BoardGameGeek vs IGDB

BoardGameGeek is a free online resource and community for board game and card game content, available on the web and through official iOS and Android apps. Game entries combine information, user ratings, forums, and related material. Members can browse reviews, images, play aids, translations, session reports, and live discussion forums. They can maintain virtual collections of games they own, play, rate, comment on, or follow, and account holders can log plays from a collection or game entry. The site also includes a Geek Market and game trading between members. Core site access and registered membership are free, and there is no free trial. Annual supporter levels of $15 or more include a supporter icon; levels of $25 or more add ad blocking, a read feed for past subscriptions, and historical gaming trends. BoardGameGeek says it relies on community support and advertisements to cover expenses such as servers, bandwidth, and employees. Users must be at least 18 to have an account.

IGDB is a video game information database for searching games, companies, and characters. Search results can be sorted by relevance, title, release date, or rating, and the database accepts community contributions. Developers can query game data and related entities through its API, choosing fields, filters, sorting, and other request options. Non-commercial API use is free under the Twitch Developer Service Agreement. Commercial use requires a partnership, and products integrating the API are expected to show visible user-facing attribution. Access requires a Twitch account with two-factor authentication, an application Client ID and Client Secret, and OAuth2 application credentials. The API allows 4 requests per second, up to 8 open requests at once, and at most 500 results per request. Documentation provides daily-updated CSV data dumps and lists wrappers for several languages. Direct browser requests are not supported because the API has no CORS headers; a backend proxy is recommended. IGDB's API is available for free for non-commercial use, while commercial use requires a partnership.