Allowed Submissions

Submissions that fall under these categories will be approved.

• News and Articles: Please check whether the link or a very similar one has already been submitted and make sure you track down original sources (articles that just copy or link content from a different site without adding significant information are considered blogspam). Otherwise, this is the kind of content this subreddit was made for!

• Reviews and previews: We like to keep reviews for bigger releases in hub threads to keep them from spamming the front page but they're generally welcome. This includes direct links to trailers and pre-release gameplay footage.

• Informative self-posts: Please make sure self-posts (text-only posts) are bringing up issues that are interesting to a significant part of the community and that they haven't been done to death. Also check /r/truegaming for a full subreddit dedicated to these kinds of posts.

• Questions likely to generate discussion: Please check the "Questions looking for a solution" and "Suggestion requests that are too specific or too general" rules in the Disallowed Submissions section first, otherwise questions are allowed. Avoid answering your own question in the description, though. If you'd rather discuss a specific answer to an issue that you came up with, feel free to post your own thoughts without formulating them as a question. That allows you to be more specific in the headline and keeps discussion focused.

Rules

Submissions and comments that violate these rules will be removed by the moderators.

1. No content primarily for humor or entertainment - Submissions and comments that are intended to entertain rather than inform or discuss will be removed. This includes (but is not limited to) memes, funny screenshots, comics, funny videos, montages, Let's Plays, music videos, cosplay, arts and craft, and personal live streams. Gaming screenshots and comics should go in /r/Gaming. Videos that just show play-throughs, humorous or skill-centric footage of an already released game are better suited for /r/Gaming, /r/LetsPlay or /r/LetsPlayVideos. Personal live streams are better suited for /r/Twitch, /r/LetsStream or /r/VGStreams.

2. No personal attacks, witch-hunts, or inflammatory language - Whether against a reddit user or people in the industry, inciting harassment on any individual or group is not acceptable under any circumstances and will likely result in a ban. This includes (but is not limited to) doxxing, starting witch hunts, or making accusations or personal attacks that are either off topic or without evidence ("<X> is a slut!" or "<X> is corrupt!"). While arguing is unavoidable, personally attacking individuals is never okay. Namecalling ("You're a moron."), bad implications ("Yeah, a troll would say that."), accusations ("You're just a shill!"), inflammatory language ("Anyone who thinks this is a moron!"), etc. are not helping anyone and should be avoided. Generally, keep your tone civil and try to avoid ad hominem attacks.

3. No off-topic or low-effort content or comments - Submissions and comments that are off topic ("Aren't puppies cute?") or that don't contribute to informing or discussion (e.g. submissions like "I like Chrono Trigger!" or comments like "lol", "This!", "I agree.", "Upvoted!" or reaction GIFs) will be removed. Before submitting or commenting ask yourself: "Does this add significant information or merit to the discussion?"

4. No duplicate posts - Reposts or submissions with extremely similar content to an existing submission may be removed at mod discretion.

5. No enabling or linking to piracy - Digital piracy is the unauthorized use or reproduction of another's work, games or other. Enabling piracy by informing others how to circumvent the law or linking to it by providing access to pirated material is not allowed. This includes linking to scanned images of other copyrighted work, such as commercial magazines. News and discussion regarding emulators is allowed provided no copyrighted content is linked to.

Formatting Requirements

6.1 Link to original sources - When a website embeds or copies content (articles, videos, interviews, etc.) from another source without adding significant information we consider that blogspam. If a second source contributes significant and meaningful analysis or commentary on the original post it may be allowable, but wherever possible please try and find the original source (often posted at the bottom of an article) and post that one instead.

6.2 Don't use editorialized, sensationalized, or inflammatory titles - Please use the original source's title. Don't add things like "This deserves attention" or "why isn't this being talked about". Additionally, do not use language that is clearly inflammatory - keep posts and discussions civil.

6.3 No referral/affiliate links - Links that, when clicked (or used to purchase/sign up from), give the referrer some form of bonus or compensation are not allowed.

