My collection looked so cool on it that I started wondering what other options are out there for cataloguing board games. Why would I do this if I am already satisfied with BGG? Well, there are a couple of reasons.

• Free Windows 10 Database Software

One is that BGG is a web site, and like anything on the internet, it is at the mercy of computer servers and internet service providers. Those things can be unpredictable at times, and if you lose your internet connection or BGG's site goes down for some reason, you can't access your game collection. It doesn't happen often, but it's a bummer when it does.Another reason is that I just think it's fun to build a database, particularly if it has my beloved board games in it. What could be more geeky than building a game database? And sure, I could just use the feature on BGG that allows me to save my collection as a spreadsheet, but spreadsheets are often drab little documents without some of the eye candy I'd like to have.

So I found a bunch of software programs that enable me to catalog my collection on my hard drive. I thought I would share my observations with the board gaming community.This list is not in any particular order or preference.

It's just a guide letting board game users know what is out there, how they can use it, and how well I think each individual application works for board games.(Note: I have no affiliation whatsoever with any of these companies or software developers. I just use their programs.

And I am sure there are undoubtedly some other game database programs out there that I am unaware of, but these are the ones that I have tried. If people would like to submit more reviews, feel free.)1. GCstar - This is a free program written in the Perl programming language.

It's been around a while and is most commonly found in the Linux operating system, but there is a Windows version available. People have been using GCstar to catalog collections ranging from stamps to comic books to wines to mini vehicles. As such, it is a very useful and robust collection manager.And here's the best part: GCstar is built to handle not only board games, but it has a great feature that allows you to connect directly to Boardgamegeek and download all sorts of information directly into the program.

It's as easy as this: type in the name of the board game you want to add to your collection. Click GCstar's 'Fetch Information' button.

Select Boardgamegeek from the drop-down list, and GCstar will import a wealth of data from BGG, such as game description, developer, publisher, year released, suggested age, and most importantly, a box cover photo. All of the information will be stored into your GCstar database. Here are a few screenshots. The program also has an import feature that enables you to build a game database from a.csv file.

This is useful if you want to build your database directly from a spreadsheet you created from your personal games page on Boardgamegeek. It helps if you have a little experience importing data from spreadsheets, but even if you don't, it's a relatively simple skill to learn.Another interesting feature of this program is its ability to port over your entire collection to your Android phone (sorry, no iPhone capability.) I don't have an Android, so I didn't try this out. But people on GCstar's forums say it works.GCstar is a great program, but it's star may be fading - at least in the world of Windows operating systems. GCstar is developed under the Gnu software license and its developers aren't actively updating the Windows version any more (although it is still available for download.) If you happen to use Linux, you have no worries, because GCstar's primary development is within the Linux sphere. The latest Linux version of GCstar has some nice features, not the least of which is the ability to scan information into the program with a barcode reader.SYNOPSIS:Name: GCstarOperating systems supported: Windows, Linux, MacCost: FreePros: Boardgamegeek integration; excellent spreadsheet importing; very slick look; exports collection to Android phone; Linux version can scan barcodes for certain types of collections.Cons: Windows version is not currently being updated; not the easiest program to use.2.

MediaDB - If you like GCstar's ability to download information directly from BGG, then you'll love this little Windows program. Also free, it is a very small download and it has the ability to sync with your BGG collection. It's very fast, too: it downloaded box covers and all BGG information for over 300 games in my collection in just a few minutes. Talk about an instant database! It can also track your books and DVDs, and there is a built-in search feature for BGG.I'd have to say it is really hard to beat this program for sheer convenience.

It doesn't have some of the bells and whistles as the others, such as the ability to load your collection on to a mobile device, but overall this is a great way to create a board game database on your hard drive. I would say MediaDB is a must-have for any true geek.SYNOPSIS:Name: MediaDBOperating systems supported: WindowsCost: FreePros: Boardgamegeek integration; unique syncing capability with BGG; very fast and light.Cons: Spreadsheet importing is a bit lacking.3. Sisimizi Game Catalog - Another completely free program, Sisimizi's best feature is portability. It can run off portable media, such as a flash drive. It is a no-frills program based on the success of the Ant Movie Catalog, a popular movie databasing software that uses scripts to quickly download all sorts of useful information.

That's where the name comes from - 'Sisimizi' is a Swahili word for ant.Sisimizi is designed for video games. But like GCstar, it has a data import feature, and that means you can import anything you want, including board games. You'll have to do it with a spreadsheet (.csv) file, but this is a powerful little program (just 2.6 mb in size.) Importing data into Sizimizi is smooth and easy. Using a spreadsheet of my Boardgamegeek game collection, and with a little help from my GCstar database, I made a Sisimizi catalog in just five minutes. The other benefit of Sisimizi is that you can also use the program to catalog all your video games, too.

