A quick guide to winning giveaways on Steamgifts

By jbondguy007

Introduction

I've typed this guide as a reply to a discussion, but it wasn't getting much visibility since it's a dying thread. Seems a waste after all that typing, so I'm creating this thread to paste my guide to (hopefully) help out new users to understand how winning giveaways work.

So, You've just registered on Steamgifts, you are a bit lost and confused by how the website works. You want to get free games and you want them now, without going through all the reading and clicking and whatnot.

Now... Hold it a second there, cowboy. This isn't a magical realm where you'll acquire dozen of free games in a few days, sadly. The art of winning will require patience, control and simple overall generosity (or at least, be a good member of the community as you can).

First thing first, read the Rules/FAQ. Yes, I know it's long and boring and you have more important things to do. But hear me out here, reading it can save you a whole lots of trouble. First, you are extremely likely to break a rule if you don't know about it. Ignorance is no excuse for rule breaking, so for the sake of you, read it. Second, rule breaking may result in you landing in some user's blacklist. Blacklist = You won't be allowed to enter giveaways created by them.

Here I will list the ways you can increase your chances at your first wins.

Private/puzzle giveaways

Most likely the best and most reliable way to win games. Members of the forum will often create private giveaways, and post them in the forum. Alternatively, they may create puzzles that must be solved to get to the giveaway. A guide to puzzle-solving by Zelghadis.
Both of these giveaway have way less entries, thus much higher odds than public giveaways.

Group giveaways

If you can afford giving away many games, this is the best choice for you. Basically, you begin by joining a private giveaway group. Most of these groups have a special system to avoid leechers. You win games, you giveaway games. Simple enough, huh?
Extremely high odds of winning giveaways this way. Slightly depends of the members count of the group and the amount of giveaway creating required.
Note that most of these groups have special requirements for joining, such as having a decent level, being an active Steamgifts member...

Whitelist

Probably the hardest way to win games, but decently good odds.
A member of Steamgifts may add any other users to their whitelist. They may then create a "whitelist giveaway", which enables only whitelisted users to join. As you can guess, you must get recognized as an active forum user, and show your good side. But unless you are truly an active forum user (and aren't a scumbag), this solution is not reliable.

What else should I know?

Well, giving away games will slightly increase your odds of winning games, in a way. Whenever you give any games away (with five entries or more), your contributor value will increase. Give away enough games, and you'll reach a higher contributor level. This is your contributor level. There are up to 10 levels.
Once you've reached a certain level (for example, level 3), you may now enter giveaways with a level restriction of up to level 3. Level up to level 4, you may now enter level 4 giveaways as well. It's not much, but it will give you a slight edge on winning a giveaway. Read more about Contributor levels.

Other facts

• Most users win a giveaway past 1,000 entries. Some of them even reached 3,000 entries without a single win.
• You may attempt joining trivia night in the Steamgifts group chat. Every Sunday 6PM EST. Don't forget to read the trivia rules first.
• Even if you follow all of the tips in this guide, it doesn't mean in any way that you are guaranteed to succeed at winning. Remember; it takes lots of time and patience.

So, that's it?

Pretty much, yep. You know the basics about winning giveaways on Steamgifts.
Now go forth, and make me proud. And good luck! You'll need it!