Important Changes Coming to Big Fish

It is on this page here.

Many things are touched upon including what changes are coming for Game Club members.

Thanks Marian! I received an email regarding this and was just trying to find the information. Off to go read it now.

Thanks, Marian!

I figured that many of you would get this email but wanted to share it nevertheless, and there may be people who don't receive the email at all so it seemed worth posting about for that reason too.

Thank you, Marian! I received the email this evening.

Thanks, Marian. It all sounds pretty fair to me 🙂

It sounds good to me, Mad. It also fixes some things that people complained about; for example, people not liking the fact that you could not use two free punch card game codes to purchase a Collector's Edition. This will now be a nonissue since everything will be based on points.

I agree this seems fair. Be nice if they had a hard date set for switch over though. Was there anywhere that said whether the points you accumulate would expire (similar to how coupon codes expire in 2 months)?

I don't see the answer to that question, lakerz. Hopefully we will get more information pretty soon. I will be sure to post here when we do.

I also got the email, Thanks Marian.

sign up, no email, only recipes, facebook, pond friends, gog.com.

Be sure to check your spam folder, too. But no worries if you don't get the email as the information will be available on the website.

i not, and thank you very much.

Hi, Marian!

Thanks for the link. I received the email a couple of weeks ago, but there were no details. I hope the new points system means that we can now use 699 points to purchase a CE during BF's 65% off sales. When we completed those surveys a couple of years ago, I suggested it would be nice if we could use 1 Game Club Credit to purchase a CE that was on sale for $6.99 in the 65% off sales, but nothing changed. One thing i didn't see clarified was expiry dates. Game Club Credits never expire but Punch Card Coupons are only valid for 2 months. Since the two are now combined, I hope that doesn't mean there will be an expiry date on the points.

Susan

Susan, it is my understanding that we will be able to use our points on items that are already discounted. We will have to wait and see what they plan on doing as far as expiration dates. It will be very interesting to learn more about this.

Big Fish is now saying that these planned changes will take place on May 23rd:

Update

Thanks Marian!

Thanks Marian.

Hi, Marian!

If I'm reading the email correctly, whenever BG has a 65% off sale, we'll be able to use what used to be one Game Club Credit (or 699 points). Since a discount code must be keyed in to get the 65% off, I'm assuming that 699 points will automatically be deducted from our account and the game will be free. Is that how you read it as well? Unless there are 2 points categories (one for what used to be Game Club credits and one for what used to be punch card coupons), the punch card coupons will no longer expire. I have lost the odd punch card coupon because I completely forgot about it, so now it won't matter anymore ! I'm sure if I had contacted BG they would have replaced it, but it was my fault the coupons expired and they have been more than generous if I experienced any glitches, so I didn't.

Susan

I am not sure, of course, until the program actually kicks in, but that is the way I am understanding it too, Susan. It will be interesting to see how it all works.

Hope all is well with you!

Hi, Marian!

I get points for free groceries, so why not points for free games ! If this works out the way we think it will, we'll actually be better off. May 23 is Victoria Day in Canada, so "Happy Victoria Day" to me !

All is well with me, and I hope it is with you as well. I somehow missed "Bridge to Another World: Christmas Flight" CE when it was first released, but I was looking for a second game to go with "Whispered Secrets: Tying the Knot" CE for last weekend's BOGO sale, and there it was .


Susan

Enjoy your two new games, Susan, and glad all is well with you!

On Big Fish's website, they have now changed the date of this new system to June 7th. Hopefully that will be a final date.

Thanks for keeping us up to date.

Well, here we are on the seventh of June and no sign of the transition as yet.

I am hearing from another forum that changes have been delayed until next Tuesday, the 14th. An update announcement on their website should be forthcoming.

Hi, Marian!

Thanks for the update! I'll have to keep my eyes open because I have a coupon that will expire on June 16 and wasn't really paying close attention since I assumed it would automatically be converted to points today.

Susan

Good idea, Susan!

Hi, Marian!

Your other forum was correct. Big Fish just updated its website and the changes are now scheduled for June 14. I'll believe it when I see it !

Susan

Yes, it's been a long road. I am thinking it might be taking them longer due to all the other issues that might have taken precedence when the war started. Let's hope it is a relatively painless rollout. There will probably still be a few kinks to be ironed out, but I think we will like this new system once it is all running smoothly.

Looking at the BF website, it now says that the platform changes will take effect on June 27th.

You are certainly right that seeing is believing, Susan.

Hi, Marian!

Thanks for the update. In that case, I guess I'll have to look for a SE to buy with my coupon before June 16 ! In the meantime, we sit and wait! I enjoyed the demos of "Strange Investigations: Becoming" and "Twin Mind: Ghost Hunter" CEs so, if there's a BOGO sale or 65% off sale between now and June 27, I assume I'll earn another coupon.

Susan

Yes, I assume that coupon codes will still be forthcoming until the new system kicks in. Hopefully there will be another BOGO sale before it does.

It's been pushed off until the 27th.

Today on the home page it is now saying that the platform change will occur on July 18th. Seeing will be believing.

Thanks for the update!

Seemingly pretty elastic, eh ??

But who knows what their circumstances actually are ??

Very true, Mad. Maybe they came across a last-minute glitch.

Hi, Marian!

Maybe they should just aim for January 1, 2023 to give them a chance to iron out all of the glitches !

Susan

Sounds like a plan, Susan!

Hi, everyone!

Unless there is a last minute delay, Big Fish's long-awaited platform change finally takes place tomorrow. Just to be on the safe side, I logged onto my account and checked the number of Game Club credits I currently have just to make sure none get lost during the transition . It might be a good idea if everyone who is a Game Club member does the same because upgrades have been known to fail and you don't want to lose any of the Game Club credits you now have when they are transitioned to points.

I am really looking forward to the changes because, unless I'm reading them wrong, we can now use the equivalent of 1 Game Club credit whenever there is a 65% off sale whereas before, we could not, and punch card credits that we have earned but haven't used yet will also be converted to points so we won't have to worry about them expiring.

Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly tomorrow !

Susan

Susan, that is very good advice about checking to see how many game credits one has before the change tomorrow (it does seem like it is going to occur, although I will believe it when I see it).

I have also read that whereas up to this point Big Fish has had websites in nine different countries including the United States, as of the platform change these websites are going to be taken down and there will just be the United States site while offering different language options, etc. If this is in fact true, this is going to be a really big transition and it will be interesting to observe.

Hi, Marian!

Rogers is a telephone/cable/internet company here in Canada. A week ago Friday, they did an upgrade to their system and millions of customers were without phone, cable and internet for almost 24 hours, with some still reporting spotty service. It occurred to me that I wasn't sure how many Game Club credits I had so thought it would be a good idea to check before Big Fish does its platform changes tomorrow. Like you, I'll believe it when it happens . While we're observing, I'll make the popcorn !

Susan

I heard about that outage; that was a long one!

Popcorn sounds good to me.

Hi, Marian!

I just checked my account and still have Game Club credits, so either the conversion has been delayed yet again or it's still in progress.

The outage at Rogers didn't just affect its residential customers. Some grocery stores, coffee shops and businesses who had Rogers' systems could only operate with cash because their credit and debit systems were down as well. It also affected some of the banks' ATMs and government services. IOW, it was a nightmare.

Susan

Susan, I have often thought about how a sustained outage such as that which was widespread could create serious havoc in very short order.

Big Fish has until midnight PST to make this change, although for some reason I was expecting to wake up to it were it to happen today.

I will post if I see or hear of any new developments.

Opening my Game Manager just now, it is telling me that the platform change will now be on August 2nd.

I imagine we will see this announcement elsewhere pretty soon.

Hi, Marian!

August 2? Why does that not surprise me ? My punch card coupon expires on August 18, so I'll have to keep an eye on it.

During Rogers' outage, there were people who couldn't pay for their groceries because, with the price of food these days, who carries around that kind of cash in their wallet? And then there were those who had never been inside a bank branch in their lives so, when the ATMs were down, they had to ask for help completing withdrawal slips. It reminded me of the odd occasions at work when our computer system went down and some of the employees would just sit there and look at their blank screens, so we taught them how do do things manually.

Susan

It sounds like it was all rather surreal. It is interesting to hear about it. The implications are a little unsettling.

Yes, August 2nd. We shall try not to get too excited.

Hi, Marian!

I will try to control my exuberance because, on August 2, the changes will probably be delayed until Labor Day. Eventually, we'll end up saying "Merry Christmas to Us" ! I wonder if they've ever read the book "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" !

Thankfully, I wasn't affected by the Rogers outage, but it made a lot of their customers think twice about bundling everything together to save a few dollars because they lost their TV, internet and phones.

Susan

Looks like today is the day. Can't get on Big Fish right now due to "maintenance"!

Yes, oldbroad - I just noticed that. If this isn't because of the platform change, it's quite the coincidence!

The new platform is now up and running.

You can now see how many games you have purchased in your Purchase History. This could be good or bad news, depending - yikes!

Ooh, off to check it out!

Hi, Marian!

I received points for my Game Club Credits, but I also had 1 unused Punch Card Coupon and I can't seem to find the points for that. Did you have any outstanding Punch Card Coupons that you haven't redeemed yet and, if so, were they included in your total points because I thought they were supposed to be converted into points as well?

Thanks.

Susan

Where Marian? I'm not seeing that info.

ok, just had a quick look, first of all the monthly payment for me has changed from $6.99 Canadian to $8.99, not too happy about that. Also I can't find the list of all the HO games from A to Z that were on the HO page when you scrolled down. I think I will use up the points I have & cancel my acct. I'm enjoying playing my old bf games anyway. I wasn't happy when they cancelled the walkthroughs last year.

Yeah, I'm not seeing that list either judith and even with what they are showing you should be able to sort by name but that function does not seem to be working.

I'm assuming that they have a lot of kinks to work out and it will take some time.

That is my approach too, ob. I had a couple of application error messages when I was trying to page far ahead/far back in my Purchase History. Big Fish is actually referring to this as Phase One of the updating of the system, so I not going to render a decision about my liking it or not until the dust has settled.

Big Fish had a total of nine websites in nine different countries prior to today - now, all the foreign countries/languages have been absorbed into this one. I did read that the prices for the Game Club membership for overseas users were going to fluctuate based on the current exchange rate.

Hi, Judith!

If you log onto your account and change the currency from U.S. Dollars to Canadian dollars, it will show 899 points for every Game Club Credit you had before the conversion. I thought the same thing as you because my points were in U.S. dollars but my payment was in Canadian dollars. Once I made the change, my points increased from 699 to 899 for each Game Club Credit. When your monthly payment goes through, you should receive 899 points.

Susan

Thanks, Susan! Good to know.

One thing I noticed while practicing with the checkout (didn't run it all the way through/buy anything) is that there's a box for points and also a box for codes. I am wondering how this is going to work - will we be able to use both in the same order? Maybe this has already been explained on their site and I just don't remember.

Hi, Marian!

Now why didn't I think to do a practice run ! I only have 1 Punch Card Coupon and it expires on August 18, so I'll find a SE and try the code to see if it works before then. I was under the impression that it would be converted to points but, if there's a box for codes, I guess they changed their mind.

I'm wondering if the code box is for BOGOs and sales and the points box is for full price purchases.

You're welcome for the info about U.S. dollars vs. Canadian dollars. My initial reaction was the same as Judith's but, when I changed the currency from U.S. to Canadian, the points remained the same but the dollar value increased.

Susan

Susan, practice run! That is a good way to describe it!

Regarding coupon codes, I see this:

"Coupon codes will no longer be needed to receive discounts during sales. The discounted price will be automatically reflected in the shopping cart during the checkout process."

From here: https://bigfishgames.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7301760292635

Marian, where does it show the number of games you have purchased? I don't see that. And the page info at the bottom is all wonky to me.

If you go to your Order History and look down at the bottom of the page, you will see the total number there - it's to the left of the page numbers.

