SimBase Data Entry Policies

1. Game titles must be exactly as published, and are to be taken from the rulebook wherever possible, especially where there is a conflict with the title on the game box, countersheet or some other documentation. Pay special attention to the use of numerals as opposed to the numbers written out in full; to the use of ampersands (&) as opposed to "and"; to the use of punctuation and capitalization. Where the game has a definite subtitle, this must be provided as well.
2. All non-English titles beginning with articles appear exactly as they were published. English (only) definite and indefinite articles ("a"; "an"; "the") which appear as the first word in a title are moved to the end of the title, after a comma.
3. All English titles beginning with the word "Battle" have "Battle" and any preposition (at; of; for) moved to the end of the title following any article.
4. The date should be the copyright date, which could precede publication date. Where more than one date appears, use the most recent date, as this indicates a new edition or printing.
5. New editions of an existing game should not appear as separate entries unless there is a good reason for doing so, such as a new designer, or a fundamental change in the game. In this regard, there should be only one first edition of a game; if a different publisher subsequently buys the rights to publish the game, the edition would never be first, but would be at least the second edition. If in doubt, however, put in separate entries.
6. The date of publication must be complete with all four numerals, i.e., "1997", not "97". An n/p entry as a date indicates that the game was never, or has not yet been, published.
7. Information given for era is generally not specifically provided by the publisher, and so is an extrapolation which could be debated. Become acquainted with the system in use in SimBase and use the era given for a similar game. Some specific oddities include "various" for games spanning more than one century or era; "political" for games of a political nature moreso than of combat; "humor" for games that are humorous or satirical; "abstract" for games that are generic and not associated with a particular era.
8. The data reliability factor is not intrinsic to the game itself, but simply a scale to indicate the relative accuracy of the data. The scale goes from 0 to 10, with 9 meaning that I've actually held the game in my hands and confirmed the data with my own eyes, 10 meaning that I have reconfirmed the data, and 2 or 3 meaning that the game may never have been published and all data are suspect.
9. Where more than one designer is listed, provide the full name of the designer listed first.
10. Where the game is a magazine game, include the magazine name and issue number.
11. Where a magazine or box contains more than one game, each game should be a separate entry, and an association should be established with the other game by entering its name in the comments field. The SPI Quad games are a special case: where the individual games in the quad were published separately, then each should have a separate entry, and the comments field should make reference to the title of the quad. As well, the quad itself should list all of the component games of the quad.

If you have any questions about the data that appears in the database, or about this policy page, please send email to SimBase@iSimulacrum.com. Be sure to include the word "SimBase" in the Subject:, or it will get discarded as Spam.