puzzle games, scores are usually gained by solving the puzzles quickly. Higher scores can be gained by performing combos of puzzle solving. There is often a time bonus which can add extra points. The level number is often a multiplier on the points, so higher scores are possible on harder levels. Level multipliers can also be picked up in some games, to further multiply your points bonus. In other games, points are typically gained from defeating monsters and enemies. When defeating a boss, a proportionally large number of points is usually rewarded. Extra points can be gained from gathering items, such as power ups or other pick ups. Usually, when a player gets a certain number of points, they may get an extra life or go on to a higher level. Points can be often used as currency which can be redeemed for rewards and player upgrades.

The high score of a video game is usually the highest logged point value. Many games will have a list of several high scores, called the high score table or leaderboard.

The concept of a high score first achieved cultural significance with the rise in popularity of pinball machines and electro mechanical arcade games. Players who achieve a high score are often greeted with a congratulatory message and are able to enter their initials or name into the machine. Their score and name will remain there until someone "knocks" them off the high score list by achieving a higher score. For this reason, high scores are inherently competitive and may sometimes involve one upmanship against other players. The high score has a close association to the "free game." When in an arcade, many games will offer a player a free chance at another game if they achieve a high score. This has declined in popularity in recent years, as players are often allowed to play for as long as they can without losing, but not given free games even if they achieve a high score. The first video game to use the term "high score" was Midway's Sea Wolf (1976). The game saved the highest score achieved on the cabinet, but could be reset by a player at any time by pressing a button on the machine. The high score concept changed in July 1978 with the release of Taito's shoot 'em up Space Invaders, where high scores were determined by gamers playing for as long as they could to stay alive, as high scores kept rising. The popularity of Space Invaders stemmed in part from players returning to beat the current high score, as players could now compete with each other over who had the highest score. On August 1, 1982, the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard issued a colorful poster that listed the world record high scores for more than two dozen arcade video games. The poster was distributed among arcades worldwide. This was the first poster (#1) in a series of colorful posters that continues today, with poster #131 issued in October, 2008. In an episode of Friends, Chandler Bing puts in dirty words on all the high score positions on a Ms. Pac Man machine. He then finds out that they are not blanked when the machine is reset, so he has to break all his high scores to remove the offending words. (This is not possible on an actual Ms. Pac Man machine; such machines only record one high score and do not allow the winning player to enter initials.)

According to the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard, "high score" attempts enjoyed as much press coverage as any other video game–related topic reported in the media during the 1982–1985 period. Though the media was often focused on the amazing growth of the video game industry, it was equally as fascinated with the human side of gaming, as typified by the "player vs. machine" showdowns that led to new world record high scores set on nearly a daily basis. In fact, Twin Galaxies reports that during that early era it was not unusual for there to be multiple new world records reported in the media on a single day.