Titles for video games and board games

[GeorgeDickson]

Hey everyone,

First, I would like to thank you all for posting so much useful information in the forum. It has been unbelievably helpful. I do have one question that I haven't been able to find a definitive answer for:

How would someone go about titling a video game or a board game? I tried to do the grown-up thing and research it myself, but the results were inconclusive. In some places I have seen titles for games in italics, but that does not seem to be the case in other places (here, for one). I would assume that it's best to do as the Romans do, but I was hoping someone here would be willing to educate me.

Once again, thanks to everybody for all the work they have put into this site and the forum. I just made my first sale a few days ago, and I attribute its acceptance to bountiful good advice gleaned from CC users' forum posts. I hope to be able to do the same for others someday.

George L. Dickson

[Lysis]

Hi George,

I had a rejection for not distinguishing the title of a movie from the character. I was told that italics are the way to go. I don't know if this is a rule, since my problem was that the character had the same name as the show, so it was hard to see the difference in the writing. However, I think the good word was that titles can be in italics and that's cool with the editor.

[GeorgeDickson]

Hey, many thanks for the reply Lysis.

That's useful information, I was uncertain about how to title T.V. shows.

I'm still a bit confused about video games. I've seen it done in more than one way. Some places, I would see a game titled Rock Band while others would title it Rock Band.

I also wonder about board games, like Monopoly or Sorry. Do they get italicized, or a simple capitalization? I have a few articles I'd like to submit, but I don't want to use improper titles.

If someone wouldn't mind shedding some light on this, I would be forever in his/her debt.

[Ed]

Hi,

This is an interesting question and I'm sorry for not responding more promptly. There seems to be some conflicting and confusing information about how to treat board game standards. The best discussion I've found so far is a Wikipedia style guide discussion. I include it because you might find it useful in some way, not necessarily because I think that this is a great source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_ ... tyle_guide

We can agree that video game titles are italicized and that common names for games like chess and checkers are not capitalized. I think italicizing the names of other board games helps to differentiate them from other parts of the sentence, especially when the name of the game is a part of speech.

For example:
I don't understand Balderdash (italics).
Katie, who is 4 years old, loves Candy Land (italics).

Suffice to say, however you choose to treat your board game titles, your article won't be rejected on the basis of your decision. If I find a definitive answer, I will let you know.

Thanks,
Ed

[BarryDavidson]

Would a "TM" symbol after the game work, or would it be rejected for adding code to the text of the article. (I wish I could remember the Phpbb code for it.)

[Ed]

The trademark symbol is unnecessary and can become distracting. A good explanation about this can be found here:
http://wordwise.typepad.com/blog/2007/0 ... -the-.html

Ed

[BarryDavidson]

Thanks for the answer Ed. You're right, it can be distracting if used too much. .Disney and several other companies have a bad habit of using them too much on their official sites. I guess I was thinking of some of the articles I've seen which discuss trademark and copyright protection. Ive read quite a bit on those subjects, and perhaps it's just something writers use when adding examples to their text. (Trademark laws are certainly a PITA, especially with all the newer additions over the last few years. Not that they were the clearest of statutes before.)