Sisimizi has no Boardgamegeek integration, unfortunately, so you can't use the program to directly download information from BGG. But it has several scripts available that will enable you to look up video game information from sources such as Amazon and.The portability of this program is pretty nifty. It is a no-brainer to just drag and drop the program folder from your computer to your portable hard drive or flash drive, and Sisimizi will run just fine, no matter what Windows computer you plug it into. Just double-click the program file, and you've got your whole game collection in front of you.SYNOPSIS:Name: Sisimizi Game CatalogOperating systems supported: WindowsCost: FreePros: Portable game database runs off a flash drive; excellent spreadsheet importing; nice pie charts of your collection.Cons: No boardgamegeek integration.4. Data Crow - Data Crow is a free cataloguer that uses pre-made and user-made modules to keep track of anything you can possibly possess. Like Sisimizi, it is totally portable - no installation file is required. You can download a.zip file, extract the contents to your flash drive or other portable media, and the program runs out of the box.

Since it is written in Java, it can run on just about any operating system, although Data Crow's web site only has pre-packaged versions available for Windows and Linux.There is no board game module offered in the program, but I made one in a matter of minutes by simply using Data Crow's module wizard. Then I imported all my board game data into the module via a.csv file.If it had all worked well, I would say Data Crow is a great option, but I found the program to be EXTREMELY finicky about formatting.

For instance, when I ran the data import feature, Data Crow only imported about half the games on my spreadsheet. After investigating, I discovered that this was because Data Crow did not like certain text characters within my game descriptions, and it just flat-out refused to import them unless I cut and pasted new text for each game it wouldn't import. The problem is definitely unique to Data Crow, because I used the same.csv file to import all my games successfully into other programs.I found a few other bugs with this program as well, not the least of which is that it is quite difficult to manually edit game information and it occasionally won't allow you to save your changes.

The issues may get corrected over time by the developer, but in the meantime, Data Crow requires a fair amount of troubleshooting. If you're willing to do it, you'll be rewarded. Here's a screenshot. SYNOPSIS:Name: Data CrowOperating systems supported: Windows and Linux. Also Mac if you build it from source code.Cost: FreePros: Portable game database runs off a flash drive; nice graphical look; module system allows for a lot of customization for games, books, movies, and anything else you collect.Cons: No boardgamegeek integration; somewhat buggy; help forum online doesn't offer much feedback.5. Game Collectorz - This one has great potential to be the best option on the list, so it is worth mentioning. Unfortunately, it's hard for me to recommend it to anyone but the most hardcore collector, because of the work involved to adapt it to a board game database.

Also, it's not free. Collectorz is a Netherlands-based company that specializes in database programs. They make separate software programs for $49.95 each that can track your collections of movies, comics, music CDs, books, and games. So it is pricey.Like Sizimizi, it is designed for video games, not board games. And while many programs on this list have an option to import your game collection from a database, Game Collectorz is much less user-friendly in this regard.

Importing from a database, such as a.csv file, is critical because it makes it so you can import your boardgame collection quickly and easily. Unfortunately, Game Collectorz has a very weak data import capability: it can only import game title, platform, and UPC code. So even if you have a spreadsheet chock-full of information about your collection, Collectorz will only import those three pieces of data for each game. That's not terribly helpful.

I've even gone on the Collectorz forums and asked the developers why the import feature is so weak. You would think that they would want to have a strong data import capability so that people would be more willing to switch over to their expensive program. But the response they gave me is that it is a low priority.Too bad, because the Game Collectorz program has some excellent features. It can export your entire collection to your iPhone, iPad, or Android (of course, they charge $9.99 for the app. These guys never seem to miss a chance to charge you money.) But because I was curious about it, I bought it and the iPhone app does work well, and in my opinion has a much slicker, more streamlined look than BGG's iPhone app, and is also easier to navigate. In short, there is more 'WOW' factor here. The above screen shots show part of my board game collection that I ported over to my iPhone using the Game Collectorz program on my Windows 7 laptop.

So how did I get my collection into the Collectorz program, you ask, when it is so difficult to import data into? Well, I imported as much data as I could from my game spreadsheet. That put the game title, platform, and UPC code of each of my board games into the program. After that, I dragged and dropped box cover photos (thank you, GCstar and MediaDB) of each game on to its listing in Collectorz.

