It’s only slightly obvious that I am a big fan of Big Fish Games (laugh). With that said, I’m also a total commitment-phobe. My interests vary from month to month and don’t like getting tied into subscriptions. So the Big Fish Game Club, while a pretty cool idea (get a game each month for only $6.99), is just too much for me and my fleeting interests.
Recently, Big Fish announced that all of their games are now $6.99 — that’s awesome, I thought, I can go grab a few old Pogo deluxe games I never purchased and I can take a look at the Azada series while I’m there. But at first glance it looked like I had to join the club and pay $6.99 monthly FOR A FULL YEAR to get only a game a month. I’ll admit it: at that point, I walked away. I looked at some other sites to see how much their downloads cost, but most of them were $19.99. Yuck.
Today, after a little research, I figured out a way to be able to get any game for $6.99, but not get locked into that 12-month subscription (which ultimately would cost you $83.88). Here’s how to do it:
- Visit the Big Fish Games Homepage and click on the red graphic on the left sidebar of the page that says “Gifting Services” (it looks like this graphic below).
- Click on “Start Gifting”.
- At this point, it’ll ask you to log in — if you’re already logged in, the site will automatically take you to the Choose your Gift Certificate page, so skip this step. If you don’t have an account, just create one and activate it. They won’t ask for your credit card number and it won’t cost you anything until you actually purchase a game. Plus, their online Game Community is a lot of fun and you can use your account for that too.
- Choose your Gift Certificate: for this, just choose the 1 game option — $6.99 — click on Give a Gift Certificate. (If you really want to buy five games, go ahead, but this tutorial is just geared toward buying one game for $6.99.)
- Now, Personalize your gift certificate: Fill out the form TO yourself and FROM yourself.
- For Billing and Shipping, fill out your information and select and enter your payment method. This is where you’re purchasing a single game for $6.99 (plus tax — mine was 42 cents) and not getting roped into a year of $6.99 monthly fees. Awesome.
- After you submit your order, you’ll receive an email with a coupon code for a game.
- Head back to the Big Fish Games Home Page, browse to the game you want to purchase, and click on the “Buy Now” button.
- On the Cart page, you can enter your coupon code in the box under “Have a coupon code?” It looks like this:
- Once you check out, you’ll be able to download your game.
So there you have it — no commitments and a game for $6.99 (plus applicable tax). If you’re looking for suggestions on games to play, check out my daily archive of new releases. (A new game every day!)
I personally LOVE the entire Mystery Case Files series and the Azada series:
- MCF: Huntsville
- MCF: Madame Fate
- MCF: Prime Suspects
- MCF: Ravenhearst
- MCF: Return to Ravenhearst
- Azada
- Azada: Ancient Magic
And, for whatever reason, Hell’s Kitchen is the top selling game among people who found Big Fish Games through my site. I’ve never played it, but now that I know it’s a top seller among my visitors I may just have to pick it up… for just $6.99!
Filed under: Big Sea Fans
{ 16 comments }
hi lure,
just wanted to let you know i got an e-mail about this, having been a game club member in the past. there are no commitments anymore. the 12 month requirement is gone gone gone! you do still become a game club member when you purchase a game for $6.99, but you can cancel ANY time! you can even cancel right after you have made your first purchase so that you don’t get the monthly charges. so no having to purchase 12 games in a year to get the low price.
Hi LURE
MCF Madame Fate is my all time favorite HO game. Sometimes I play just to “look” at it.
I have been a member of the BFG Game Club for awhile was considering canceling when the change was made, waiting to see what the extra membership perks might be.
Your explanation of how to bypass the membership requirement is excellent. Another way to do same is to click the Gift This Game link that is under the download-purchase buttons on the game page.
I do not understand why you were charged tax, however. I played with the link and granted I did not go through the whole process, but there was no indication that taxes would be charged?? And nowhere does the site say $6.99 (plus tax) Not refuting just questioning.
Also during my research I found the following info in the Customer Support pages -
so we all need to be aware of what we are doing.
If I redeem a gift certificate, will I become a member of Big Fish Game Club?
If you are not currently a member of Big Fish Game Club, redeeming your gift certificate will not start a membership.
A Big Fish Game Club Membership will only begin if you add additional games, strategy guides, or soundtracks that are not covered by the value of the gift certificate to your order.
If you need to make changes or cancel a membership, visit your My Game Club page at any time.
Again, Thanks for the gifting info, if I cancel my membership, I am happy to know that there is a way to purchase without the join and then cancel option.
Happy Gaming and Have a Great One!
BlueShoes — ah, that’s good to know. I’m not even a fan of canceling subscriptions — does anyone remember Columbia Music House (is it still around)? That was one scary subscription, but as a young teenager it was SO tempting to get 13 cds for the a penny! And then it was darned near impossible to have to fork over my hard-earned minimum wage savings to fulfill my contract with them. No wonder I think subscriptions are scary! :P
itsme07: I’m not sure about the tax issue — it could just be the state I live in requires it.
OMG Lure the Columbia Music House subscriptions LOL and yes, that is the reason I do not join anything – Big Fish was my first (and still only) since those years and that scary club.
There is a still a music club around don’t know name, but know someone who keeps getting into trouble with it ;-)
Thanks for tax answer, you are probably right regarding State tax issues. I have never seen it mentioned before.
