*band

noun

A subgenre of roguelikes, characterized by non-rushed gameplay, levels not being saved upon being left, large numbers of items and a steep power curve.

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Meanings

noun*band (usually uncountable, plural *bands)

plural *bands · alternative band

  1. uncountableusuallyA subgenre of roguelikes, characterized by non-rushed gameplay, levels not being saved upon being left, large numbers of items and a steep power curve.
  2. countableusuallyA game of this genre.

    Seems like I'm hooked. I play *bands with a 'better a dead char than a bored player' mindset, so crawl hits the spot for me.

    2005 October 20, Pia Kraft, “[crawl] Linux problems & more newbie questions”, in rec.games.roguelike.misc (Usenet)

Origin

From * (“wildcard”) + band, after the roguelike Angband, after the fictional fortress of Angband in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Silmarillion. Angband, in turn, is from Tolkien's fictional language Sindarin, where it literally means "iron prison"; ultimately, the part "band" means "prison" in Sindarin.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

*band. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%2Aband

MLA

“*band.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%2Aband. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “*band,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%2Aband.

Source: *band on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.