Button masher is a slang term used in video games, where the players are required to press different button combinations in rapid succession to perform special moves. This technique is most often required in fighting games.
The term button masher can also refer to a person who unskillfully mashes buttons while playing a video game.
Button mashers are also referred to as button smashers.
Button masher games are considered to be the opposite of strategy or role-playing games. This is a technique that works out best in fighter games. In practice, however, almost every genre of game introduces some button mashing sequences to add more variety to the gaming experience. Pure button mashers like fighting games usually depend on the gamer playing in short spurts against opponents. In longer games, endless button mashing can become tedious and even physically exhausting. Button mashing can also lead to repetitive strain injuries in players.
The games that most often include button mashing are player-versus-player fighting games, but side-scrolling games, first-person shooter games and even role-playing games may have elements where button mashing can be employed.
