How to Get Free Video Games
Sign up for a free Gamefly trial., Earn GameStop rewards., Take advantage of game store offers., Join a freebie site., Be cautious when using freebie affiliates., Trade with other gamers.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Sign up for a free Gamefly trial.
Described as "the Netflix for games," Gamefly is a subscription service that offers a free one month trial.
Visit gamefly.com and click start your free trial.
During this time, you'll be able to rent one game at a time.
Mail the game back to Gamefly (or purchase it at a discount) and you'll be able to order a replacement as long as your free trial month is still active.
Make sure to cancel your membership before the month is up, or you will be charged for the next month of the service.
You can browse the site before signing up to make sure the games you want to play are there. -
Step 2: Earn GameStop rewards.
GameStop's reward program lets you purchase games using points instead of money.
It's intended for people who spend money at GameStop, but there are ways to slowly earn points without spending money.
Here's how to do it:
First, visit a GameStop store (find one here) and sign up for the free rewards program.Register your rewards card at the Power Up Rewards site and earn some free points by filling out your information.
Make an account on Kongregate.com and link it to your rewards account for more free points.
Each day you can get more points by earning the chosen "Badge of the Day" in a selected Flash game. , Most brick-and-mortar game stores have a couple ways to get games at free, or at least discounted prices:
Trade in your used games for store credit.
Purchase a game, play it, and return it within the allowed time limit for a full refund. (Warning: you may be banned from the store if you make this a habit.), If you are willing to go through membership sign-ups and/or referring friends to the site, you can earn free games or even consoles and computers using these freebie sites.
Try YourFree360Games, Git-R-Free, or ZipNadaZilch.
Before using any other freebie site, make sure it is not a scam.
If you can't get friends and family to sign up as referrals, try searching for people on sites such as referralswapper.com. , Keep in mind that these sites are profit-making enterprises, and exist in order to advertise and get you to spend money.
You should always take these precautions when interacting with the affiliate companies the freebie sites direct you to:
Create a new email account using a free email service such as Gmail.
Use only this email address when signing up for affiliate memberships, and expect to receive spam messages.
When signing up for memberships with affiliate companies, read all the fine print.
Sure, it's incredibly boring, but you don't want to be caught with surprise fees you didn't know about.
If you are asked to enter your credit card information, make absolutely certain you know how to cancel your membership, and when you're able to do so.
If you forget to cancel your membership, you will be automatically billed for a month of non-trial membership. , Sites such as 99gamers and GameTZ connect gamers who want to exchange games with each other for free, while LeapTrade gives you trade-in credits based on the retail price of your game.
If you prefer earning credit at big retailers, BestBuy, Walmart, and Amazon typically provide the best value and game selection, while GameStop and Target give a bit less bang for your buck.If you have gamer friends, and you're more into single-player games, consider splitting the cost of a new game and taking turns playing.
Alternatively, you can each purchase a game, then trade with each other once you've played through them. -
Step 3: Take advantage of game store offers.
-
Step 4: Join a freebie site.
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Step 5: Be cautious when using freebie affiliates.
-
Step 6: Trade with other gamers.
Detailed Guide
Described as "the Netflix for games," Gamefly is a subscription service that offers a free one month trial.
Visit gamefly.com and click start your free trial.
During this time, you'll be able to rent one game at a time.
Mail the game back to Gamefly (or purchase it at a discount) and you'll be able to order a replacement as long as your free trial month is still active.
Make sure to cancel your membership before the month is up, or you will be charged for the next month of the service.
You can browse the site before signing up to make sure the games you want to play are there.
GameStop's reward program lets you purchase games using points instead of money.
It's intended for people who spend money at GameStop, but there are ways to slowly earn points without spending money.
Here's how to do it:
First, visit a GameStop store (find one here) and sign up for the free rewards program.Register your rewards card at the Power Up Rewards site and earn some free points by filling out your information.
Make an account on Kongregate.com and link it to your rewards account for more free points.
Each day you can get more points by earning the chosen "Badge of the Day" in a selected Flash game. , Most brick-and-mortar game stores have a couple ways to get games at free, or at least discounted prices:
Trade in your used games for store credit.
Purchase a game, play it, and return it within the allowed time limit for a full refund. (Warning: you may be banned from the store if you make this a habit.), If you are willing to go through membership sign-ups and/or referring friends to the site, you can earn free games or even consoles and computers using these freebie sites.
Try YourFree360Games, Git-R-Free, or ZipNadaZilch.
Before using any other freebie site, make sure it is not a scam.
If you can't get friends and family to sign up as referrals, try searching for people on sites such as referralswapper.com. , Keep in mind that these sites are profit-making enterprises, and exist in order to advertise and get you to spend money.
You should always take these precautions when interacting with the affiliate companies the freebie sites direct you to:
Create a new email account using a free email service such as Gmail.
Use only this email address when signing up for affiliate memberships, and expect to receive spam messages.
When signing up for memberships with affiliate companies, read all the fine print.
Sure, it's incredibly boring, but you don't want to be caught with surprise fees you didn't know about.
If you are asked to enter your credit card information, make absolutely certain you know how to cancel your membership, and when you're able to do so.
If you forget to cancel your membership, you will be automatically billed for a month of non-trial membership. , Sites such as 99gamers and GameTZ connect gamers who want to exchange games with each other for free, while LeapTrade gives you trade-in credits based on the retail price of your game.
If you prefer earning credit at big retailers, BestBuy, Walmart, and Amazon typically provide the best value and game selection, while GameStop and Target give a bit less bang for your buck.If you have gamer friends, and you're more into single-player games, consider splitting the cost of a new game and taking turns playing.
Alternatively, you can each purchase a game, then trade with each other once you've played through them.
About the Author
Walter Thompson
Walter Thompson specializes in educational content and has been creating helpful content for over 11 years. Walter is committed to helping readers learn new skills and improve their lives.
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