It took me three hours over two nights to do it for my entire collection of 394 board games. So it looks great, but it's a lot of work if you have a large collection. The screenshots give you an idea of what Collectorz could be for many boardgamers if the company would simply incorporate a more robust data import function. But don't hold your breath, I wouldn't count on it happening any time soon.If you are patient and want to manually build your database like I did, Collectorz is a great option, and not only because of its high-end iPhone/iPad/Android ability. In contrast to its lousy import feature, Collectorz has an outstanding export feature. The Windows and Mac versions of the program will send your entire collection to your mobile device via WiFi or a USB cable.

Collectorz also can export a wealth of data to a.csv file. That means you can quickly and easily create comprehensive listings of your collection, with even more data fields than Boardgamegeek's spreadsheet exporter contains.Another great feature is its ability to obtain information about videogames via barcode. You can even buy a barcode scanner that will interface directly with Collectorz and feed it the barcodes, which the program will use to download information and pictures of each game in a few seconds. But this feature is just for videogames and not board games at the present time.Collectorz also makes excellent printed reports, with many different templates available. So if you have your games in the Collectorz system, you can easily import them into eXtreme. But otherwise, there is no other way to import your data, such as from a spreadsheet. Being able to export your games into eXtreme from Collectorz is excellent, but there really ought to be an import from.csv or some other text file.This is a decent program overall, but it is sorely lacking BGG import capability.SYNOPSIS:Name: eXtreme Games ManagerOperating systems supported: WindowsCost: 14.95 EurosPros: Imports seamlessly from Game Collectorz; nice looking; regularly updated by the developer.Cons: No boardgamegeek integration; cannot import from a.csv file or other spreadsheet; online update feature does not work as well for board games.7.

GameList - This is an old Windows program that appears not to have received an update since 2007, but I am including it here because I have seen at least one post on BGG about it.It's a rather simple program, and like several others on this list, it is primarily designed for videogames. But it has a decent data import feature and you can use a BGG.csv file to create a board game database in the program. You'll have to provide your own box covers, though, unless you have a database already created in GCstar, Collectorz, or Sisimizi that has.jpg images of your games. Then you can point GameList at the right image file and it'll show your game picture.Here's a screenshot. Like I say, it is nothing fancy.

And it's not free ($29.99 to register,) so it really doesn't compare well to the rest of the programs on this list. It's short on features and is a bit of a hassle to install on modern-day operating systems, although with perseverance, I did get it up and running on Windows 7 64-bit.

It's functional, but it really ought to be free, or at least updated by the developers.SYNOPSIS:Name: GameListOperating systems supported: WindowsCost: $29.99Pros: Data import from.csv spreadsheet works well; simple and uncluttered interface.Cons: No boardgamegeek integration; no updates to the program since 2007; requires patience to install on modern-day operating systems such as Windows 7.8. Tellico - Tellico is one of the oldest collection managers on the web, and it's quite simplistically elegant because its developers have had a lot of years to work out the bugs. It's also free, and it's got boardgamegeek integration, much like GCstar. Thanks to a third-party script, you can type in a board game name, and Tellico will grab info from Boardgamegeek to fill in lots of data fields, such as publisher, year, description, box cover, etc. It will not sync like MediaDB, however, which means you will have to build your database one game at a time by using Tellico's BGG search script. Unfortunately, if you are a Windows user, you are out of luck on this one.

Tellico is written primarily for Linux, although there is a Mac version if you are willing to build the program yourself from source code. If you're running any version of Windows, Tellico will not run natively.I find Tellico to be an excellent program, but it's not for the digitally squeamish. Not everyone wants to run Linux.

Tellico is highly customizable but you need to take some time to familiarize yourself with the program. Its data import capability is quite good - it can not only import from.csv files, but also XML and directly from GCstar. It has very easy-to-use report printing functions as well, with many templates to choose from.SYNOPSIS:Name: TellicoOperating systems supported: Linux.

Mac if you build from source code.Cost: FreePros: Venerable and battle-tested collection manager; plain and practical interface; Boardgamegeek integration via a third-party script; data import and export both work very well; nice report printing features.Cons: A bit of a learning curve.Last but certainly not least.The last two items on the list are utilities made by Boardgamegeek users. While neither creates an actual database in the strictest sense of the term, both do a very nice job building a listing of your BGG collection that you can store on your computer:9. BGG Games Report Generator - Made by BGG member Brian Nors Jensen (Nors), this is a great tool that will access your BGG collection online, extract the details from it, and build a beautiful PDF file of your whole collection. It contains box cover shots of each game, and also includes brief summaries of all games and information such as playing time, number of players, and even a summary of how you rated all your games.

