Tips & Tricks (now Tips & Tricks Codebook) is an American video game magazine published by Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). For most of its existence, the publication was devoted almost exclusively to strategies and codes for popular video games. However, in late 2006 veteran game journalist/designer Bill "The Game Doctor" Kunkel was hired as a consultant meant to help revitalize the magazine, and served as Editor in Chief for the last nine issues. Kunkel introduced feature articles, got the magazine an e-mail address, MySpace page and an official Web site while continuing to expand the monthly "lifestyle" features on video game-related anime, comics, toys, music and movies in an effort to shake the stigma of being a magazine only known for cheats and strategy guides.
Following the publication of the August 2007 issue, the magazine was canceled in the wake of discouraging sales and ad support, despite the attempts to revive the franchise. The Codebooks, however, are presently scheduled to continue on a bi-monthly schedule.
A code archive for each current system was featured in the back of each issue. There were also strategy guides/walkthroughs for recent popular games at the beginning of the issue. Tips & Tricks never reviewed games, but did feature a preview section. They were also one of the only video game magazines to publish full release schedules for each current system, in addition to their per-game preview articles. These release lists usually displayed the next year's upcoming games, sorted by month.
Tips and Tricks began as a spin off from VideoGames magazine, which in itself morphed out of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, a popular multi-platform magazine of the late 1980s/early 1990s. VG&CE and VideoGames like Tips & Tricks, were published by LFP following the purchase of A.N.A.L.O.G., ST-LOG and other computer magazines from Lee Pappas in the late 1980s.
In June 2007, the entire editorial staff of Tips & Tricks was laid off. All further publications under the Tips & Tricks name are Codebooks containing strategy guides, features, previews, codes and Pencil Puzzles.
As of August 2009, Tips & Tricks is on newsstands 8 times a year as a Codebook containing strategy guides, features, previews, codes and pencil puzzles.
Famous quotes containing the words tips and/or tricks:
“Romeo. Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow,
That tips with silver all these fruit tree tops—
Juliet. O, swear not by the moon, th’ inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Everyone has some tricks they can do, but each has his own way of doing them.”
—Chinese proverb.