Well, mine does not show that. On my new account it shows (on the last page of 3) "Items 21 to 25 of 25 total" This is not an accurate number. There should be 140 games in the new account. The old account shows (on the first page) 1 to 10 of 98 total which of course is way, way off. It should be in the 800's somewhere. And that's what I meant when I said the page info at the bottom is all wonky. On the right of the page for how many to show per page, that is also not correct at all. Kinks to be worked out I hope!

To be clear, it does list more games than those numbers indicate. I think the new account is correct but I'm not counting the old one.

My number total is correct as far as I can tell. I am sorry that yours is not, ob. I do hope that these are kinks that will get straightened out.

I tried two different web browsers (Chrome and Firefox) to see if they showed the same thing for me, and they do.

Okay, thanks Marian. I'll keep an eye on it and if it stays wrong for a couple weeks, I'll contact them.

I would be interested to hear from others if theirs look right or not.

Yes, I would wait a while on that one, for sure. And I sure don't envy anyone who has an urgent need to contact Customer Support in the next two to four weeks - you just know there will be a deluge of requests.

I have a question about the recent BF reorganization of how our purchased games are listed. The list of games we purchased used to be a fairly straightforward alphabetical list. If you decided to replay a game, it was a quick and easy process to scroll down through the alphabet, find the title you sought and download the game.

The recent change, organizing games by Date of Purchase, has made it pretty difficult to find a game by its title unless you happened to keep track of the exact date on which you bought it. I wanted to download Nearwood for a replay today, but can no longer find it on my list of purchased games.

Reenie, you should be able to get that alphabetized list of your purchases in your Game Manager. I always use my game manager for downloading games.

I'm in the UK and have been charged £5.39 per month for my membership for ages. My subscription profile now reads £5.70 per month. My game club says I'm due to pay £6.84 this month.

I knew they would screw this up.

Meryl, it is my understanding that overseas customers are going to be charged from now on by the current exchange rate, which as you know fluctuates daily. When the cost is more than what you have been charged in the past, you will get a correspondingly higher number of points.

Hi, meryl!

Your membership payment will be shown in your local currency but the points are converted to U.S. dollars. Sign into your account, click on "Big Fish Points" and change the currency at the top of the page from USD to your local currency. The points will remain the same but the dollar value in brackets will adjust to match whichever currency you selected. I believe you have to make this change whenever you want to purchase a game because it's not saved.

Susan

Hi, everyone!

Any punch card coupons that had not been redeemed prior to the upgrade yesterday were supposed to be converted to points along with the Game Club Credits, but the one I have was not. Did this happen to anyone else?

Thanks.

Susan

Thank you Marian and Susie07. I'm just going to wait to see how it all unfolds I think.

I just hope these major changes work out well for Game Club members and for everyone else who buys the games. I was quite happy with, and understood, the old system but I understand there were a few things that can be better achieved by a points system.

Susan, I have read of quite a few people this happened to - you are not alone. Whether they just haven't finished Phase One and that is why they were not converted to points, or whether you have to write to Customer Support, is something I don't know. If I hear anything else about this, I will let you know.

I used up all of my punch card coupons before the platform change so as to avoid any potential hassle. My one Game Club credit converted without issue.

As for the platform change, I think I will like the points system better. Having said that, I don't like the other changes they have made thus far. I will reserve total judgment, though, until I know that the whole thing is the way it is going to be from here on out.

So far, I don't like what I see either Marian but I'm sure it cannot be complete as is and more work is to be done. (I hope.)

What I'm wondering though, did you ever happen to see WHY they decided to close the other websites and combine them all into one? I would think it was much better the other way around.

Ob, since pretty much every decision made by any company on earth now is determined by the bottom line, which is money, I can only assume that they decided that it would be cheaper and more cost effective to eliminate the other websites.

Hi Reenie, I don't like the way they did the purchase history not being alphabetical, many people have mentioned it on the big fish fan club on face book. Hopefully BF will notice this & change it back.

I don't like that either, judith. Apparently the Purchase History is alphabetized, though, when you go to your Purchase History through the Game Manager.

If you don't wish to access your Purchase History through the Game Manager and wish to access it from the site only, then control + F will allow you to search for the game you are looking for via a keyword.

I have also noticed that they system does not warn you (at least at the present time) if you go to checkout with a game that you already have in your Purchase History, so buyer beware on that one.

My punch card coupon expires on August 18, so I will keep my eyes on the points in my account between now and then to see if they change. If they don't, I'll use the coupon code to pick up a SE. There is no point contacting Customer Service because chances of receiving a response before the expiry date are slim to nil since they are probably being inundated with questions and complaints. My Game Club credits converted without issue as well.

Is there something in particular that you are not happy with because the only thing that jumped out at me when I read the changes is the exchange rate. Up until now, all of the games (including the 65% off CE) and my membership fee were $7.14 Canadian, but now they are $8.98, and that will change whenever the exchange rate does. I'll have to see how the points work because each Game Club credit was converted to 699 points, but the dollar value is $8.98. It probably seems more confusing than it is, so I'll have to wait to see what happens the next time I buy a game.

Thanks very much for letting me know if you hear anything else about the punch card coupon conversion.

Susan

Hi Susan, thus far the things that I am not thrilled about are the fact that our Purchase Histories are not alphabetized unless you access them through the Game Manager. I also don't like the fact that the checkout does not alert you if you are trying to buy a game that you already own, like the old system did. Happily this has not been a problem for me (yet), but I can see where it might be for some. It's just a few little things like that which I hope will get fixed. It's very early days yet.

I have read several posts on other forums today where overseas customers have already canceled their memberships, saying that they can't afford the fluctuating prices. I am glad you have decided to wait and see how it works in its entirety, but I see a lot of people upset enough by this that they aren't going to wait to see how it plays out. Of course, I also understand that even a few dollars can make a difference to someone on a fixed income, and money is really tight right now for a lot of people.

I agree with you that this is probably not the best possible time to try to contact Customer Support if such a thing can be avoided. I get a headache just thinking about how they must be inundated with queries at this time.

I am glad we have this forum where we can discuss all of this.

Thanks for that tip, Old Broad. I will try it next time I download a game. Edit: Where do I find the Game Manager once I am at the BF site? I don't see it in any of the menus, drop-down or otherwise. Maybe it is because I am no longer a Paying Member?

Marion, I just tried the ctrl + F function in the "Search Games" menu box and asked for "Mystery Trackers" ~ and nothing happened. I must not understand your instructions. (BTW, I do not use Game Manager because I gave up my paid monthly subscription to BF years ago.)

You don't need to have a monthly subscription to BF to use the Game Manager. I am not a member but I still use the manager. You just have to sign in to it and then you can access your purchase history and download your games. I've never downloaded a game or even accessed my purchase history on the BF site until last night when Marian mentioned that you can see the quantity of games you own in there now (which I can't). And you do not need to be signed into your BF account on line to sign into the manager.

Hi, Marian!

I have always checked my Purchase History in the Game Manager. I will definitely be checking if an older game that I want to purchase looks familiar, though, because I did try to buy a game once that I already owned, and was warned ! Thanks for letting us know because I didn't realize they dropped the alerts.

I'm used to paying the U.S. exchange rate whenever I shop in the States, so that's not a problem for me. If our dollar ever surpasses the U.S. dollar, I'll be paying less ! My membership renews on August 11, so I'll see how many points I get. BFG converted 6 Game Club credits to points so, right now, I have 4,194 points with a Canadian dollar value of $53.94. I'm not sure how that's going to work when I buy games, but I guess I'll find out the next time they have a sale. Every dollar does count, but I believe the enjoyment level outweighs the extra dollar or so a month, and I can replay them whenever I want. A few years later, they're new again to me because, apparently, I don't remember much about them when I move on to another one. Since I haven't been buying as many games as I used to and only when they're on sale, the increase in my membership fee amounts to less than $25 a year.

I'm also glad we have this forum (especially at a time like this) because so often the answers to any questions we might have can be found right here.

Susan

Hi Reenie, you don't type ctrl +F into the search games menu box. Instead, you execute control + F on the keyboard and in the bottom left a search bar will pop up where you can enter a keyword. You have to do this for each page, though, so it's better to set the number of games per page displayed at 50 to make it less tedious.

And oldbroad is correct about the Game Manager. The Game Manager is not something linked to being a Game Club member. You can't download a game from Big Fish without it involving the Game Manager, for both members and non-members alike.

Susan, I am glad you are here to discuss it with, as well as everyone else here.

I still don't understand the Game Manager thing. Is it automatic or something I must open manually? I don't see any text with that regard when I log on to the BF site, and I tried all the pull-down menus without having "Game Manager" pop out. Sorry to be so obtuse, but I still don't get where it is located on the site and how to open and "use" it. I tried what you suggested (Instead, you execute control + F on the keyboard and in the bottom left a search bar will pop up where you can enter a keyword) and did not have an empty search bar pop up. Nothing popped up.

The game manager should be on your computer desktop unless you deleted the icon.

I don't actually mind the amount fluctuating for me in British pounds if I am charged the same dollar rate each month. But I didn't know it was going to happen - must have missed it when I read what was going to happen.

What I find frustrating is the confusion caused by the disrepancy when I go to my account. In one place "Subscription Profile" it says my sub is £5.70 per month but under "My Game Club" it says my next payment will be £6.84. My next payment will be taken on 28 August . How the heck do they know this will be the exchange rate several weeks hence? It should show in both places that my monthly sub is $6.99 and that this is the amount that will be taken..
6.84 is actually the EURO equivalent OF $6.99 not the british pound !!!! So they've muddled the currencies it seems.

What I'm going to try to achieve is to have all parts of my account showing the same rate (in dollars) if BFG lets me.. I'm also going to try to switch my payment source to a credit card I use for travel which makes no actual charge for the foreign currency transaction debited to be exchanged for British pounds. Wish me luck!

It is really sad that non US people have cancelled memberships because of all this.

I don't have an issue with the policy and won't be cancelling because of it. What would make me cancel is if BFG got its financial knickers in a twist on my account like it seems they have at the moment..

Reenie, if you try to download a game from Big Fish and you don't already have the Game Manager on your computer, the Game Manager automatically downloads prior to the downloading of the game - it is not optional.

So, as oldbroad says, it is possible that you deleted the desktop icon for it but it would still be on your computer.

On my computer, the Game Manager is located in ProgramFiles x86 and the Game Manager is in a folder called bfgclient.

Here's a link to an article about the Control + F command.

That all sounds very sensible and well reasoned, meryl. And I do wish you luck about the credit card. I'm glad you are here taking part in this discussion. It's good to get many perspectives on all of this.

Also, I realize that I was wrong when I said that we now have a game count on our games. The reason this is in error is because I went back and looked again. It just says "items" not games and makes it seem like there's 10 games per page but there's more than just games showing there. It also includes game club credits which counts as one of the "items." So, it is not a correct total in terms of number of games. Sorry for having been misleading about this!

Well, if you looked at the reviews for the new game you posted about today, it seems that purchasing is also a problem right now. I'm thinking that they made a HUGE mistake in making this change. I'm glad I'm not a worker there trying to sort this all out or keep customers happy.

Yes, it's terrible that some people are having trouble purchasing games. I have spoken to two people who initially had this problem and it was solved by purchasing the game through the game manager rather than through the game's download page and then it went through with no issues. But this is the sort of thing that should not be happening at all. I have not tried this method myself yet and frankly I am somewhat reluctant to do so until many people are reporting that this works correctly. I know a lot of people buy games through the Game Manager anyway, but I always used the download page to do so.

I don't think they made a huge mistake changing to the points system, but the rest of it I cannot see the logic in it. I am worried that the points system may have just been a part of a larger agenda that I am not going to like as much.

And yes, it is early days here, but what I have seen so far is not encouraging. I will try to continue to be patient and fair. Maybe it will work out in the end.

Yes, I suppose the point system may be fine. Maybe they shouldn't have tried to do all their changes at one time. I still feel that combining all the websites into one was more of a backwards move. Just my opinion.

One thing I see that I do like, is the Adventure games are separated out better. Now, if they can only get the "sort" button to work so you can view them by name.

I purchase through the site also, not the manager, but I do my downloading through the manager.

