File Submissions

To submit a file for a game, go the the game page, find the Files section, and click "Add File". Click on the Browse button and find the file on your local hard drive. Enter a brief description with version, and, click on the submit button to upload the file to the database.

To update a previous file, go to the game page, find the file you are updating, click its link so you go to the file's page, and from that page (not the game page), use the "Upload File" link to upload the updated file.

Files are submitted for approval by admins for several reasons:

Files need to be verified to be virus free and not corrupt.
Old versions of files need to be removed by admins

Since every file needs to be downloaded, tested, and evaluated, there can be a significant delay for approval of files. While the delay may be as short as a day, it is typically 2-3 weeks, and can stretch to 4 weeks during conventions or vacations.

BGG Admins reviewing files for approval include Dale Yu ( yudp), Sterling Babcock ( solamar), Chad Krizan ( chaddyboy_2000), Fabio Tola ( ftola), and Ryan Johnson ( ryno8). If you have questions about a submission, you can ask them.

File Submission Guidelines:
Approvals of file submissions can be greatly sped up and will ease the load on your friendly local administrator if you follow the following guidelines (and might get you extra geekgold!).

Give a BRIEF Description : Your brief description should include version information and intellectual property information.
- Example: Puerto Rico rules in Spanish, Version 2.1, (Posted with permission from Andreas Seyfarth)

Note to Admin : You may put a note to the admin in the admin message field (NOT the description anymore).

Do Not submit images as files : The files section is not the place to upload images, session reports, articles, links, or advertising. See <Add Picture> in the Picture section (or other links).

Avoiding Errors:
- Make sure you are uploading a file directly from your drive, not a link. Links come across as corrupt.

File Size : BGG has problems accepting files over 5-7 Mb (depends on your connection). This appears to be a web timeout on the browser. This is a limitation of the web upload, not a file size limitation of BGG. You will need to compress images (espcially within .pdfs), use a zip archive, or a segmented zip archive. If you have a large file, please try to upload it once to see if it gets through; if it does not, then you should consider ways to compress the file size. If you cannot compress the file, please split it up into multiple pieces. Upload the first section and add in the "Note to Admin" section that there are more parts to come. Wait for the original file to be approved, then you can upload the remaining parts from the file page of the first portion. This way, all the related file pieces will be on a single file page and contained within a single entry in the database.

Multiple Files in a Set : If you are uploading multiple files to a game, please combine them into one ZIP file, rather than submitting 5-10 files. It makes it easier for people to get all the files at once. If you have multiple small files which all go together (such as a file for card backs and a file for card fronts or a set of player mats in each of the player colors) - please upload these together in a single archived file. Rarely would a user only want to download one of these individual files - therefore, they should be uploaded together.

Updating Files : Again, if you are uploading a new version of an existing file, please go to the file page for that file. You can get to this page by clicking on the file's title (found just to the right of the "Thumbs" column). Once on the page of the original file, use the "Upload File" link found on that page. By doing this, you will keep all of the thumbs and comments which correspond to your file(s).

Inside the File
- File Names : Keep the filename descriptive, and add a version number to the name. Make sure you remove odd characters such as () comma and period from the filename as they come across corrupt. Also put an abbrieviation of the game name in the filename. Example: PR_Dans_Play_Aid_v1.pdf
- Common File Types : Please use common file types whenever possible(.jpg, .doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.). Most tools can export to common file formats. The goal is to make files usable by a majority of users.
  - As of 01 Nov 2011, .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .mobi, and .epub are now permissible
  - Currently, Open Office (.odc, .ods, .odf) are still difficult for a majority of users to open. Please save and upload your file in .doc, .xls, .ppt, .pdf, etc.
  - If you need to use an Open Office format (.odf, .ods, etc) in order to maintain the layout of your file, do the following: Create a zip archive which includes your original file ALONG WITH another copy saved as either a .doc file or a .pdf) and submit that zip file. The goal here is for most users to be able to quickly see the file, then if they feel they need the original file, they can go get the tool to read it directly.
  - For very unusual formats (i.e. Google map way points or some custom Heroscape editor tool) we must have the software to open and view the file to review it or it will not be approved. Odd file types will most likely be rejected, or at the very least, be delayed until one of the admins makes the effort to go find the tool to look at it. It would help if you could point the admins to the appropriate viewer for these unusual file formats.
- No HTML : At the current time, we are not accepting .html files for upload given the possibility of malicious code.
- Image Files : Please do not use .bmp files. They are just huge for no reason. There are many lossless compression methods available. Try .jpg, .gif, .tiff, or if you have to .png.
- PDF Image Compression : PDF files are nice, but get VERY large. Make sure you know how to set it to Compress Images for a PDF (It cuts it down to 1/10 the size!).
- Game Title and Version Inside the File : Put the game title at the top of the file WITH the version information. Yes, you WILL find yourself submitting updates. Also, it is annoying than to print out a bunch of player aids, and then not be able to tell what game each is for! Also add a description of how to use the file if applicable.
- Excel Spreadsheets : Excel makes spreadsheets with 3 worksheets by default (tabs at bottom for Sheet 1,2,3). If you are not using them, delete the extras so that we don't have to go look at each one. You can double click to name the tabs.
- Viruses : Check your files for viruses before submission.
- Scanning Hint : Avoid black text bleeding through the backside of thin paper by scanning the page with a black sheet of paper behind the page. This makes the backside not bleed through.

Examples of file types not appropriate for upload
- Rule Scans : Unless you have express written consent of the copyright holder, scans of rulebooks are not allowed.
- Files downloaded from other websites : Unless you have express written consent of the copyright holder or content creator, you may not upload a file you have downloaded from a different site on the Internet (such as rules or variants from a game publisher's site). A better option here is to make a link in the Web Links section of the game entry.
- AARs or Session Reports : these are not appropriate for file uploads. Please place your AARs/Session reports in the forums, under the Sessions sub-forum.

If approved, file submissions receive a 1 GeekGold Reward by default, though more can be awarded - this decision is at the discretion of the admins and is mainly based upon the overall quality of submission. Additional consideration will be given if multiple files are uploaded in a single archive.

Please pay close attention to these guidelines. Failure to follow these guidelines could result in the suspension of your uploading privileges.

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