In the wake of the still-recent Steam Holiday Sale, many of us have found ourselves with a newly bolstered Steam Library. If you are anything like me, that means you now own a lot of games that you have never played. One of my friends, as his New Year's Resolution, decided that he was going to play every game on his Steam list. I thought that sounded like a good idea, so after spending a few days hashing out the rules, we created the Steam Metagame.
The Steam Metagame Official Guidelines
Objective: To play all of the games you own on Steam.
1) Be a man. Don't make excuses.
2) Default Ordering:
a) You can move in any order you like.
b) Only games in your public list have to be played.
3) Minimum time in game:
a) You must spend at least 2 hours playing.
b) If there are achievements, you must get at least one achievement.
c) It is against the spirit of the rules to run up the clock by staying idle or walking away from the keyboard. (See Rule #1).
d) If you beat the game in under 2 hours, you don't have to keep playing.
3) Grandfather Exemptions:
a) Any game you have already played for more than 2 hours prior to starting the challenge is exempt.
4) Playing a game to completion is encouraged, but not required.
5) MMO Exemption:
a) If you have to pay money to reactivate your account, you do not have to play that game.
b) If you can't get a game to recognize your credit card (I?m looking at you, FFXI), you do not have to play that game.
6) Multiple copies:
a) If you own multiple versions of the same game, you only have to play one version.
b) Expansion packs and sequels DO NOT count as the same game. (See Rule #1).
c) If the single player and multiplayer are separate components, both count as separate games.
d) If DLC is not listed on the Games Library, it does count as the same game; if DLC is listed on the Games Library, it does not count as the same game.
e) This should be interpreted as strictly as possible.
7) New Purchases:
a) Any new game that someone gifts to you must be played in accordance with the above
rules, even if the gift is a malicious attempt to slow you down. (See Rule #1).
b) Retaliatory gift giving is perfectly acceptable, however.
c) Any new game you purchase for yourself must be EITHER played to completion OR played for 10 hours.
8) Technical difficulties:
a) If you can?t get a game to run, you must spend AT LEAST two hours trying to get it to run before giving up. You may invoke this exception at the cost of being slightly less of a man.
b) If someone you know does get the game to run, you have to give it another five
hours.
c) You are not required to give up; it is your choice.
10) It is always OK to do more that the rules require.
The Only Question I've Been Asked So Far:
Q: I am a woman. How does this relate to my qualifications, as per rule #1?
A: It doesn't. In the context of the Steam Metagame, the opposite of man is not woman. The opposite of man is boy.
EDIT: I made a Steam group for this project, which can be found here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steam_metagame
The Steam Metagame Official Guidelines
Objective: To play all of the games you own on Steam.
1) Be a man. Don't make excuses.
2) Default Ordering:
a) You can move in any order you like.
b) Only games in your public list have to be played.
3) Minimum time in game:
a) You must spend at least 2 hours playing.
b) If there are achievements, you must get at least one achievement.
c) It is against the spirit of the rules to run up the clock by staying idle or walking away from the keyboard. (See Rule #1).
d) If you beat the game in under 2 hours, you don't have to keep playing.
3) Grandfather Exemptions:
a) Any game you have already played for more than 2 hours prior to starting the challenge is exempt.
4) Playing a game to completion is encouraged, but not required.
5) MMO Exemption:
a) If you have to pay money to reactivate your account, you do not have to play that game.
b) If you can't get a game to recognize your credit card (I?m looking at you, FFXI), you do not have to play that game.
6) Multiple copies:
a) If you own multiple versions of the same game, you only have to play one version.
b) Expansion packs and sequels DO NOT count as the same game. (See Rule #1).
c) If the single player and multiplayer are separate components, both count as separate games.
d) If DLC is not listed on the Games Library, it does count as the same game; if DLC is listed on the Games Library, it does not count as the same game.
e) This should be interpreted as strictly as possible.
7) New Purchases:
a) Any new game that someone gifts to you must be played in accordance with the above
rules, even if the gift is a malicious attempt to slow you down. (See Rule #1).
b) Retaliatory gift giving is perfectly acceptable, however.
c) Any new game you purchase for yourself must be EITHER played to completion OR played for 10 hours.
8) Technical difficulties:
a) If you can?t get a game to run, you must spend AT LEAST two hours trying to get it to run before giving up. You may invoke this exception at the cost of being slightly less of a man.
b) If someone you know does get the game to run, you have to give it another five
hours.
c) You are not required to give up; it is your choice.
10) It is always OK to do more that the rules require.
The Only Question I've Been Asked So Far:
Q: I am a woman. How does this relate to my qualifications, as per rule #1?
A: It doesn't. In the context of the Steam Metagame, the opposite of man is not woman. The opposite of man is boy.
EDIT: I made a Steam group for this project, which can be found here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steam_metagame
