They have a spin of 1 (except for the Higgs boson, which has no spin).
Importantly, they can stack on top of one another.
They have no charge (except for the W bosons which can have a charge of either +1 or -1
They each carry (or "mediate") a specific type of force:
- photons: electromagnetic force (which mediates: electricity, magnetism and the interactions between electrons)
- gluons: the strong nuclear force (which holds quarks together, eg inside protons & neutrons and by a mechanism that is described by "quantum chromodynamics")
- W and Z bosons: the weak nuclear force (a helper force that's involved in beta decay - beta decay is mentioned on the page describing how one quark can change into another)
- Higgs bosons: associated with the Higgs field
A particle which hasn't yet been discovered is the graviton - the force particle that is predicted to be involved in gravity
