US · 1994–2007
A US monthly dedicated entirely to cheat codes, passwords, and strategy tips that served as a pre-internet clearinghouse for game secrets during the years when sharing such knowledge required a physical publication.
Tips & Tricks launched in 1994 from Larry Flynt Publications and occupied a genuinely distinct niche in the gaming press: it published no reviews, no hardware news, and no industry coverage, devoting every page to cheat codes, passwords, combo move lists, hidden character unlocks, and level strategies. This focus was commercially astute in the mid-1990s, when the internet was not yet a practical source for game information and players relied entirely on word of mouth, school playgrounds, and print publications to discover secrets. The magazine's format — dense columns of codes sorted by platform and game title — made it a reference tool rather than a leisure read, and many readers kept back issues specifically to consult later. Tips & Tricks benefited enormously from the fighting game era: Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, and Tekken each generated substantial new content across multiple issues. The magazine became redundant as GameFAQs and similar websites made comprehensive game information freely available online, and it closed in 2007.