How do you refer to an extra life in a video game?

video games
1

On the way to work this morning, I remembered that, as a kid in the early 90s, my friends and I would refer to the act of getting an extra life in an NES platformer as getting a “free man,” and for whatever reason, this made me lol. And it got me to thinking about whether there are different regional variants for this term.

Off the top of my head, I can think of:

  • - free man
  • - 1-up
  • - extra life
  • - life up

    • But maybe there are others! I'd like to know. How do you think of this phenomenon, in your head?

    Bonus mini-question: This strikes me as a phenomenon that will resonate more with old-timers like me, since most games nowadays don't really have lives or continues. But I'm curious as to whether younger folks also have cool new slang for this, such as yeet go brrrrr or some such.

    Well, thank you.

    2

    @whatsarobot#13078

    I've thought of them as "replays" before when I was very young, because of pinball.

    3

    @Moon#13079 Replays! Already glad I asked this question. So good.

    4

    “lives” or “guys”

    5

    A lot of shmups call them “extends”

    6

    @yeso#13088 growing up in Toledo Ohio me and all the kids in my grade school would absolutely say “oh I just got an extra guy” every 100 rings or what have you

    7

    I‘m from illinois so maybe guys is a midwest thing. wouldn’t be surprised, sounds good across all of our sonorous regional accents

    8

    I‘ll refer to extra lives that you earn through points or something as extra lives but I’ll call items that give you an extra life a 1up.

    9

    @Nemoide#13099 Good distinction.

    10

    I think I'm down with the @Nemoide distinction here.

    But also with a very vague memory of either hearing or understanding a 1-Up in a Mario game as an extra _May-rio_, specifically.

    11

    @MichaelDMcGrath#13090 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdqiwE1D6OEcd4cL6WTLKdwMP89g6iFyH