It's very easy to use. Here's a picture of the utility. SYNOPSIS:Name: BGG Games Report GeneratorOperating systems supported: WindowsCost: FreePros: Makes a great looking PDF file of your games and any information about them.Cons: It's just a PDF maker, so it's not going to have the versatility of a database program.10. WhatToPlay - This is a truly outstanding application. It's made by BGG member Dave Mansell (Wilikai), and is kind of like a database on steroids, because you can interact with it. His description says it all:'It lets you load your BGG collection, filter by number of players, playing time, weight, mechanics, and much more.

Then you can view details, comments and polls about each game. Think in digital form.'

The program gets rave reviews for its ability to get barcode information from DVDs, books and other media, but board games are probably a different story. Like I say, I haven't tried the program, though, and I'd welcome any input from any BGG user who has tried it for their boardgame collection. Delicious Library has a.csv import function, so at the very least, it would not be difficult to import your board game collection into the program's database via a spreadsheet.MediaMan - This one really isn't an option for board games. MediaMan ($33.95) looks nice and it has the ability to search online for information about videogames and other media. But I tested the trial version and any search I did of a board game title simply returned information about videogames and/or books with the same name, or nothing at all. It also cannot directly import data off your BGG spreadsheet into the program.

Essential keto cookbook 124 ketogenic diet weight loss trial ebook ketogenic diet. How including the ketogenic cookbook this is the ketogenic edge cookbook. Keto Adapted Cookbook Volume 1. Copyright © 2016. Keto Pancakes and Syrup. To slide the omelette to the edge of the pan. 6 Holding the. The ketogenic cookbook nutritious low carb high fat paleo meals to the ketogenic cookbook. And advice about the ketogenic diet ketogenic edge cookbook is a. Ketogenic recipe book pdf. Free-ebooks, The Everyday Low Carb Slow Cooker. Cookbook Over 120, Low Carb Slow Cooker Recipes. Ebooks - Ijif, The Ketogenic Edge Cookbook: A. Feb 8, 2014 - Ketogenic Diet Recipes, Folk Medicine Association (see: File Folder at. Fill the crust leaving a thin edge of crust showing around the edge.

So it is basically useless for building or importing a board game database. This screenshot is from the company web site and shows a videogame database. ConclusionBuilding databases is great geekfun. For most people, BGG is the easiest and best option for tracking your board game collection online.

Microsoft is mostly criticized by the Linux community for their closed-source Windows operating system which single-handedly outperforms the popularity of all the combined. The company has been an advocate of proprietary software, but in the last couple of years, Redmond has made a lot of contributions to the open source community.Microsoft is now one of the top-tier members of the Linux Foundation and has a regular presence on GitHub.

Stuffing distros such as into the Windows Subsystem is the sign of love Microsoft is showing towards the Linux community. However, on the other hand, some people might want to tie this with Microsoft’s evil intentions. Earlier, it was predicted that they would digest Linux in the long run. If Windows becomes capable of running Linux applications someday, then people might fall for it.Leaving all these things aside, one important thing to consider is that various free and open-source software available for Windows 10. If you want to take advantage of Windows 10’s fluidity and other features, you can do so with a touch of open source.Don’t forget to check out our list of. 14 Best Free Open Source Software For Windows 10 1. Firefox – Open source browser for Windows 10Developed by Mozilla Foundation, Firefox is an open-source web browser which was first released in 2002.

Firefox started to lose its user base after the arrival of Google Chrome in 2009. But last year, Mozilla gave a massive transformation to Firefox, and now it stands proudly in front of Chrome and other leading browsers.Firefox is the default web browser on various Linux distributions, but it also has gigantic user based on the Windows platform, and not to mention Android. Chromium – Open source alternative to EdgePeople often criticize Google Chrome for its proprietary nature; its daddy Chromium is always ready to rescue the popular browser with its open source goodies.

In fact, Chrome borrows its base code from Chromium after which Google makes some changes.One of the advantages of having is that you can stream content from your desktop to TV screen using a Chromecast receiver.Chromium has posed itself as a serious contender for the default web browser on Linux systems. When it comes to Windows 10, many people are stuck to Chrome, but Chromium can be a great alternative if you want to fill your proprietary machine with some open source software.3. VLC – Open source alternative to Windows Media PlayerIt’s hard to imagine a Windows 10 machine without the VLC. That’s the reason it has bagged the top position on our list of for Windows 10. The open-source media player developed and maintained by VideoLAN. Other than playing different audio/video formats, VLC can also be used to and.4.

DC – Open source file-sharing clientYou might have heard about the direct connect (DC) protocol used for sharing files over the internet. The open source DC is the most popular client based on the direct connect protocol.You can use DC as an alternative to BitTorrent. Other than Windows, various DC clients are available for macOS and Linux. Read this post to know more about the.5. QBittorent – Open source torrent clientqBittorrent is an open source client for Windows 10 which is used to download torrent files.