Well, supposedly they aren't doing all of their changes at the same time, as they say this on their site:



I also agree with you about the multiple website thing. Almost undoubtedly this was a dollars-and-cents decision.

Oh yeah. I did see something about phase one, but I wonder about how it's being implemented.

And, yes, I'm sure it was a $$ decision. Backwards moves usually are but I've never heard of them working. Doesn't mean they don't, of course. Just not to my limited knowledge.

Old Broad, that probably is what I did, thanks. It is something I never used and I didn't need yet another distracting icon. I guess I will have to figure out how to put it back on the desktop until all the BF changes are finished.

After reading most of the thread, I haven't seen anyone having the same issue that I have with the new Big Fish website.
Since I have checked each day since changes made, When trying to login, I get this error message: Exception printing is disabled by default for security reasons. Error log record number: f7a3cead69d3552febb4697e99abc05fa8e32518de1452edc86c62702e12cf46

If I go back one page, the website comes up, I cannot get any of my account info, add games to cart, or any other function. I did seng a trouble email to Big Fish. So will wait to see what they have to say.

Will say this, I do not like the new website at all. Seems to me, if they decided to make these changes, they should have worked all the bugs out before going live!

Has anyone else had the same issues trying to login, get account info and/or add games to cart?

Spankie

I don't have any trouble signing in or seeing account info. It is showing that I have no stored payment methods and that is fine with me as I wouldn't trust it on the site as it is now. I will not try to buy any games until they get things working better.

I am no techie of any kind but that doesn't sound like a BF error. It seems like I've seen that before somewhere else. Hopefully, somebody else can help you with that.

Thanks oldbroad for your thoughts. I do see in the error about printing being disabled which has nothing to do with logging in. I also tried to login through my email sent to me from Big Fish about the new changes which froze my computer! Really think they have a big mess right now.

Am really considering cancelling my membership because can't even add games to my cart! Will say again, they should have fixed the issues before going live.

Hi Spankie, good to see you here! I can't imagine what's causing that message but I am wondering if you tried logging in with a different web browser? That can sometimes fix odd issues that people have with logging in.

Hi Marian; I consider you a guru when it comes to Big Fish sooooo I wonder if you can answer a couple of questions for me. First if I buy a new game will BF automatically use the points so the payment will be $0.00 just like they did with the credits? Second, I was trying to find an old game called "Agatha Christie Dead Man's Folly" everytime I try to click on it I get a "404 error. Do you know if this game has been discontinued? Thanks Judy.

Hi Marian, just tried as you suggest on Google Chrome, still showing the same error message. Hopefully Big Fish will have some suggestions through the support email I sent. As of now, my account is not working at all.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Keep us posted, spankie. I am getting reports from several others that they are hearing back from Customer Support sooner than they anticipated. I hope that will be the case for you as well.

Judith, Agatha Christie: Dead Man's Folly (along with the other Agatha Christie games they once carried) were removed from the website several years ago. If you bought any of them prior to that time, though, they should be in your Purchase History and available for download.

I have not purchased anything from Big Fish since the rollout, but I did do a trial run in the shopping cart, and in my case the shopping cart saw that I had 699 points and applied them automatically at checkout. I hesitate to say that is carved in stone until they get the glitches worked out, but that was my experience during the trial run.

Thanks Marian, too bad about the Agatha Christie games, I love those. Well, if & when I find something to buy which is like pulling teeth right now I'll see if the points are used. Like you said, nothing is carved in stone right now.

Hi, Marian!

I just checked my BFG account and my one remaining punch card coupon was converted to points yesterday, so I no longer have to worry about it expiring on August 18 ! There are a few games I'd like to buy, but I'm going to wait until the next sale and cross my fingers ! Several reviewers on Big Fish's website had problems when they purchased the game that was released to members yesterday, so they gave it 1 star, which isn't fair because the game wasn't responsible for the bug.

Susan

Those one-star reviews infuriated me because not a single one had anything to do with the game or its content. So I did something I have never done before - I flagged them all as inappropriate and told Big Fish why in the comments box that pops up. I told them that this is like Amazon book reviews where readers give the book one star because the post office was slow in delivering it to them. Someone also wrote to Friendly Fox (the developer) and Friendly Fox told them they were very upset by it, as any developer would be. I see that Big Fish put a canned reply on the bottom of many of the replies, apologizing for the technical issues, but I would like to see this kind of "review" not be allowed in future. The current system of apparently posting any kind of "review" makes a mockery of what the review section is supposed to be for.

This kind of commentary belongs in an email to Customer Support, not in the review section. I wish people would stop to think before they post such things and consider the kind of effect this will have, but I guess that's too much to ask.

Glad to hear your punch card coupon was converted to points!

Hi, Marian!

Good for you for flagging those comments as inappropriate because things like that really infuriate me as well. I also see bad reviews for items posted on shopping channel websites because they're angry they haven't received their orders yet. Not only do the reviewers look ridiculous, but some people don't bother to read the reviews and only look at the number of stars so they think there's something wrong with the game or product. Like you, I don't understand why Big Fish allows those reviews to remain on their website because they don't serve any purpose. Regardless of the reviews, if I am intrigued by a game, I'll download the demo because everyone's tastes are different. Sometimes I agree with the reviews and sometimes I don't.

Susan

In all my years of playing games of ANY genre, I have never really taken much notice of game reviews.
If a game appeals to me I get it 😑

And if It ends up as a "flop" well I have no one to blame but myself 🤡

But the review remarks as mentioned on this thread are both thoughtless and selfish 👎

On a happier note, today we have our first sale since the rollout. I did a trial run in the shopping cart, and it was just what I was hoping would be the case. The system automatically applied the discount code for the sale, and then it gave me the option of also applying my points in addition to the discount I had already received. This I like very much!

I just tried to utilise the sale to buy a "Lost Lands" game I haven't yet got and went through the procedure to pay (by PayPal) but my purchase was denied near the close due to the difference in currency !!
[Everything was showing in US Dollars.]

Have to find a way to get round that

Hi Marian,
Update: Was able to log into Big Fish without issues, even pulled up account info, purchases, etc.
Have not heard back from tech support, but they fixed my login error!

Thanks for your comments

Spankie, thanks so much for getting back to us and letting us know! So glad your issues were resolved.

Don't be a stranger; stop by and chat once in a while if you can.

Mad, hopefully one of our members not in the USA will be able to help you out here. I have no experience in this area.

All sorted Marian. I found a little icon at the top of the screen that allowed a change to British Pounds so I used that and tried again .... and Yeah !!

[ I was awarded "points" so must go and read about those. Hopefully I haven't inadvertently joined Game Club ]

But I changed my game purchase to the new "Bridge to Another World" game in the nick of time when I belatedly realised I DID already have the Lost Lands game

Mad, I am glad it was something so simple!

And you will get points any time you purchase something from here on out. They accumulate, they can be used on future purchases, and they don't expire for two years.

Oooooh !! Thanks, Marian. That's a nice innovation for "non" Game Club members

Whether or not you are a Club member or not a Club member, influences the number of points you get per purchase.

From the Big Fish website:



So you won't be getting as many points, but I think it's nice to include everyone in this regardless.

Definitely !!

Hi, Marian!

I have a few games I'd like to buy but, in order to maximize a bang for my pathetic Canadian buck, I'm going to wait for a BOGO sale ! Out of curiosity, how many points did you use for the 60% off sale?

Susan

I only had 104 points for the 60% off sale - it took another $1.04 off the 60% discount price. It was a nice price for a CE at under six dollars.

Hi, Marian!

Okay, now I'm confused ! If memory serves me correctly, whenever there was a 60% off sale, the CEs were priced at $7.99 and we had to pay cash because we weren't able to use a Game Club credit. If you had 104 points, that would bring the price you would pay down to $6.95. With the U.S. exchange rate that Big Fish is now using, I would pay about $10.25 before I applied any points. What am I missing ?

Susan

Okay, let's see. I just put a CE in my shopping cart and with the 60% discount the price is now $7.99. I then applied my 104 points and this took the price down to $6.95. So, that's the total price. I misspoke when I said the total price was under six dollars - the total price is just under seven dollars. Sorry for the confusion - I was misremembering.

Hi, Marian!

Thank goodness I wasn't losing my mind, and there is no need to apologize ! So even if the game is $7.99, we can still use points to pay for the whole thing if we've got enough. For me, that's an improvement, especially when there is a 65% off sale. I could never figure out why we were not able to use 1 Game Club credit to pay for a 65% off game, and now we can use the equivalent. I am no longer confused ! And am I understanding it correctly that we also receive points for purchasing the game, sort of like the "cash back" on our credit cards? I guess it's a lot to take in all at once so we can figure things out as we go along, or when an extremely helpful Moderator posts her experience !

Susan

Yes, and everyone gets points for purchasing a game, members and non-members alike.

From the Big Fish website, the difference is as follows:



And thank you for the kind words.

how do you sign in, i not an active member, and do not want to be.

You can't sign in without creating an account first. You don't have to be a Game Club member to have an account.

Hi, Marian!

You're most welcome! All of the accolades that you receive are well-deserved because you always go above and beyond what would be considered normal Moderator duties !

The 15% "cashback" for Game Club members when they purchase a game will benefit those of us who don't normally buy a lot of games every month. Under the old system, we received 1 Punch Card credit if we purchased 6 SEs (or 3 CE or a combination of both) in 1 month. If we purchased less than that, we received nothing. Under the new system, if we only purchase 5 SEs in a month, we will receive 105 points (rounded up) for each one.

The only thing I'm not liking so far is the change in the exchange rate because, prior to the new system, I was paying $7.14 Cdn. a month for my membership and each SE game, whereas I will now be paying $8.98 for my membership and SE games. Of course, I haven't bought anything yet .

Susan

Thank you so much again for your kind words, Susan.

This rollout has not been kind to those who do not live in the United States. I just saw someone in Australia saying that as a pensioner, the increased costs were too prohibitive. That is sad to me.

And that's a good point about the 15% cashback for Game Club members.

Hi, Marian!

Thankfully, the increase in the exchange rate does not impact my budget that much, but I will still limit my purchases to 65% off and BOGO sales unless I find a game that I just can't wait to play. The 6 Game Club credits and 1 Punch Card coupon that were converted were purchased at the old exchange rate, so I'll start to pay the new price on August 11 for my monthly membership fee.

It is very sad that the increased costs are too prohibitive for some pensioners and they can no longer afford to buy games from Big Fish. For some seniors on a fixed income, an extra $2 or so a month makes a huge difference, especially when combined with everything else that's increasing at an alarming rate, like rent , gas and groceries.

Susan

I had a weird thing happen where I ordered three games from the app, and it only let me activate one of them. And the dealio you used to be able to do, where you try to buy it again, and it says "this is already your game, want to activate it" with an activate link is gone.

I've got a ticket with Big Fish and I'm sure they'll fix it. But I thought I'd give you guys a heads up, you might want to buy games one at a time for a little while.

ChrisMM,

Did you try:

Start up the demo version
Exit the demo version
On the page you end up on upon exit, it says "already purchased this game?"
Then click on this same page where it says "reactivate it."

This has helped several people I know with this activation issue. The one time it did not work for someone was because she could not start up the demo because her trial time had expired.

And thank you for posting on your issue. I only buy games one at a time unless there's a BOGO sale, but it's good to be aware of this glitch, which hopefully will be fixed very soon.

I also just received an email from Big Fish talking about the refreshed homepage that is coming soon, with a different arrangement than it has now. Let's hope this will be an improvement in the right direction. I am trying to keep in mind that we have seen so far is only "Phase One," as Big Fish is calling it.

Awesome, Marian, that fixed it! You are my hero! I'm used to doing that a different way, so I didn't realize that was down there. Thank you!!

ChrisMM, thanks for the info. Glad Marian got you fixed but sure hope BF fixes the problem.

Marian, the thing in that email that has me wondering about is this "If you haven't already, bookmark your most important pages now!" Why?? What is going to happen to them?? I just hope you will be able to browse alphabetically. I don't think that's too much to ask for.