6.4 No unmarked spoilers or NSFW links - Spoilers must be covered with our spoiler code (see below). Uncovered spoilers will be removed on sight, no matter how old or popular a game is. Comments that do not properly label a link as NSFW (Not Safe For Work) will be removed. Generally speaking, NSFW entails nudity, violence, and anything else the average office workplace manager would frown upon an employee looking at.

6.5 No direct links to web games - This includes flash games and other sites that let you play games directly from your browser as well as links to download free games. Try /r/WebGames, /r/FlashGames or /r/BrowserGames.

6.6 No direct links to mobile storefronts (e.g. App store, Google Play, etc.) - Direct links to storefronts to mobile storefronts (e.g. Apple app store, Google Play) are not allowed.

6.7 No links to individual sales (sale events OK, e.g. Steam sale events) - Links directly to a store page or announcement regarding individual games going on sale are not allowed. However, links to larger sales and sale events (e.g. Steam holiday sales, Humble Bundles, flash sales, etc.) are allowable, as are links to free weekends for games.

6.8 No Direct Links to Old Content - Any content that was created more than 1 year ago cannot be directly linked as a submission. This includes reviews, analysis, previews, trailers, etc. If you would like to use old content as context for a discussion, you may link to it inside a self-post as part of the framing for the discussion topic (so long as you also provide a full topic of discussion rather than just linking to the content). This rule only applies to submissions and not to comments.

6.9 Do not use unnecessary Tags - Tags in submission titles such as "Question:", "[PSA]", "[Discussion]", or tagging the source of the submission are not needed and will be removed. The only tags that are considered as acceptable are spoiler tags.

6.10 Submissions that are direct links to images or image galleries are not allowed - If you do want to post images, try a self-post where you give context and information for the images.

6.11 Self-posts with only a title and very little or no text are not allowed - If your post is so short that you don't need to clarify in the body then you're better off going to google or /r/AskGames.

6.12 No links to the home page of sites - Submissions should link directly to the relevant content rather than to an index page or similar.

6.13 Keep titles concise and not overly long - If you feel that a link needs additional information or context you should create a self-post to include the information along with the link.

6.14 Titles, articles, and self-posts must be in English - Titles and content must be in English. The only exception to this rule is when a non-English source is the only existing source for a given announcement, and in such a case it must be easily translatable online so we can verify the content.

Specific Content Restrictions

7.1 No questions that are too specific - Specific questions are ones that are so narrowly defined that they would have extremely limited space for discussion. Typically these questions would be better suited for the subreddits of the specific games in question. Some examples would include: - Should I buy Pokemon Red or Blue? - What is the best weapon to use in <game>? - Are there any games that <fit very specific criteria>?

7.2 No questions that are very broad - If your question is more geared toward people listing items that meet certain criteria or if it is soliciting wild speculation then it is considered very broad. Some examples would include: - What is your favorite game on <platform>? - What game would you like to see get an HD remaster? - What games have done <mechanic> best? - Why do so few games support <option>?

7.3 Questions looking for a solution - Questions that have a simple, concrete answer (for example, questions about how to beat a certain level) don't belong here. If Google can't answer it, try /r/AskGames. If you're trying to remember a game you don't remember the name of, check /r/TipOfMyTongue, /r/TipOfMyJoystick or /r/TipofMyKeyboard.

7.4 No content focusing on non-gaming related details of Games Industry Figures - Games Industry Figures are those individuals or companies who primarily work in either the creation of games and/or their critical analysis. Content regarding such figures is only allowed when it is directly related to a game or to major life events (e.g. company move, death (or terminal health issue), retirement, acquirement, business closure, sponsorships, "Gabe is the new CEO of Activision" or "Microsoft buys the Playstation brand for $10 and a pack of Oreos"). Posts that focus on non-gaming related details (e.g. "CliffyB thinks Donnie Darko defines him as a person, insists that it's not a phase, mom" or "Does anyone else think that Valve should stop providing free junk food for their employees?") are not allowed.