The letter q in the name qBittorrent is because it is designed using Qt. QBittorrent is also available for other operating systems including macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, etc.6.

GIMP – Open source alternative to PhotoshopGNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) can be assumed as the open source answer to Adobe Photoshop unless you’re planning to spend ten years and master MS Paint, like, this guy did.Created by Spencer Kimball and Peter Mattis, GIMP has existed for more than two decades since its first release in 1995. The open source graphics editor can be used to create and make changes to photos and clipart in raster image formats including JPEG, PNG, TIFF, etc.

GIMP is available for Windows 10, Linux, and macOS.7. Libre Office – Open source alternative to Microsoft OfficeAnother name in the list of free and open source software for Windows 10 is Libre Office.

In 2011, the office application suite sprung out of another open source project known as OpenOffice. Libre Office currently offers a variety of apps like Writer (similar to MS Word), Calc (MS Excel), Impress (Powerpoint), Math (used to create and edit maths formulae), Draw (vector graphics editor), and Base (a database management program).There are two versions of Libre Office which are in continuous development. ‘Fresh’ release comes with all the latest features created for Libre Office, on the other hand, ‘Still’ release is a little behind in terms of features but focuses more on stability.8. 7zip – Open source Zip extractorYou can’t question the capabilities of the 17-year-old open source tool 7zip when compressing and extracting files. The fact that 7zip is open source adds to the comfort of the haters of proprietary software.7zip is primarily created for machines running Windows operating system. However, command line based versions for Linux distros are available.

Other support for popular compression formats, 7zip also offers its own compression format called 7z.9. VirtualBox – Open source hypervisor softwareProbably, the only hypervisor software known to common users like us is VirtualBox. It allows people to run some other operating system, be it Windows or Linux, inside their primary operating system. The original development of this open source software was carried out by Innotek GMbh before it was taken over by Sun Microsystems followed by Oracle.Other than being an open source software available for Windows 10, VirtualBox is also available for other platforms including Linux, Solaris, macOS, etc.10.

Tor Browser – Open source anonymity suiteis the perfect solution for users who don’t want to blow their anonymity cover on the internet. The open-source web browser for Windows 10, macOS, and Linux leverages Tor network to conceal user’s identity and IP address.It’s a modified version of the Firefox ESR browser which includes some add-ons such as HTTPSEverywhere, NoScript, etc. Tor browser reroutes the traffic through various nodes on the Tor network. It automatically deletes cookies and web history when the user closes the browser window, thus, reducing the chances of a user getting tracked.11. FileZilla – Open source FTP solutionThe file-sharing software FileZilla is also a great open source software for Windows 10. It’s available for Linux and macOS as well.

The FTP client was born as a class project of a student trio in 2001.FileZilla offers protected file sharing which requires a username and password to access the shared data. Overall, the software has received a positive response, but it has been accused of storing passwords insecurely. Users have criticized FileZilla for bundling adware as a part of SourceForge’s revenue program.12. Mozilla Thunderbird – Open source alternative to OutlookThunderbird is an email client developed by Mozilla. Launched in 2004, it was able to serve the rising demand for a dedicated email client. In the last few years, Mozilla has reduced their focus on Thunderbird because they don’t believe it can make the same the industry-wide impact as Firefox does.The open source email client is available for Windows 10, Linux, and MacOS.

Other than an email client, Thunderbird includes a Calendar, Chat client, and can receive RSS feeds amongst various other features. However, the emails are listed in a congested manner and might ruin your user experience.13. Media Player Classic – Home Cinema (MPC-HC)MPC-HC is also an open source media player for Windows 10. In terms of video and audio format support, it can easily go shoulder to shoulder with VLC.

One thing I like about MPC-HC is that it can play 4K videos if you’re running capable hardware.The biggest drawback of MPC-HC is that it’s only available for Windows platforms, that’s where VLC takes over by providing a cross-platform media player.14. KeePass – an open source password managerIn our list of the, you can find the open source Windows software called KeePass. Standing confidently among other proprietary password managers, KeePass provides an effective way to save and organize tons of usernames and passwords you have for your web accounts and various services.All the account credentials added to KeePass are stored on the user’s system in an encrypted file to protect the information from attackers. It supports input and export of data from other password managers and also comes with built-in password generator which can suggest random passwords. Read more about.So, these were some of the free and open source software for Windows 10 you can use in your daily life. I’ll try to extend this list in the future.Did you find this helpful?

Free Windows 10 Database Software

Drop your thoughts and feedback.