You are most welcome, ChrisMM! Very happy to help!

I know, ob, who knows what it may all mean? Bookmark it before you enter the Bermuda Triangle...or something like that! All we can do is watch and wait...

Further changes to come........

Does anyone think this might be a price hike?

Meryl, I could be wrong, but I think the price hike may already have happened - at least insofar as it pertains to non-USA customers given the exchange rate, for now anyway. But again, we will just have to wait and see.

What I am seeing today is that Big Fish is having a "double points" day for any game purchase.

Well I don't mind about the price Marian. I'm buying a US commodity and expect to pay the equivalent of that purchase price. (Providing they get over the muddle with the euro - haven't heard back yet)

I saw the special offer and as I'm near the end of my current game I decided to look for a game to purchase. And .....no alphabetical list that I can see. Where is it? Surely we don't have to swim our way through an ocean of icons, pages and pages of them, I'm not five. I don't need to look at the pictures. This is taking ages for me to check out the various game series that I like. What fruit loop thought this was an improvement or a good idea. Or am I just not looking in the right place.

Poor Marian. If you weren't busy enough before (and I expect you were) you've become everyone's guru, helping them through the BFG crisis. It's obvious how much people appreciate it though.

Meryl, I wish I had some good news for you about the lack of alphabetization, but woefully I have none. We are being told that this is "phase one" of a redo of the website and I am hoping that during the next phase we will be seeing the games listed in some reasonable order such that we will be able to find things.

When I find it easier to search for a particular game on Big Fish through an external search engine, I have to ask myself what's wrong with this picture.

We all need to sit back and hope for the best.

And thank you for your kind words.

I've bought a shocking amount of HOPA games from Big Fish over the years, and started replaying them at the beginning of the pandemic (due to family health issues, the pandemic has had a lot of isolation for me). To make that easier, I ended up copying/pasting my full purchase history into Excel and cleaning it up, so I can search alphabetically or by date. It also lets me track which ones I've replayed.

Which is also pretty ridiculous, but c'est la vie, I guess.

I have a shocking number of HOPA game too, ChrisMM. Here we can band together with people who understand our issues.

And I think the spreadsheet was a good idea. I wish now that I had done something like that.

I started playing/replaying my HOPA games when the pandemic lockdown began and also started to keep a list of what I was playing, and I am still maintaining it and adding to it. According to this list, I have played and finished 184 casual games (mostly HOPAs) since the end of March 2020 - and I have only put the tiniest dent in my backlog.

I had an exciting time buying a game yesterday. After choosing the Adventure filter I patiently acrolled through the pages of icons to M and there were only 2 Mystery Case File games listed sandwiched between Morrok and the Nancy Drews. Wondered what the rest of the MCF games were categorised as, so tried to find the other MCF games under Puzzle. There are thousands of these and pages and pages of icons to wade through. Gave up on that and remembered the name of a MCF I hadn't yet played - Crossfade. Did a general search on that and put it in my basket.

Arriving at checkout found I was being billed in Mexican dollars so changed that to british pounds. The game price converted correctly to £5.79 (game club price US$6.99)) but my basket was showing tax on top of that. Never came across that before. Thought "Aha. That's the price hike." Just thought "Oh well, the extra tax will just have to go on my credit card". Scrolled down to where it asks you if you want to use your points, in my case 699, and I did. As soon as the points were applied the tax vanished and the total was zero to pay on my card with zero showing as the tax amount on the invoice/receipt.

So it was the correct amount in the end but I find it rather worrying that the money side of the transaction appears to be glitched.

I then had a similar experience to others before me in that the game didn't recognise that I had already purchased it so had to start to play then exit then click on reactivate. (Thanks for that tip Marian)

Hi Everyone
I am on a Disability Support Pension & due to the new increased exchange rate for subscription & increased game prices (points given slightly reasonable) - But i won't resubscribing to Big Fish at this stage....I feel like i am being punished for living in Australia....

I'll be buying my games from Microsoft store or Steam...It's been a struggle enough with the cost of living continuously going up every week...so sad!

Taintedfury, I am so sorry this has affected you this way. I would feel like I was being punished, too.

Meryl, I am really glad that my tips helped you activate your game. This apparently is still an issue only if you use the checkout through the website - if you purchase through the Game Manager it is not a problem. I believe I mentioned this earlier in this thread but at this point it is a lot to wade through. For myself, I have never purchased my games through the Game Manager before but since the changes I have purchased one game through the Game Manager with no issues, and will continue to do so until I am sure that the problems purchasing via the website are gone forever.

I can only hope that the other issues you had will improve with time. I am with you 100% on the difficulty of finding games now.

OMG!

After reading what Meryl wrote: "I patiently acrolled through the pages of icons to M" - I had to go and take a look since the last time I was in there the "sort by Product Name" was not working at all. Why, why, why do you have to go through all the pages like that? Put letters down there instead of page numbers if you really want to show all the pictures. Or at the very least, a box that you can type a page number into to try to find the letter you're looking for a little faster.

Meryl - in the states here we have been paying tax on the games for a few years. Maybe (maybe) that is not a glitch, but just how it works, automatically showing a tax amount until you hit the Check Out and then it determines that you are not in the US so it takes it off. Just a thought.

Taintedfury - I hear you about the cost of living. Some things have gone up quite a lot but even the smaller increases are really adding up when you put it all together. If I am understanding it correctly, the price you pay for the membership may be different each month. Is that correct? If so, that is what would most bother me. I think I'd understand that a game's price may change from month to month, but a monthly fee should always be the same, in my opinion.

Anyway, I don't think I'll be buying any games for awhile. If I were to run into that activation problem, that would be the last time I made a purchase, so I will wait for now.

Oldbroad, I am *still* not paying taxes on my purchases. And the activation problem is not a problem if you follow my tips, but I understand if you wish to wait it out. It's not like we will run out of games to play in the meantime.

So, did you notice if a tax amount showed up before you got to the Check Out and then disappeared?

Call me lazy, but having to activate the game like that is too much work for me! It just shouldn't work that way.

I do actually like the pictures showing in the search. They bring the games more to my attention. (Maybe I shouldn't like that, huh? )

Hi, Marian!

Thanks for mentioning once again that there are no issues if games are purchased through the Game Manager instead of the website because I've always purchased them through the website. I'm holding off buying any games until the next 65% off or BOGO sale (I want to stretch my pathetic Canadian dollar as far as I can ) so I'll definitely follow your lead.

My membership renewed yesterday and I received (count 'em) 4 emails ... 1 to confirm my order (which was my membership renewal), 1 to thank me for my order (which was my membership renewal), 1 to inform me that they have processed my subscription payment, and 1 to inform me that my Rewards Points balance has been updated. I'm sure all of that could have been included in 1 email but far be it for me to to stop the wheels of progress from turning !

Hi, oldbraod!

The actual price of the games and membership fee remains the same for those of us who live outside of the U.S. It's the exchange rate that fluctuates, so what we pay for games or our membership can increase, decrease or stay the same depending on what our local currency is doing when the exchange rates are set by Big Fish. For instance, when my membership renewed yesterday, I paid $8.98 Cdn. because the U.S. exchange rate is 28.5%. I don't know how often the rates are updated, but I hope it's not on a day when the Canadian dollar takes a nosedive !

Susan

Hi Susan,

Please bear with me while I try to understand this. Yesterday you paid $8.98 Cdn. Is it possible that next month you would pay $9.98 Cdn?

I was looking through the Hidden Objects games and when I got to page 28 it says "no products to display".

Since the recent changes to the Big Fish site I can't download any of my older games. The new interface only lists the games chronologically and not alphabetically which makes it harder to find something. When I click "download from this order" the file does not download. I've been a member since 2010 and have well over 300 games and so this is very annoying. I've emailed their tech support and was told that they're very busy and would get back to me as soon as they can, but so far nothing. I know that there's nothing anybody here at Gameboomers can do, but I just wanted to rant. Thanks for the space to express myself.

Fil, if you open up your Game Manager and click on Purchase History, your whole Purchase History will show up in the Game Manager as an alphabetized list. You can also download your games from there if you haven't already - this has worked for me. I moved your post to this thread because this is where we are all posting to discuss the ongoing platform changes on Big Fish.

Please let us know how it goes. I'm glad you posted here!

Susan, I always purchased my games through the website too. As I said before, I will be purchasing any games through the Game Manager for the time being, just to be on the safe side. When I did purchase a game, I think got 3 or 4 emails as a result. It did seem a bit like overkill, but I would rather have too much communication rather than not enough.

Ob, the activation method I described takes about all of 10 seconds, but yes I still understand why you feel that way. That method has been around for years so it must have been there for a reason. I think of it as using the back door to get into the house rather than using the front door. Whatever works!

Hi, oldbroad!

That's a definite possibility. I wasn't sure how often the exchange rates are updated, so I checked under "Purchasing In Another Currency" on BFG's website and they are updated every 24 hours, so what I pay on September 11 to renew my membership all depends on what the Canadian dollar is doing on that day compared to the U.S. dollar. I did have 6 Game Club credits and 1 Punch Card coupon that were converted to points when the transition took place, so I can use them to buy 3 CEs and 1 SE (or any combination of both). I'm waiting for either a 65% off or BOGO sale !

I'm used to paying the U.S. exchange rate whenever I make a purchase on an American website. During one trip to the States about 20 years ago, the U.S. exchange rate was just over 50%, so I took a calculator with me whenever I did some shopping because the bargains weren't really bargains after the price was converted to Canadian dollars . It would have been nice if Big Fish had given us a warning that the exchange rate they charge to non-U.S. members would be changing, though, so it wouldn't have been such a shock.

Susan

Hi, Marian!

Prior to the conversion, I always received an email that confirmed my purchase of a game and included the invoice, and then a second email that contained a code and expiry date if that purchase generated a Punch Card credit. I didn't receive an email when my membership renewed, though. I agree that it's better to receive too much communication than not enough.

Susan

Thanks for the confirmation on how that works Susan. Hopefully, it will not fluctuate too much for any of you outside of the US so there aren't any unpleasant surprises.

I'm sure you're right Marian, but like I said, call me lazy! Right now I'm not ready to buy anything. Maybe I'll test the waters during the next BOGO sale. We'll see.

Ob, I also understand that it is kind of inherently annoying to have to do that, because the system is supposed to just work the way it always has, so there's that too.

I will be buying one more game in the next week probably but am waiting for the next good sale. Will let you know how it goes when I do.

I cannot use Purchase History in my game manager. Everytime I do, I get an error message and that's one of the things I emailed Big Fish about.

Let us know what they say about it, fil. I know that the 1404 error message will not allow the Purchase History to be downloaded from the Game Manager, but since this tends to affect people with 900+ games (very large Purchase Histories), it seemed unlikely that particular message would be affecting you.

Hi, oldbroad!

That's what I'm hoping for. There was a time many moons ago when the Canadian dollar was worth more than the American dollar. Sadly, I think those days are gone !

Susan

Well Marian, I seem to have severely underestimated the total of games I have purchased from Big Fish. It seems that I have been a member since 2007 and have over 1500 games. I hope that they will reply to my questions as that is a lot of games that I haven't got access to.

Ah, well then you could have the 1404 error message with the Game Manager. It is amazing how these games accumulate, isn't it?

If it is that message causing your issues, here is the way to gain access to a lot of them:

Basically: Download the demo from the game's download page. Start up the demo and then exit it. On the exit page you will see where it says, "already purchased this game?" And then click where it says "reactivate it." The full game will then download.

With the Purchase History not being alphabetized on the website, I find it easier at this time to find a game by going to an external search engine and typing in Big Fish Games (name of game). Ridiculous, but I am finding it quicker to find the download page for the demo/game I am wanting to download via this method. Hopefully this will change as they do more updates to the platform.

Hi Marian; I used my points & bought a game (chimeras cherished serpent) through the game manager, it downloaded but would not activate. I tried to do the demo like you mentioned but it wouldn't let me download that, but I only had one minute left. Now it says the came is sitting in my cart to be bought. I not going to pay twice for it, this is getting rediculous. I just want to use up my points & cancel my membership. How in the world am I going to fix this mess. Thanks for any help you may have. Judy.