7.5 Only two posts per crowd-funded project - one initial announcement, and one announcement for either getting funded or a 48 hour reminder - Crowd-funded projects (such as Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, etc) are allowed two posts: one initial announcement and then a second post which is either news that the project was fully funded OR a reminder that the project has less than 48 hours left. A major change that seriously alters the scope of the project may be allowed as an exception (one example would be a single-platform project confirming that it will be on multiple platforms). If you have any questions on whether something is allowable, contact the moderators for verification.

7.6 No content related to Tech-support or PC-building advice - Asking for help on running a game, building a computer, or other technical support isn't allowed. Try /r/TechSupport, /r/PCGamingTechSupport /r/BuildAPC, /r/BuildAPCForMe or /r/SuggestALaptop.

7.7 No unsubstantiated rumors - Rumors or other claims/information not directly from official sources must have evidence to support them. Any rumor or claim that is just a statement from an unknown source containing no supporting evidence will be removed.

7.8 No giveaways or contests - Submissions that include giveaways will be removed (we may allow giveaways as a secondary part of a developer AMA, provided we clear the details beforehand). Try /r/GiftOfGames, /r/PlayItForward, /r/RandomActsOfGaming or /r/SteamGiveaway.

7.9 No trading, buying or selling - Exchanges for either for real world merchandise, money, or digital goods is not allowed. Try /r/GameTrade or /r/GameSwap.

7.10 No begging - Begging is not allowed in any form, even what you think is cleverly disguised begging. Yes, we can tell.

7.11 No Looking for players style submissions or comments - Posting about your server, group, clan, game night, asking for play testers for your game, or asking for people to play with isn't allowed. Try /r/PlayDate.

7.12 No petitions or surveys - Asking users to sign a petition or fill in data for a survey is not allowed. Firstly because it's not good discussion and secondly because we don't know what happens with that information. Survey results are allowed to be posted, but only by linking to them in a self post.

7.13 No requesting or suggesting game ideas - Pitching an idea that you have for a game or requesting ideas for a game you're working on is not allowed.

7.14 Charities - Links to charities or events are not generally allowed, however we will make specific exceptions for the occasional larger official event. If you would like to submit a charity please message the mods with the details and we will review the request.

7.15 Anecdotal or personal stories (e.g. bad customer support stories, in-game stories, etc.) - We've all had bad personal experiences, from lousy customer support to arguments with other people, but /r/Games isn't the place to rant about it. Good personal experiences like a great story from playing a game or excellent support from a company also aren't for /r/Games. Try /r/gametales if you have a good gameplay experience you want to share.

Promotion must be kept within acceptable limits

We have strict rules for promoting content. When in doubt ask us for clarification before posting! Violation of these rules can result in a ban either on your user or on the site or game in question. Remember that reddit has its own advertising feature which is a much better, appropriate way to use reddit for the purpose of advertising!

As a rule of thumb, no more than 10% of your submissions may be to any single site or on any given topic. This is not limited to your own content - you can be in violation of the promotion rules for a site that you have no direct affiliation with. We do take comments into consideration, but they do not directly factor into the 10% rule of thumb.

• Posting your own content: Posting links to your own or affiliated content is considered self promotion. Promotion should not be a main purpose of your account, you should be an active, participating member of this community first. In the end, our rules pretty much adhere to reddit's general rules for self promotion, although we probably tend to enforce them a little more strictly than other subreddits.

• Vote manipulation and fake accounts: We do not allow vote manipulation of any kind. Asking for upvotes anywhere (whether it's in the title of the submission or a Twitter message) isn't allowed. We also have ways to detect irregular behavior by fake accounts, etc. For an in-depth explanation of what constitutes vote manipulation and why it is undesirable, check out this post.

If you have any questions or would like additional clarification on the promotion rules for /r/Games feel free to send the mods a message about it!

Spoilers

We remove unmarked spoilers on sight but it's sometimes hard to detect all of them, especially in larger comment threads. Please report posts containing spoilers unless they are hidden using the following method or are inside a thread clearly labeled as containing spoilers:

[Spoiler](#s "X Kills Y")
Result: Spoiler

To mark a spoiler as relevant to a specific game/topic, use the alternate formatting:
[Pong Spoiler](#s "Player 1 wins")
Result: Pong Spoiler