GameDB2 User Manual - Games
Description
Games are the whole reason that GameDB exists!
You may enter any number of games into the system. Each game may be associated
with any number of
categories,
publishers and
designers. The first item of each type is known as the
primary
item. Along with this information, core information about the game, such as the expected play
time, supported number of players, and a description may also be entered.
If game collection controls are enabled in the
global configuration options, it
is possible for
users to modify their
collection information by
adding and removing games from their collection of games.
Once games are in the system,
Session Reports can be entered for them, allowing
game play statistics to be gathered.
Viewing the game list
The list of games that are currently registered with the system is available by clicking on "Games" in
the main GameDB menu. The list of games is displayed alphabetically, and may be subject to one or more
view filters, which allow fine control of exactly what games are displayed.
The list of games contains the following information:
Plays
The plays column is only displayed in the game list when the list is showing you a list of games
that have been played by a particular player, as part of that players game play information.
When displayed, this represents the number of times the given player has played this particular game,
and is a link to view all of the session reports for this game that include this player.
Name
The name of this game. This is a link to a page that displays the full details for this game.
Category
The primary category for this game, if any categories have been assigned. If not, this is None.
When set, this is a link to display a new game list which filters on games with this same information.
Publisher
The primary publisher for this game, if any publishers have been assigned. If not, this is None.
When set, this is a link to display a new game list which filters on games with this same information.
Designer
The primary designer for this game, if any designers have been assigned. If not, this is None.
When set, this is a link to display a new game list which filters on games with this same information.
Players
The number of players that this game supports. This may be expressed as a range (i.e. 2-4) if this game is playable
by a variable number of people, or a single number if the game requires an exact number of players to play.
Quick Controls
The quick controls allow quick editing options for some of the core information for games. The links that are displayed
here depend on the permissions that you have, as well as the settings in the
system-wide configuration options. The possible links visible here are:
+- Own
If collection controls are enabled, this link allows you to add or remove this game from your
game collection.
+- Sale
+- New
If extended game fields are enabled, these links allow you to quickly change the is new and
is on sale status for this game.
Edit
Clicking this link allows you to view and edit the game details for this game.
You will not see this link unless you yourself have permission to edit games.
Remove
This check box allows you to flag a game for removal from the system. To remove games, you must first select
one or more games by checking the check box next to their name, and then clicking on the "Remove" button that displays
at the bottom of the form. You will be asked to confirm your intention to remove the specified games before the
removal takes place.
You will not see the check boxes or the Remove button unless you yourself have permission to remove games. Additionally,
you may not remove games that are a part of at least one session report.
Game list view filters
It is quite common to have several hundred games or more entered into GameDB, so that full coverage
of all games owned by members of your Game Group, or all of the product in your On line store is possible.
With this many games, the
game list can take quite a long time to download and display.
For this reason, GameDB provides you with a series of View Filters, which allow you to display only small
portions of the complete game list at once. Some of the view filters are available directly in the Game List,
while some of them are available from other pages throughout GameDB, where they make the most logical sense.
Some filters are available based on the
system wide configuration options, while some are always
available. The list of possible Game List View Filters is:
All Games
This filter is always available from the main game list window, and sets the game list to display every game
known to the system. This effectively cancels out any other view filter which might be set.
Games You Own
Games You Don't Own
Games Loaned Out
Games You're Borrowing
These filters are available from the main game list window whenever Collection controls are enabled in the
system-wide configuration options. When set, they set the list of games to display games
that are or are not in your collection, games that you have loaned out to other people, and games that you are
currently borrowing from other people.
Newer Games
Older Games
Games On Sale
Regular Games
These filters are available from the main game list whenever extended game fields are enabled in
the system-wide configuration options. When set, they list games that have the Is New and Is On Sale
flags set or not.
Games in Category/Publisher/Designer
These filters display games that exist in a particular category, publisher
or designer grouping. These filters are not available from the main game list. Instead,
these views may be set throughout GameDB by clicking on the name of a Category, Publisher or Designer, or by
clicking on the number of games in a Category, Publisher or Designer on the main display page for that data type.
Expansions For
This filter displays games that are expansions to some other specific game in the system. This filter is
available from the game details page for a game, by clicking on the number of expansions that
a game has (assuming that it has any).
Played By
This filter displays games that have been played by a specific player in the system. This filter is
available from the player list by clicking on the number of games played.
When this filter is active, the game list includes an extra column which indicates exactly how
many times the game has been played.
Not Owned By
Being Borrowed By
Owned and Played By
Owned by not Played By
These filters work in a similar way to the collection filters listed above, except that these work for any
player in the system, and not just yourself. These filters are available by clicking on the information
under collection information in the player list.
In addition to these filters, each list may be further filtered according to the names of games, restricting the list
to games which begin with a number or any letter of the alphabet.