I think I also read somewhere on BFG that at checkout one has an option to check do not want to join club but cannot find it again and have not “researched” that option. It was either in the Forums or the HELP section. I dislike the join then cancel option.
Take Care.
Don’t worry, Lure! BFG has made it *very easy* to cancel at any time should you feel uncomfortable committing to an extra month. Just like BlueShoes said, you can buy one game and cancel right there on the spot. Of course, if you get one game month anyway, canceling will only serve to exclude you from the great membership benefits that will be coming out soon.
Until then, keep on fishin’! :D
7ucky: that’s great and all, but I wouldn’t have written this post (nor purchased games this way) if I were comfortable with signing a “membership” that currently offers me nothing extra and then immediately canceling it. In the future, if your “membership benefits” outweigh the looming commitment hassles, I may change my mind about the way I purchase games from your site.
With that said, it may be “very easy” to cancel your membership, but I don’t think anyone should have to be forced into a membership to buy one game. On my other site, there are a ton of people who would buy your games from your site simply for their low price, but either couldn’t figure out how to do so without being nearly tricked into a year-long membership that they felt they couldn’t get out of. I simply found a way around it: we are happy, satisfied customers who get our cheap games with no strings attached…and you guys still get your money. Yay for us both.
I have paid US tax on all of my purchases with BFG, and my subscriptions. I know if anyone from the US comes to Europe they can claim our VAT back, does it work the other way round?. Still happy with the price I pay though, including the tax. I never felt I was being tricked into a membership with BFG,I am a reasonably intelligent adult, cannot spell though,but it was the right thing to do for me with the amount of games I buy. Still miffed with BFG that I have still not recieved my stuffed BF that I was promised months ago.;-(
Sales tax is only charged by BFG in states where they do (or have done) business. BFG must have been in NJ at some point because I pay the sales tax on anything I buy from them. This tax will be charged until we are forced to pay a stupid internet sales tax. Hope it never comes tho.
Moysy123, I too am very upset with BFG at the present time — been a full member (Game Club and Community) for over 2 years and I never got Felix, even after they assured me TWICE that they have my address and he would be in the next shipment. The last time was over 6 months ago. (grumbling at and cursing them)
Lure, off topic here, but the link to the beta testing doesn’t seem to work. No signup, just a confirmation — probably of yours! lol Can it be fixed or is it now too late?
Thanks Lure, for this wonderful site!
Mally: actually, I pulled that link from a newsletter that was archived on the web, so I’m thinking they’ve got it set that you have to click on the link from your own newsletter. I’ll update the original post, thanks for letting me know — I meant to look into this on the day I posted and it just slipped my mind!
Glad I reminded you then! Now I have to search for that email… hope I got it and it is not too late now…
Lure … I was just reading your comment about the BF Game Club and cancelling subscriptions. I am a member and have already cancelled once and then came back again (after they offered me a free game of course). It was very easy to cancel and had no extra charges put on my visa card. So put those Columbia days behind you (I remember them but was lucky enough not to be a member) and join and cancel whenever you want.
Deborah
Deborah: I totally get that, and I understand it’s totally easy to cancel and rejoin as needed. But you’re missing the point: I don’t want to sign up for a club to buy one game and I certainly don’t want to have to cancel and rejoin if I want to buy another game. It’s gimmicky and it feels like they’re trying to trap me into something (regardless of how easy it is to get out of their trap) and that’s why I wrote this no-commitment guide.
Wow … I guess I buy more games than most but I really like having a membership account where I can buy credits monthly and use them as I wish.
I remember those old book club/music club things from over 40-50 years ago .. they are nasty .. which is why I always read the fine print before signing up for anything. I love BigFishGames and their service and friendliness .. and take pride in having a relationship with them, even if it is just as a customer.
Glad for you and others that you have a work-a-round but heck, I buy usually at least 6 games a month so it’s different .. then again, I’m “old” :)
Lavona: I think you are exactly the type of person that the Game Club was made for! Where you buy 6+ games a month, I might buy 6 games in a year…or two. And you’re right, their customer service is fantastic — better than any other game site and almost every online merchant I’ve ever dealt with.
Lure…….I have been a member of BF for a couple of years now, as this is the only game site that I really enjoy and trust. I have been paying $6.99 per month for the free game and also buy a couple more games at times. Should I continue to pay the $6.99 per month in order to get my free game as I’m a bit confused about how that works now, and I am a member that loves the HO games and purchase all that I can each month.
Also, how do I get my Felix. I have called a couple of times and each time was told it would be mailed out “right away”. Well their right away is different than mine as I still have not received my Felix. What do I need to do to get Felix…more phone calls. Please let me know what the problem is with that. I would very much appreciate your help.
Thank you very much for any answers you have regarding both of these situations.
TC and God Bless you
Hi Kim: it sounds like you purchase enough games that the $6.99 monthly is a good deal for you. I wrote this guide because I purchase maybe one game every few months and didn’t want to get roped into the monthly game commitment. :) As far as your Felix goes, you’ll have to keep contacting Big Fish about that, I’ve never been a game club member long enough to qualify. I have heard a TON of people complaining that they didn’t get their Felix on time, but most said it usually arrived eventually.
Comments on this entry are closed.