Hi Marian, when I downloaded a game and exited I was asked if I wanted to buy. The way you described was the way I previously download old games, but it seems that the new changes in Big Fish don't offer me that option. That was the way I purchased a game I already owned. I hope that Big Fish will answer my questions soon.

There is something I am not understanding then, because this method has worked for other people I know. This method does not ask you if you want to buy the game. I have done it myself this way several times in the last little while since the platform change whereby I have downloaded the demo, started it up, exited, and then clicked on reactivate the game because I have already purchased it, and the full game downloads - there is no buy button involved with this method. I guess this must be some other issue that I have no knowledge of then, unfortunately. Please keep us posted.

I Marian, I solved my problem. I turned off AVG. soon as I did that the game activated. Go figure.

Good to know, judith! I never thought of an antivirus interfering with all of this. Strange. I had AVG years ago but got rid of it because it kept giving me false positives with different games and refused to install them.

Thanks for checking in and letting us know.

Thanks Marian much appreciated - yeah just have to see what happens and maybe down the track i'll resubcribe.

Oldbroad Very true even the small things can add up and effect us too..... Every week the Supermarkets put up the cost of food between 1-2 times.
Most times the subscription cost & games remain the same amount but yes like Susie07 its the exchange rate here too that can change without warning....so yes there can be times we could pay less but likely it's usually more....

Susie07 I agree a polite warning would've been nice regarding the Exchange rate for people living outside the U.S.....
Honestly it shouldn't where a person lived because we're all customers...

Take Care Boomers hope your purchases and error issues get resolved and worked out..

Hi, Taintedfury!

The Canadian dollar hasn't been fluctuating that much in the last little while but, since the proverbial Murphy has a room in my house, no doubt it will take a nosedive on the day my membership next renews and bounce back up the next day . If I look on the bright side, I've been getting a really great deal since joining BFG in 2009 because the U.S. exchange rate was permanently set at just over 2% so I've been paying $7.14 for my membership fee and SEs and $14.28 for CEs. Also, since we're getting 15% back in points on every game we buy, that reduces the exchange rate. Normally, when I buy something from the States, it's the bank that converts the purchase amount to Canadian dollars when the charge hits my credit card, so I don't understand why Big Fish does that and then charges us in our local currency.

We're going into Fall and you're going into Spring, so I hope you have a lovely Summer. I have always wanted to visit Australia but the cost is obscene, so I'll continue to enjoy the pictures, videos and movies. We had a pair of Koala bears visit our zoo several years ago, and the lineups to watch them sleep were ridiculous, but they are so adorable that it was worth it .

Susan

This morning I thought I would try buying a game via the game manager ( which apparently solves the problem of only the demo being downloaded when you purchase a game from the website) to see if it solved the other issue I had a few days ago of tax being added to the purchase and then being taken off at the final stage of checkout.

Using the Game Manager I put a game in my basket and changed the currency from US$ to British pounds so it would know I was foreign. It put the tax on as before. I proceeded with the checkout and then saw it had brought up , and was going to use, my old credit card. Now I had changed this credit card to a different one for my game club subscription and all further purchases on the website. Looking more closely at the Game Manager I realised it also has my old email address. I've been using a new email address for ages to purchase games via the website. I didn't proceed to final checkout because of these further complications.

It looks like the website does not automatically update the game manager on certain aspects of one's account even though the purchase history is updated. This was a complication too far and I just cancelled my subscription.

I'll wait until the mad fairy is banished from the kingdom before resuming membership of the Game Club and buying further games! Hope there is some improvement soon for everyone.

I would suggest signing out of your Game Manager and signing back in with the current email that you use, if you haven't already done that of course.

Hi, meryl!

In addition to oldbroad's suggestion, if you log onto your account on Big Fish's website, you can check to see what email address and credit card are on file. Click on "My Account" from the menu on the left and it will display your email address and password ****ed out. Click on "Stored Payment Methods" and it will display the last 4 digits of the credit card they have on file as well as the expiration date and what type of card it is.

Do you have the latest version of the Game Manager? Mine is 3.5.0.0(3.2) and I believe that's the latest one. Launch your Game Manager and click on the "Options" gear at the top of the page, and you will see what version you are using. If everything is as it should be, I'm stumped !

Good luck!

Susan

The reason I mentioned signing out and back into the manager is that I'm pretty sure that you can be signed into the manager under a different sign in name than what you are signed into the website as. You don't have to be signed into both (unless that has changed).

As far as I can tell, this still holds true, and has always been so in the past.

Hi Marian, just to let you know after a few tweaks and reinstalling my game manager I finally got to reactivate one of my old games. Thanks for all your help.

Fil, that is wonderful news. And you are most welcome - it's nice to see you in the Casual Games forum.

Hi, oldbroad!

I did not know that. I've always used the same email address and password to sign into both the website and Game Manager, probably because there's only 1 email address and password to remember !

Susan

I guess I've been lucky !!

I've only acquired one new game since the BF changes started but had no difficulties signing in or paying for it or anything else.
[I'm not a Game Club member.]

And the price I was charged (I'm in the UK) was reasonable.

My only issue was that there were no alphabetical games lists - but hopefully that might come in the next stage of the changes

I started a second account last year so I do have two different emails/passwords that I use. Only the latest one on the website, but I use both in the game manager so I can access the purchase history from both. I'm usually not signed into the website though even when I do sign into the manager, however, I haven't yet tried purchasing through the game manager (only downloaded already purchased games) so I don't know firsthand how that part works yet.

Mad, I haven't had any issues either. Like you, though, I do want alphabetical game lists on the website and in my website Purchase History.

Thank you for your replies folks.

Susie07 I did check my account on the website and my most recent email address is there. The payment info is showing nothing as I deleted this after I cancelled my subscription as reviews of BFG show many instances of still being charged after cancellation. However I can confirm this was the first thing I checked when the old credit card showed up in the Game Manager, and the new credit card was on the payment info not the old one.
Also my Game Manager version is the same as yours.

Old broad I did the sign out and back in and it is now showing the correct email address. Presumably it would now show the same payment info as the website.

The thing I have learnt from this is that the website and Game Manager are not replicas and can have different information. a valuable lesson to me and not necessarily anything to do with our malevolent fairy.

Hi, oldbroad!

Before the conversion, I accessed my Purchase History in the Game Manager but purchased the games on the website. If I wanted to play an older game that wasn't in my Game Manager, I'd download it from the Purchase History. Since Marian has had good luck purchasing her games in the Game Manager instead of the website since the conversion, I'm going to give that a try and keep my fingers crossed the entire time . . We may survive this yet

Susan

Hi, meryl!

I'm glad you were able to resolve your problem by following oldbroad's advice. I understand that conversions can be tricky, but there were so many delays between the original date and when it finally happened that I assumed they had all of the glitches worked out.

I am just thankful that we have Gameboomers where we can commiserate, complain and get through this together !

Susan

Amen to that!

Me too, Susan!

When buying games through the Game Manager, Customer Support says this about the activation issues:



I know that most of us download demos first before buying a game, but I wanted to make this activation workaround more clear for those of us who might just purchase a game outright without bothering with the demo.

Hopefully these issues will be fixed very soon if they haven't been already. For myself I will continue to purchase games via the above method until I am certain that the vast majority of customers aren't having these problems.

I've never downloaded a demo from Big Fish and really don't want to start now even if I intend to purchase the game.

I rarely download them either, oldbroad. But I will do what is needed in order to avoid potential problems. This may not even be necessary anymore, but unfortunately I do not know that for sure.

Hi Susie07

Yes i know the feeling sometimes i say to myself some goodluck would be nice - I truly hope that it doesn't do it to you on your next renewal for your subscription...
Many times in the past when i only needed one game punch i would look at the specials to buy a game on sale so i could finish my game card but always at that time they would only put up games i didn't like Oh boy!
It would be more fairer if they did charge us that way Susie07
Thanking you very much & I truly hope that as you go into your fall that you'll have kind weather & be warm.
Oddly enough that's what me & my hubby do just enjoy the pictures and movies.... I know the koala bears are gorgeous to watch especially the younger ones... so cuddly

Meryl your not wrong about the Mad fairy part...yes waiting would be best....

Take care Boomers and enjoy your games

Hi, Marian!

I always play the demo before buying. There have been a few instances where I have been really excited about a game but, as I played the demo, decided that my excitement was premature so I passed. I also want to make sure that there are no technical glitches. Instead of buying the games through the website, I will definitely buy them from the Game Manager because the fewer things that can go wrong, the better !

Big Fish is certainly chintzy with their sales since the conversion because this weekend is another 60% off sale, and I'm waiting for 65% off or a BOGO .

Susan

Hi Susan,

With the sale, I decided this morning to purchase the two new HOPAs from this week, the Grim Tales game and the Connected Hearts game. I downloaded the demo with each one and then bought them through the Game Manager with no problems. My points were applied to each game as well.

Thus far I have no complaints at all with the new points system. I just hope that they change some other things (alphabetization on the website and such) to make them more user friendly.

I am not sure how often they will be having a BOGO or a 65% off sale, but hopefully as frequently as they did before.

Hi, Taintedfury!

Since my first membership renewal after the conversion went through without a hitch, I'm assuming I'm good to go on that front. I haven't bought any games yet, though, so that could be a whole different ball of wax.

If you are a Game Club member, you will receive 15% back in points for every game you buy, so you won't have to worry about filling up a Punch Card anymore. If you buy 6 SEs, that only works out to 90% of what 1 Punch Card credit was worth, but at least it's something and, on the plus side, the points don't expire for 2 years whereas before, we only had 60 days to use every Punch Card credit that we earned.

The koala bears are just so adorable, and the ones that visited our zoo were on loan from the San Diego Zoo.

Thanks for the kind words, and I'm hoping for a better winter than last year. We received 25" ( or 62 cm) of snow in a 24-hour period last January and it took me 2 days to shovel the driveway.

Enjoy your games as well!

Susan

There haven't been any 65% off sales for non-members for a couple of years now, that I can remember anyway. I always used to stock up when they had those. Now I've had to rely on the BOGO sales so if they stop those I will not be able to afford to buy from Big Fish anymore, I'm sorry to say. I am really well stocked with games now though anyway.

I consider myself very lucky with the prices on Big Fish after all of this, because each game today cost me $6.95, which is four cents less than what a BOGO cost me ($6.99 apiece). It came to this amount because the Game Club 60% off took the game down to $7.99 and then I took $1.04 off each game additionally with my points. Plus no sales tax. So these changes have actually lowered the cost for me a bit, and I am sorry that this is not the case for everyone.

Hii, Marian!

For those of us who live outside the States, from what I can gather, redeeming the points works the same. For example, I can use 799 points to buy a CE at 60% off because, if I paid $7.99 , it would cost me about $10.23 with the U.S. exchange rate factored in. For a 65% off or BOGO sale, I can use 699 points to pay for each game. I have never been charged sales tax, so I hope that remains the same. Since I converted 6 Game Club credits and 1 Punch Card credit, I had 4,893 points, and I earned another 699 points for my membership renewal. I earned the 4,893 points at the old rate, so I'm trying to stretch them as far as I can !

It is great that you can use any points you have to reduce the price because we could only use our Game Club credits or Punch Card coupons to pay for games that were $6.99 or multiples thereof.

Susan

Yes, I am liking this system better. It is nice not having to keep track of punch cards, too. This is a lot more straightforward.

Hi, Marian!

I agree. I had a Punch Card coupon that was about to expire on August 18. I didn't have to buy a game I didn't really want just so it wouldn't go to waste because it was converted to 699 points that expire in 2 years. There are 6 games that I'm waiting for a good sale to buy, but I think I'll buy them one at a time. Someone posted in the review of today's game (which is not the place for complaints) that they purchased a game and can't activate it, so I'll test the waters with 1 game and see how that goes . !