Viewing game details
The
game list displays minimal information about games known to the system. In particular,
it shows only the
primary Category,
Publisher and
Designer for the game, and how many players can play the game.
To display more detailed information about a game, click the name of the game. This works in the
game list and also anywhere else in the system that a game name appears as a link.
The resulting page displays all of the known details for this game, including any information that
may have been calculated as a result of
Session Reports for this game. The information
displayed is:
Navigation Links
The top of the game display is a set of navigation links that allow you to browse through the
games in the system. The browse links allow you to browse the games according to the current
view filter on the game list. For this reason, the current view filter is also displayed.
BGG Link
If this game has a BoardGameGeek GameID set,
a link is displayed in the navigation bar that allows you to open up the page for this game on BGG.
Control Panel
A control panel that allows for the quick viewing of some information is displayed. See
the control panel help for more information.
Name
The name of this game being displayed. If this game is an expansion for another game, that will
be displayed next to the game name, and clicking on the name of the game will take you to the detail
page for that game.
Alternatively, it is possible for a game to have 1 or more expansion games entered into the system.
In this case, the number of expansions is displayed, and clicking the link opens the game list,
setting a view filter to display only expansions for this game.
Categories, Publishers and Designers
The complete list of categories, publishers and designers
is displayed, with the primary item of each type being displayed at the top of the list.
Clicking on any item will open the Game List and set a View Filter to display all games that are in that
Category, Publisher or Designer group.
Play Information
Play information such as the number of supported players and the expected play time are displayed here.
If this game has at least 1 session report with game play duration information entered,
then GameDB will also display for you the average game time based on those plays.
Description
The descriptive text entered with the game record is also displayed. Depending on how you want to use
GameDB, this can be a quick blurb or a more detailed review of the game. Game stores usually put the
marketing information from the back of the box into this location.
Images
If there are any images assigned to this game, the primary image is
displayed next to the game information, with the thumbnails of other images arranged underneath it,
allowing you to browse through the images attached to the game.
Regardless of the number of images attached to a game, there is only ever two thumbnails displayed,
allowing you to browse through the images for the game one at a time.
Game detail control panel
The
Game Detail page for a game contains a small control panel that allows for the
display and modification of information on the currently displayed game that is held elsewhere in the
system.
Depending on the current
system-wide configuration settings, some of this information
may not be displayed. In particular, when
extended game fields are not turned on,
the control panel will not display that information, and when collection controls are turned off,
the control panel will not display collection information.
The control panel displays:
Owners
This displays the total number of players in the system that own this game.
If the number is not 0, a link is displayed that allows you to view the players that own this
game.
Session Reports
This displays the total number of session reports recorded for this game. If this number is not
0, a link is displayed that allows you to open the session report list setting
a view filter to view all session reports for this game.
A link is also displayed that allows you to quickly add a new session report for this game.
Your Collection Information
This section displays if you currently own this game or not. Depending on your game ownership status,
a link is provided to either add or remove the game from your collection.
If you own the game, a small form is also displayed to tell you if anyone if borrowing your copy of this
game or not, and allows you to either mark the game as returned, or set the user that is borrowing it.
Extended Fields
This displays the contents of the extended game fields for this game. Prices are only displayed
if they are set. Prices that are 0 are not displayed here.
Adding a new game
To add a new game, click on "Games" in the GameDB main menu to open up the
game list, and click
the "Add a Game" button that appears at the top of the page. This takes you to a page that allows
you to fill in the information for the new game.
For
Categories,
Publishers and
Designers, drop down
boxes are provided that allow you to select existing items to add to this game. Initially only three of
each item are displayed. If more items than this are required, you can add them in after the game has been
added to the system.
If you have permission to add new categories, publishers or designers to the system, then those parts
of the game addition form will also include text fields, which you can use to add new items of each type
directly. Entering the name of an item that already exists sets that item into the game without adding
in a new entry (case does not matter).
If you do not have
permission to add games, the "Add a Game" button will not appear
at the top of the game list.
Editing game details
To edit the details for a game that already exists in the system, click the "Edit" link which
appears on the
game detail page or in the
game list next to the
game you would like to edit.
You will be taken to a page very similar to the
game addition page, which allows you
to modify any of the game information. This page works identically to the game addition page.
If you do not have
permission to edit games, you will not see the links that allow
you to edit games.
Removing an editing game
To remove a game from the system, check the check boxes for the games that you would like to remove
in the
game list, then click the "Remove" button at the bottom of the page. You will
be asked to confirm that you want to remove the games before the removal actually occurs.
You are not allowed to remove games for which there is at least one
session report
in the system, so those games will not have a check box next to them in the game list.
If you do not have
permission to remove games, you will not see the check boxes or
the Remove button.