''Tips & Tricks'' was a monthly video game magazine devoted to the subjects of video game cheat codes,

strategy guide Strategy guides are instruction books that contain hints or complete solutions to specific video games. The line between strategy guides and walkthroughs is somewhat blurred, with the former often containing or being written around the latter. Str ...

s and lifestyle content. Unlike most video game magazines, it did not include critical reviews of video games and was not a primary source of video game industry news. Instead, it focused on gameplay instructions and hidden "

Easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...

" relating to games that its readers might have already purchased.

Editorial content

Often referring to itself as "The #1 Video-Game Tips Magazine," ''Tips & Tricks'' was known for its strategy guides or walkthroughs for contemporary console and portable games. Each issue also included an index of button codes and passwords, alphabetized by game title and sorted by console. The magazine also included "lifestyle" content, in which a particular aspect of video game culture would be discussed at length by a regular columnist. Some of these were devoted to a specific game or game series (e.g. ''

Armored Core is a third-person shooter mecha video game series developed by FromSoftware. The series centers on a silent protagonist who takes on work as a mercenary pilot in the far future, operating large robot combat units known as Armored Cores at the be ...

'', ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'', '' Halo'', '' Animal Crossing''), while others spotlighted video game-related action figures, comics, music and movies.

Lineage

''Tips & Tricks'' (later ''Tips & Tricks Codebook'') was a video game magazine published by LFP. For most of its existence, the publication was devoted almost exclusively to strategies and codes for popular video games. It began as a spin-off from ''VideoGames'' magazine, which in itself morphed out of '' VideoGames & Computer Entertainment.'' ''VG&CE'' and ''VideoGames,'' like ''Tips & Tricks'', were published by LFP following the purchase of ''

ANALOG Computing ''ANALOG Computing'' (an acronym for Atari Newsletter And Lots Of Games) was an American computer magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. It was published from 1981 until 1989. In addition to reviews and tutorials, ''ANAL ...

'', ''ST-LOG'' and other computer magazines from publishers Michael DesChenes & Lee Pappas in the late 1980s. ''Tips & Tricks'' originated as a spinoff from the monthly "Tips & Tricks" section in '' VideoGames & Computer Entertainment'' magazine. Because ''VideoGames & Computer Entertainment'' itself grew out of the monthly "Video Game Digest" column in ''

'' magazine, ''Tips & Tricks'' was technically the longest-running publication in a succession of related magazines that originated with the first issue of ''ANALOG'' in January 1981 - nine months before the publication of '' Electronic Games'' which is generally considered to be the world's first video-game magazine. When the final issue of ''Tips & Tricks Codebook'' appeared on newsstands in February 2011, it marked the end of a series of print magazines that had covered the video-game industry for 30 consecutive years. ''Tips & Tricks'' Editor-in-Chief, Chris Bieniek was interviewed in July 2014, detailing the history of the publication.

References

External links

An interview with Tips & Tricks editor Chris BieniekDigitized Tips and Tricks magazines on Retro CDNArchived Tips and Tricks magazines
on the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Tips and Tricks (magazine) 2007 establishments in California 2011 disestablishments in California Monthly magazines published in the United States Video game magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 2007 Magazines disestablished in 2011 Video game journalism Magazines published in Los Angeles