Susan

Hi Boomers

Thanks Susie07
Same here i haven't bought any games since the changes......also thanks for explaining the points system, so when it comes down to it they seem to be a better alternative than the punch card which gives me a better understanding of how it works........And as you said it's better than nothing..

Very kind of the other Zoo to do that, lucky Koala's sure get to travel...

Goodness that's a lot of snow.....crossing fingers for you this coming winter....

Happy gaming Boomers

PS Hi Marian
I guess that's another good thing about no more punch card...good point

Hi, Taintedfury!

You're welcome, and what I really like about the new points system is that we get 15% back for each game we buy. If we buy less than 6 games during a one-month period, we still receive 104 points for each SE, and 208 for each CE. I really can't complain about the exchange rate because I'm used to paying it whenever I buy something in the States. It was just such a shock because there was no advance warning and, if there was, I missed it. The 15% back will help to ease the pain, though!

We also had 2 giant pandas on loan from China, and the female gave birth to twins. If you Google "Toronto Zoo baby giant pandas", you should be able to find videos of them from when they were born to when they're fully grown . Be prepared for cuteness overload !

Our summers can be quite hot and humid, but since I don't have to shovel the humidity, I try to complain as little as possible .

Susan

Looks like Big Fish just did their home-page change.

When you find yourself there, click on "Games" at the top of the page - then you will see a number of selections. Click on Game Store at the far right and that will take you to the PC/Mac page. I am just going to bookmark the new PC/Mac page so as to avoid the home page altogether.

Thanks Marian. That "Game Store" is what I've been using since they changed their home page a few years back. I have a link to it on my Firefox home page, just as I do to Gameboomers.

That's the way to do it, oldbroad.

Thanks Marian; When I went to BF about 15 minutes ago, I said where's the "classic site" I usually click on. Now at least I know where to go.

Glad to help, judith.

Hi, Marian!

Thanks for keeping us informed. When Big Fish changed their Home Page the last time, I bookmarked the Classic site, and that appears to be the same as what you now have bookmarked. I wonder what the next surprise will be !

Susan

Hi Boomers

Susie07
I agree it was a shock at first but now i am slowly getting use to it, late last night i ended up buying a game and subscribing so after this i will have a look at the 2 giant pandas thanking you then i shall be playing a game...
Currently the weather here is miserable...dark clouds raining on & off and the occasionally wind...

Take care Boomers Happy Gaming

Hi All, Please , Just a quick question I can access my Purchased Games but its not the same as when my "Purchased Games" Showed up in Alphabetical order with Pictures of the game on left and a button on the right to install ..... Now my question, ...can anyone tell me how I can access the old way as opposed to this new way they placed .... it shows all my purchases and the date is on the left ... with install on right .... so frustrating! the alphabetical order is easier for me Thank You and PLease .. step by step if possible .... ageing is a pip .... Thank You

Hi Leeana, if you want your purchased games in alphabetical order, the thing to do is to open up your Game Manager. On the lefthand side towards the bottom of a list of options you will see one that says "Purchase History." Clicking on that will bring up a list of all of your games in alphabetical order and you can download them from there.

We are hoping that on the website they will also put the games in alphabetical order. A lot of people are complaining about this.

Hi, Taintedfury!

Congratulations on your first purchase. I haven't got there yet, but there are a few games I'd like to buy and am waiting for a 65% off or BOGO sale so my points will stretch a little farther. I probably won't be able to hold out too much longer, though.

Enjoy your game and the Toronto Zoo giant panda cub videos!

Susan

Thank You Marian, you are always there for me ((Hugs))

You are welcome, Leeana - hope all is well with you.

With the 65% off for Club members sale today plus my 104 points, I can get a CE for $5.95.

Hi, Marian!

Thank you SO much ! I checked the website first thing this morning and, unless I was half asleep, there was no 65% off banner. If not for your post, I would have missed it, so now I can buy a couple of games that I demoed and enjoyed. I'm going to use the Game Manager and buy one to see if it works, so please pray for me !

Susan

Fingers crossed, Susan! You are one of the main reasons I mentioned the sale. I had looked earlier and it wasn't showing, so wanted to make sure people knew about it today. I hope it goes smoothly. Try downloading the demos for the game and then purchase through the Game Manager.

Hi, Marian!

Thank you SO much again! I was able to use 699 points and It's downloading right now. I did not receive 104 points back, though, so perhaps they are added in later.

Susan

Updated to add that <ta da> ... IT WORKED !! I downloaded, installed and activated the game through the Game Manager and was able to load it it without any problems. I received 3 confirming emails, but none of them mentioned adding 104 points, so is that only if we pay cash and don't use points to buy the game? I'm still only going to buy one game at a time, though, just to be on the safe side
because I don't want to jinx it and "Murphy" still has a room in my house !

Hi Susan, I always get my points right away. However, if you don't spend any money, I think you probably are not awarded any points. I haven't had any freebies yet where points paid for something outright like the way you just did it.

I am happy you were able to get the game without any hassles. Thus far, I have only purchased one game at a time and will continue to do so, just to be safe. The sale did go up a bit later in the day than we are accustomed to - I am quite sure it wasn't there when you looked earlier.

Glad it worked out for you!

Hi, Marian!

I updated my last post but, if you received your points right away and I didn't, that probably means we don't get 15% back if we use points to buy the game. When you used your 104 points to reduce the price of the game you bought to $5.95, how many points did you receive back, and that will give us our answer ?

Susan

It was a trial run that I did, but I plan to buy something before the sale ends. I will let you know how many points I get after I make my purchase.

Hi, Marian!

This is why I love Gameboomers so much. We are not only able to get help when we're stuck, but when Big Fish decides to make major changes and some are not exactly crystal clear, we can discuss our individual experiences and muddle through. You have been such a huge help with your trial runs and, if not for your suggestion to purchase games through the Game Manager, I'd probably still be trying to figure out how to activate the one I just bought. I think one game at a time is the best way to go . Thanks for reporting back on how many points you earn for the game you intend to buy. If you receive 89 points, we'll know we don't receive any points back if we use points to buy the game.

I now have to watch the videos for the other 2 (and perhaps 3) games I want to buy because the time on the demos expired so I can't refresh my memory. I'm glad you confirmed that the 65% off banner wasn't there first thing this morning because at least I know I either wasn't half asleep or losing my mind !

Susan

I wish to say a huge thank you to Marian as well !!

She always does her utmost to help us but in this instance I feel she has absolutely gone way beyond the duties of ANY Moderator in sorting out ways and means for us to cope with the changes Big Fish has made and is still making

You are both most welcome, Mad and Susan. I am so happy to be able to help. This is a very important pastime for all of us!

Susan, I just bought a game - with the sale code and my 104 existing points, it was $5.95. I received 89 points as a result.

Hi, Marian!

So it looks as though we do not earn 15% back in points if we use points to purchase a game. Unless I'm missing something, I can't find anything on Big Fish's home page that states games purchased using points are exempt from earning 15% back in points. Here's a quote under "How Much Am I Saving With Big Fish Points?":

"If you’re an active Game Club subscriber, you’ll earn 15% back on each purchase. Otherwise, you’ll earn 1%. As an example, if you make an eligible purchase of $13.98 (before taxes and fees) and your account has an active Big Fish Game Club subscription, you would earn 209 Big Fish Points (worth 15% of the value of the purchase price or $2.09). "

I did discover that when using points to purchase games, it doesn't matter what currency you choose because the points are in US dollars. When I purchased my first game, I forgot to change from USD to Cdn. and, when I checked out, i deducted 699 points from my account with a zero balance owning. I changed the currency to Canadian dollars when I made my second purchase and, again, when I checked out, I deducted 699 points from my account with a zero balance owing. The only time the currency would make a difference is if you use your credit card to buy a game or when your membership renews because the exchange rate would be added in.

Susan

I see what you mean, Susan. I read it, though, as pertaining strictly to what you are contributing in cash in terms of the purchase. It does not say that explicitly, I agree with you there - it's just how I interpret it. I never thought I was going to be getting points for a purchase in which I was getting something for free, if that makes sense.

I agree that it sounds logical that you only get points on actual cash money spent.

Absolutely echo what Susie and Mad say about the help you have given Marian. You have tried very hard not to make us feel stupid.

Hi Everyone

Susie07 Thanks ....I know the feeling when you can only wait so long

PS Marian thankyou for being the most patient person in offering game site help

Take care Boomers
Happy Gaming

Hi, Marian!

I guess I was being optimistic that the points system would work the same as using a Game Club credit to buy a game and then receiving 1 Punch Card credit . Now we get points for our membership renewal (which is the equivalent of 1 Game Club credit), but we don't receive anything more when we use those points to buy a game. I had 6 Game Club credits that were converted to points and, under the old Punch Card credit system, that would have earned me a Punch Card coupon for 1 free game.

Hi, Taintedfury!

I have little to no willpower, so I can only hold out for so long . ! I picked up 2 CEs yesterday, and I noticed that the sale is still on so I may pick up another one. If there are any more games you want, strike while the iron is hot because the sale can disappear as quickly as it appeared !

Susan

Thank you so much for your kind words, Taintedfury and meryl. It is much appreciated.

With my Game Club membership and my points, I have picked up two CEs for less than what it used to cost me during a BOGO sale: one game cost $5.95 and the other cost $6.10. Before, they would have cost $6.99 each. So for me, this is actually saving me a little money. I am really sorry that this is not going to be the case for everyone, obviously. Just collating the data from my perspective. I am definitely happy with the new points system and wish I could say that about some of the other changes as well.

Hi, Marian!

Looking at it that way, I was able to use points to purchase 2 games that would have cost me $14.28 under the old system . ! The only time I didn't have to use my credit card was for the BOGO sales when I was able to use 2 Game Club credits or to buy a SE if I used a Punch Card coupon. I just downloaded the demo for today's game, but the 65% off banner has disappeared, so the timing of the sales must have changed . I guess I'll have to play the 2 games I bought very slowly while I'm waiting for the next sale.

Susan

Yes, I noticed that the sale was taken down a little while ago. This may be subject to change, but it seems like at least so far they are removing sales in the morning hours rather than at midnight PST as they were before.

There should be a 65% off sale again (if not sooner) during the Labor Day weekend here, which begins on Saturday, September 3rd, through Monday, September 5th. But no doubt there will be some other sales before then.

I am trying to play my games more slowly, too. I appreciate HOPAs a lot more now that there are fewer of them.

Hi, Marian!

I can't believe that Labor Day weekend is just over two weeks away. Where did the Summer go? Instead of running from midnight to midnight PST, the sales now seem to be running from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. PST. because the 65% off banner didn't pop up until around noon our time yesterday.

Enjoy your games !

Susan

I can't believe it either, Susan - we will probably be looking at Halloween games in another seven weeks or so.

And that sounds about right for the sales times.

I hope you enjoy your games too.

Hi, Marian!

Halloween? Don't you dare mention the "C" word ! I'm just about to begin "Bridge to Another World: Cursed Cloud", which is one of the games I bought yesterday. The other one is "Moontrain". I plan to make them last until the next sale when I can pick up a couple more and, if I can't, there are hundreds of other games that I can replay .

Susan

Good to know what you purchased, Susan.

I got the new game which is Royal Legends: Raised in Exile CE and a golden oldie which somehow passed me by the first time around - Surface: Lost Tales CE.

I also have the Moontrain CE but haven't played that one yet. Laurette posted about it here and thought it was great.

Hi, Marian!

I don't know how many games are in the "Surface" series, but I have 10 of them, including the one you just bought. I'm downloading that one right now because I don't remember a thing about it, so it will be another new game for me . I'm also looking forward to playing "Moontrain". I really enjoyed the demo and have been waiting for a good sale so I could pick it up.

Susan

Susan, this was the only Surface game I did not have, and it was a fairly recent discovery that I did not. I was fairly horrified that it had slipped past me. Such things aren't supposed to be allowed to happen.

Enjoy your replay also!

By the way - sorry to have hijacked this thread. For continued discussion of games we are playing, Susan and I should post in the What Casual Games Are You Playing Right Now? thread. I think we are done for the time being, though.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand - namely, Important Changes Coming to Big Fish.

I've got 12 Surface games Susan.

Marian for letting a game get past you!

Hi Susie07 🙋
Hopeing to buy more with this sale as 65% percent of is very good 👍 have fun playing....

Hi Marian🙋
Your very welcome, glad to hear you've gotten yourself some games there enjoy 😃

Take care Boomers
Have fun and Happy Gaming 🤗

I noticed that they took down the old forums, I still go to them quite often if I'm stuck in one of my older games that I'm playing, or if I want to buy an older game I go there to read what others had to say about the game. I don't know why they took them down because they were still quite useful.

I agree, judith. I think it will be possible to still access them through the WayBack Machine (an internet archive), and in fact I was just checking that out. It's a little more trouble but still might be worth it. I too wish they had not removed access to the forums.

I also noticed just now that the games I have bought since the platform change now say purchased on the game download page rather than showing a buy button. I was very happy to see this, but I am afraid this only works for games purchased after the platform change. I brought up an older game that was years before the platform change and it still shows the buy button on the game download page. I guess I can call this better than nothing, at least.

You're making me nervous Marian. Where is it that you see the buy button? I don't know what you mean by a download page.

By the game download page, I mean the page where you read the description of the game and where you can download the demo and read the player "reviews." Sorry, I should have been more specific.

"Reviews" is in quotation marks because I just got finished flagging about six more as inappropriate. Hardly any review anymore has anything to do with the game or its content, which is grossly unfair to the developers.

Not your fault that I am confused. I still am though. Are you saying that you will now be able to see that you already own a game so you won't make a duplicate purchase?

Yes, instead of the Play now/download free trial button on the left and buy now button on the right, for games that I have purchased since the platform change I now see Play now/download free trial on the left and the word "purchased" on the button on the right. So yes, it will alert you to the fact that you have already purchased the game. I just wish this change could be implemented for games purchased before the platform change as well.

Well that is a welcome change though not real helpful if they cannot implement it for the pre-platform change purchases. Hopefully that is in the works.

Thanks for the info!

Hi, Taintedfury!

Unfortunately, the sale ended yesterday around 12:00 noon ET. Marian mentioned that there will probably be a Labor Day weekend (September 3 - 5) sale, or possibly one before that, so I'm waiting to buy any more games. I managed to pick up 2 before the sale ended, so I'm going to take my time and make them last .

Hi, Marian!

I flagged a few reviews myself that had nothing to do with the games and everything to do with complaints about the new system. I guess it's too much trouble for those "reviewers" to contact Big Fish directly if they're having trouble and, as you mentioned, it's not fair to the developers who may just think it's not worth the negativity and take their games somewhere else ... and then we're all losers. Some people just look at the number of stars and don't even bother to read the reviews so they could be taking a pass on a very good game they might enjoy. I didn't have any problems downloading and validating the games I purchased, so it's not happening to everyone. I don't understand why Big Fish doesn't remove those reviews that have nothing to do with the games.

Susan

Susan, I don't understand why Big Fish doesn't remove the reviews that have nothing to do with the games, either. There does not appear to be any sort of screening process at all. I am going to keep bugging them about this by flagging them as inappropriate unless and until they tell me to stop doing it. I understand that people feel the need to vent and that they have lost the forums on Big Fish in which to do so, but they still have Customer Support and they don't stop to think how they could be hurting the developers. Thanks for helping with this.

Hi, Marian!

I understand the need to vent as well, but the place to do so is not the area that should be reserved for game reviews. Do they not realize that Big Fish is at fault and not the developers? If I had any problems with the games I purchased the other day, I would have contacted Big Fish's Customer Service and waited for a response.

Speaking of purchasing games, I was just on Big Fish's website, and there is now a BOGO sale. It wasn't there earlier today and doesn't indicate that it's a weekend sale, so I'm going to strike while the iron is hot before it disappears !

Susan

Susan, too funny! I might have to buy something this evening just in case I wake up tomorrow morning and it's gone.

So let's add to the list of important changes at Big Fish the fact that sales seem to pop up at times of the day that we would not expect. Not sure if this is a permanent change or not.

Hi, Marian!

I just checked Big Fish's website, and the BOGO sale is still there so, if it's not a weekend sale, it will probably vanish around noon ET ! I don't know why they changed the beginning and ending times of the sales, but it certainly keeps us on our toes and has us checking their website several times a day, so maybe there's a method to their madness !

Susan

That's a very good point, Susan! They have given me a reason to check the site more than once a day, for sure.

This is an update to the purchase of MCF Crossfade on 10 August. I left the story after the game purchase ,using points, adding tax then deleting it , arriving at a balance of zero dollars cash to pay. Thought that was the end of story.

Received credit card bill yesterday to find BFG had applied a charge on 11 august. No notification of this from BFG and assume this is the result of the actual exchange rate. So I guess this is how it works. Would have been nice for BFG to explain all this but the procedure isn't a problem now I understand how it will work.

EXCEPT my card has been debited with US$2 . Small beer you might say , but there are TWO identical transactions on my card on that day from BFG for US$ 1 each . So it looks as though there is a duplication. I only made the one purchase.

I'm flagging this as an alert that overseas customers may not know the effect of the exchange rate until their credit card bill is received. More importantly there may be a black hole in the BFG money collection system that allows duplications.



P.S. I haven't the energy to take this up with BFG for $1. My ticket raised on 4 August concerning discrepancies in the amounts showing on my account information hasn't been answered. I think they are swamped by holes in their systems. I'm so glad I got out of there.

Hi Everyone/Boomers

Susie07
Just letting you know that i viewed the Toranto Zoo Giant Panda Cubs video's.....they're absolutely gorgeous & intelligent.....what a great Mum they've got & the staff there are great...Happy to see they're growing nicely...
PS It's amazing how they resemble puppies when newborn...

Thanks again they were a pleasure to watch

Hi, meryl!

That is certainly a new one because, if you used points to purchase your game, there would be no balance owing no matter where you live. Unless I'm missing something, the only time you should have been charged extra for the U.S. exchange rate is if you used your credit card and paid in U.S. dollars instead of your local currency, and then your credit card company would have done the conversion and applied the exchange rate. However, if you only used points to reduce the cost of the game and put the balance on your credit, unless you changed the currency to your local currency, you would have paid in U.S. dollars and the U.S. exchange rate would have been added to the the balance.

I purchased 2 games last week during the 65% off sale and used points to pay for both. After reading your post, I checked my credit card account online and there was a charge in Canadian dollars for my membership renewal on August 11, but no further charges from Big Fish. I purchased the games one at a time and, when I purchased the first one, forgot to change the currency from U.S. dollars to Canadian. It went through with no problems. When I purchased the second game, I changed the currency to Canadian dollars and, again, it went through with no problems. Did you receive emails from Big Fish confirming the games you purchased and including an invoice because they will show exactly what the charges were for each game and what currency was used?

Susan

Hi, Taintedfury!

I'm so glad you were able to watch the giant panda cub videos and enjoyed them , and you are most welcome . They didn't even know the female was pregnant until shortly before she gave birth, so it was quite the surprise. It was touch-and-go with the smallest one for a while but, thankfully, everything worked out and both cubs survived. We do have an excellent staff at the zoo and around-the-clock vets (especially in the nursery) to make sure all of the animals are healthy and thriving, and we also have an excellent breeding program.

Susan

You are so right Susie. What an idiot I am. I paid with points so the exchange rate is immaterial. My brain has become so pulverised by trying to understand what BFG is doing. I did not use my credit card on this purchase.

I did receive the 3 emails including the invoice showing that the balance was zero. No currency was used but it showed that £5.79 equals 699 points. £5.79 is the amount that BFG say I will be charged in future for my club membership as stated in my account. (I have cancelled so this figure has not been paid). The 699 points I used to purchase the game were the results of BFG's conversion of my game club membership credit for which payment was taken last month.

So I have no idea why two separate amounts of $1 each were debited to my card the day after game purchase. When I subsequently cancelled my membership I deleted the card so it probably won't be an ongoing problem.

I suppose I ought to raise this with Big Fish even though the amount is infinitesimal. I really don't want to have anything more to do with the company.

Hi, meryl!

You are certainly not an idiot because Big Fish has us all running around in circles wondering if we've lost our minds since the conversion took place !

If you used 699 points to pay for your game, you should not have been charged anything further. Even though the extra amount they charged you is small, every penny counts these days, so I would definitely contact Big Fish Customer Service and ask for an explanation and a refund. I pay in Canadian dollars, so my membership renewal was $8.98 Cdn. Big Fish converted 6 Game Club credits and 1 Punch Card credit to points, and I received an additional 699 points for my membership renewal. The actual points earned are the same for everyone, and the only time the U.S. exchange rate comes into play for those of us who live outside the States is when we make a purchase using our credit card or when our membership renews.

Good luck!

Susan

Maybe I am just lucky but so far the BigFish site & rewards change has gone smoothly for me. The only thing I'm still not quite certain on is how many bonus bucks one gets now for buying a regular edition game or CE? Now that there is no more strategy to get to six games purchased any given month that is nice!

Thank you Susie. It's nice to know that I have good reason for bafflement and I'm not thick or going senile!

I shall contact BFG as you suggest.

Wouldn't you think that someone from BFG would have the courtesy to visit this forum. They must be aware of the comments and questions. So many people have been asking the same things.

In the UK we have an organisation called Trading Standards to which we can complain if we feel a company is in some way being unfair to its customers or not behaving properly in the delivery of its product to consumers. I don't know how this general mess would fit the criteria but they would take a very dim view of a customer's credit card being used without transparent explanation. I suppose if there were a similar organisation in the US overseas customers might not be able to access it anyway.

It was only recently that I looked up the reviews for Big Fish and I was astonished how abysmal their rating is, not just since the August revamp. I always had a very good experience with this company prior to this and considered them decent, responsive to problems and very efficient. Such a shame. Hate to see a good business go downhill.

Well I don't feel that BF has gone downhill ....

The implementation of massive changes that will affect customers in many countries is hardly going to be an easy task.

And a forum such as Gameboomers - as important as it is to us members - will be a tiny consideration in their whole scheme of things.

When the operation is fully complete I feel confident that Big Fish (including their customer service section) will once again be one of the best places from which to acquire games 👍

Mad Sounds like it will be good once the changes are complete, looking forward to it.

Susie07
I am glad about the smaller panda to, it's good to see the way they're looked after so well...

Happy Gaming Boomers

Hi, lakerz!

I haven't experienced any problems either. In the past, I've always purchased my games from Big Fish's website, but I followed Marian's advice and purchased 2 games during the last 65% off sale through the Game Manager and the process went very smoothly . If you're a Game Club member, you still receive 699 points when your membership renews, which is the equivalent of 1 Game Club credit. When purchasing games, you earn 15% back in points for every SE and CE you buy, but only on the portion that you pay for with your credit card. IOW, if you use 699 points to pay for a SE, you receive no points back. If you use your credit card, you receive 104 points back. Non-members receive 1%.

Hi, meryl!

Like you, I've always been pleased with the service and products I've received from Big Fish since joining in 2009, so I'm willing to cut them some slack until they are able to sort things out. I can certainly understand the frustration of those who have run into glitches, though, and I wouldn't be happy either if unauthorized and unexplained charges showed up on my credit card no matter how small they were. I'm sure they will sort that out for you, although it may take them a while because they are dealing with so many issues right now. The only major change for me is the U.S. exchange rate, but I pay it whenever I shop in the States or on an American website so, up until now, I was getting a really good deal by only paying 2% .

Hi, Taintedbury!

Even though the animals are in captivity, none of them are in cages and their enclosures resemble their natural environments as much as possible. Believe it or not, some of the animals were even vaccinated against COVID. After the surprise birth of the giant panda twins, there were daily updates from the zoo on their progress, and everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief when the little one was out of danger !

Susan

Just wanted to add that I have one credit card on file with Big Fish but most of the time I use Paypal, which I have used for many, many years and not once had a problem with it. It also works splendidly with the new points system.

Hi, Marian!

I've never used Paypal, but it's good to know that works as well. I always use a credit card to pay for everything because, if ever there's a problem and I can provide proof I didn't get what I paid for, the credit card company will reverse the charge. Also, some credit card companies extend the warranties of some purchases, which is an added bonus. I have no idea how Paypal works, so they may provide the same benefits as well !

Susan

Hiya Everyone

Susie07 Happy to see when they're looked after so well....Oh my yeah i saw - it's amazing the way they make their living areas so nature like.....Terrific to hear that some off the animals were vaccinated against covid .....Very true though sometimes the smaller ones end up being tougher


Happy Gaming Boomers

Hi, Taintedfury!

I hate to see animals in cages, so a trip to the Toronto zoo is a nice change. The animals may not be free, but they are well cared for, well fed and safe.

Happy gaming to you as well !

Susan

Hi Susie07
Most definitely I feel the same way, .... True at least they're safe and happy ☺️
Happy Gaming

Hi, Taintedfury!

Happy gaming to you as well !

Susan

Your reward point balance at Big Fish Games has just been changed: 200 points added. These points will expire on 25 Aug 2024 (729 days left).

Your current balance is 200 points, which equals to $2.00 worth of discount.

Click here to learn more about the Big Fish Points. what does this mean.

Family, I merged your post with this thread because this is where we are discussing all the changes at Big Fish as a result of their platform change earlier this month. Big Fish has changed to a points system whereby you get a certain number of points through buying games. You also get points if you are a Game Club member; instead of one game credit worth $6.99 monthly, you get 699 points instead. If you are a Game Club member you get more points when you purchase games than you do if you do not belong to the Game Club.

At present you have $2.00 (200 points) that can be applied to future game purchases. When you check out, you will see a place in the shopping cart on the lower left-hand side where you can apply your points towards the purchase. If you would rather, you can hang on to the points or just use some of them but not all of them.

i will hang on to them.

So, does anybody know if the purchase process is fixed or if you still have to download the demo first or whatever it is they expect you to do? I am still afraid to buy anything. As some of you know, I have many games that don't get played for years after being purchased. I don't want to find out somewhere in the future that my purchase didn't work but I also don't want to download a bunch of games that I am not ready to play.

I think that problem has been fixed, oldbroad. Most people seem to be having no further issues with that. Are there other issues? I think there are, here and there, but none so far that have affected me or most of the people I know who are buying games there.

As for the long haul, there is always going to be a certain amount of risk. I have most of my games backed up on external drives should Big Fish at some point cease to exist, but then I will also need a backup of my backup. I have also thought about cloud storage. But until that time, I guess we either dive in or stay out of the water.

Thanks Marian!

Hi, oldbroad!

I always download the demo just to make sure the game is my cup of tea and there are no technical issues before buying. If I don't enjoy the demo, I delete it. If I do, I save it to remind me what game I want to buy when there's a good sale. I've only purchased 2 games since the conversion, but I followed Marian's advice and purchased them through the Game Manager (I always purchased games from the website before) and the process was flawless.

Susan

Thanks Susie07! I never download the demos. I just buy. And I have always made my purchases through the website though I download through the manager.

Anyway, question - How much of the game does the demo download? (I have slow internet.)

i think big fish put the demos up, because alot of their customers get buyer remorse, they regret buying games, and they get tried of it, alot of people asking for refunds. the demo gives the people a look in the game to see i like it or do not, people been buying without doing demos.

Oldbroad, sometimes the demos download the entire game and sometimes they download only part of the game. There's no hard and fast rule about this. If it was a solitaire game, you could be pretty confident that the demo was the entire game, but with HOPAs it is not that easy to tell.

Family, there have been demos on Big Fish as long as I can remember and my first game there was purchased in 2006. They have had demos for games for at least 16 years.

Thank you Marian.

thank you marian very much, why do big fish customers demo first.

Family, they try out the demo in the hopes that if they are able to play the game for a little while, they will know for sure whether they like it not and want to spend money on it. Kind of like wanting to read the first chapter of a book to see if it interests you enough to want to purchase it so you can keep on reading it.

I don't find the need to demo HOPAs much because I pretty much know what I am getting and that I will like it, but I can understand why a lot of people wish to play a few minutes of it first before deciding.

The other reason to demo something is to reassure yourself that the game will run on your computer, although sometimes people have issues after the demo, so it's not a foolproof method - but at least you know that the game starts up without giving you an error message.

Like oldbroad, I don't bother with demos. If I like the look of the game I will buy it

Sorry for late reply but thank you very much Susie07 for explaining that to me. Makes sense now why I was seeing no extra credit when I used the Game Club credit to buy a recent game.

Hi, lakerz!

You're very welcome, and there is certainly no need to apologize. I was also under the impression that we would earn 15% back in points if we used points to purchase games, but Marian solved the mystery when she used both points and her credit card to purchase a game and only earned back 15% in points for the portion paid for with her credit card. Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly, but I'm pretty sure we received one Punch Card punch even if we used a Game Club credit to purchase a SE game.

I still have the majority of points I received when my Game Club credits and Punch Card credit were converted because I'm being a lot more selective with the games I buy, and have only purchased them during a sale !

Susan

Thought I might just add that since the new system was implemented, if I buy a game from Big Fish in a general SALE (as a non club member) the price I am charged per game is still higher than the FULL price I would previously have paid for a game that was NOT in a sale !!

Which is what imakes buying games from them these days so much more expensive

Wow! That stinks Mad!

A CE BOGO sale just went up on the website. This should last through the weekend. Their weekend sales now begin on Friday afternoons. This has been true ever since the platform change.

I know it says ALL but have you confirmed that by any chance? The reason I ask is because it talks about Eipix games in the Memory Lane page. It's not just all Eipix games is it?

Anyway, thanks for the head's up!

No, it's all CEs. I already tested it in my shopping cart.

Marian, are purchased games still showing purchased in your account? The ones I just bought, do not, so I checked the one I bought last week which DID show purchased at that time, but no longer does.

I took a look at the download page for Living Legends: The Blue Chamber CE, which is a game I bought a while ago. This is the page where you can download the demo. It has one button to download the demo and the other button says purchased. I then looked for a second game that I purchased since the platform change, and it also says purchased on the demo download page.

Or are you talking about it saying purchased somewhere else? My Order History/Purchase History looks correct as well.

That's the page I'm looking at (the game page). I purchased Moontrain 10 days ago and after purchasing, it said "purchased" on that second button. Now it is showing to download the demo on the left button and purchase full game on the right button. I just bought 4 more games and am downloading one right now. When it finishes, I guess I will have to start Moontrain (which I downloaded when I bought) to see if I have the full game. I am getting worried now!

They all show in my purchase history on the website and under "My Game Downloads" in my account, they all show "available" (status) and "unlimited" (remaining downloads). My game manager looks fine. I don't know why they don't show "purchased" on the game page though, when I KNOW Moontrain did before because I remember checking it.

Also, I can put Moontrain in my cart and it doesn't flag me there either that I already purchased it, although I didn't hit "check out".

The system does not warn you anymore when you put something into your shopping cart that you already own, unfortunately. I really liked that feature.

If everything shows elsewhere that you have purchased the games, I would not worry about it, at least not yet. I still see glitchy things going on that, while they aren't breaking anything, are still present. If things don't look right a month from now, then go ahead and write to them about it. As long as you see that available and unlimited status, I would say that it just isn't displaying correctly on the download page at this point but it's not a big deal (unless you tried to purchase a game that you had already purchased since the platform change, of course).

You are right again Marian! All five games that I've purchased since the platform change are showing as "purchased" today!

I will say that I don't find it as easy to purchase games anymore because I have to really scrutinize everything to make sure I'm getting the right game (CE, Windows, English). I know that is not really much different (I did have to check before too) but there seems to be too many items on the page when you do a "search" now. Somehow it seems harder, though it probably isn't really.

.

Actually, I agree with you about this, ob. It seems like a lot more to wade through. I haven't used a lot of the search functions as yet that are supposed to narrow things down more, though, so maybe that will help some.

I'm sitting here looking at my earned points and realizing that they really don't amount to much at all for non-members. If my math is correct, I would have to buy 100 games at full price to have enough points to get 1 free game. That's a lot of spending (which I'm sure will happen AGAIN over time but...) Still though, I don't want my card charged every month. Maybe I will try it again in the future if I find that I am buying a lot of games again.

Yes, Game Club members get far more out of the points system than non-members. We get 15% back as Game Club members and 1% back for non-members. Thus far it has benefited me greatly and I am paying less for Collector's Editions and standard games than I was before the platform change. I use PayPal for my Game Club membership every month and have never had a problem with it.

I'm so glad that we have a place here to discuss all of this.

Becoming a Club Member to get better rewards is not a very sensible move for me.

I have SO many unplayed games across my THREE preferred genres that adding to them (which I still frequently do) is really supremely silly !!!!

I understand, Mad. I have had an especially bad time with Big Fish and trying to keep the numbers down due to the fact that I like HOPAs, match 3 games, adventures, time management games, solitaire, and other assorted genres as well. Yikes!

Well, Marian, this price hike for me at BF will definitely help make me see some sense with Casuals at least !!

The genres for me are RPGs, Adventures and Casuals.
And I have way too many of each still not yet played 😯

I like RPGs too, so add that genre to the list as well.

I am considering becoming a Game Club member but right now am playing mainly on my iPad. As I understand it, the points only accrue for PC and Mac games (I have the latter), so I’m not sure if it is worth it.

In response to my complaint to BFG a month ago of applying unexplained and unauthorised charges to my credit card (after purchasing a game with points only and receiving a zero balance receipt ) I have received the following reply :-

"Thank you for your valuable patience.

We sincerely apologize for the delay.

However, we've gone ahead and issued you a refund for the two $1 auth charges, and it may take up to 3-10 business days for the refund to fully process.

I hope this helps. Wish you a wonderful day."


No apology for taking this unauthorised action, no regret for the worry caused, and most importantly of all absolutely no explanation of why or how this happened. I suspect they don't know and haven't the resources to look into this properly.

Attached to the message was an invitation for feedback on how the query had been handled. My feedback, expressed politely, was that while I thanked them for the refund, unless BFG could find the source of the problem and rectify it I wouldn't have the confidence to enter into any further financial transactions.

So there you have it. Any alternative suggestions to Big Fish Games for casual games would be very welcome.

Hi meryl, Big Fish has fixed a lot of the problems that people were having including fixing the 1404 error messages that people with large Purchase Histories have been dealing with for years, which is very good news indeed. Having said that, I can understand why when something like what happened to you occurred, you would be worried that it could happen again in the future.

As far as alternative suggestions to Big Fish Games, there is Steam, which has a lot of casual games. I don't care for Steam all that much due to their refund policies being so restrictive, but obviously I am in the minority as Steam is very popular.

The other casual game website that I have some experience with is Gamehouse. I have never been a member there but have purchased some games there that at the time were exclusive to the site (specifically some time management games) but now end up being released on Big Fish as well. I have never had any issues with them, although years ago we did not recommend them due to their privacy policies which I will admit I have not looked into lately.

Thank you Marian. I've bought a couple of games via steam though not casual ones. I'll take a look at Gamehouse also.

I'm hoping things will settle down completely at BFG at some time in the future. They were such a great company and I've enjoyed purchasing from them with no problems for years. I'm sure they will recover their equilibrium.

In the meantime I'm really happy to hear that the new system of points is really working well for people and that many of the issues associated with the changes are being resolved.

I was amazed to find out that the BFG game prices have remained the same for years so a price hike wouldn't phase me once I could be sure there would be no wobbles with my credit card. Ever hopeful that they will identify what the problem was with my specific issue and be able to rectify it and get back to me. I'm an optimist!

BREAKING NEWS!
Explanation received from Big Fish. Apparently they do a $1 test on people's credit cards but the new system has been charging this to the actual credit card account. In my case 2 tests must have been done. They assure me this problem was identified and corrected on 15 september and it should not now recurr.
To apologise they have awarded 699 points to my account. I thanked them but don't think I'll be buying anything just yet.