Kongregate Help

Who are these people in chat? Are they playing the same game that I am?Link to this question

Kongregate chat is divided up into two types of rooms.

Regular chat rooms have people who are playing all different kinds of games. All regular rooms have an expectation for what language(s) can be spoken in them; you will be automatically placed in a chat room based on the language setting of your internet browser.

Some multiplayer games also have game chat rooms so you can discuss strategies and team up with other players. These rooms are named after the game (for example, SuperOssimRPG Room #01). All game chat rooms are any-language; most people speak English, but players are welcome to communicate with each other in any language they like.

Everyone who is in a game chat room is also in a regular chat room; you can switch between the game chat and regular chat using the tabs at the top of the chat window. If you do not wish to see chat, you can select one of the other tabs above the chat window (for example, game information).

More chat features:

To go to a different chat room, look at the top of the chat window. Select "Chat actions" and choose "Change chat rooms." ("Chat actions" also includes other helpful tools such as information about the room and adding the room to your list of favorites.)

You can mouseover each person’s name in the chat list to see which game that person is currently playing. Clicking the game title will also link you directly to that game. You will also see links that allow you to view their profile, add them as a friend, mute them, and invite them to private chat if you are a Kong+ member. You can also click each user’s name to view that person’s mini-profile to learn more about them.

Friends? Fans? I’m confused!Link to this question

A friend is someone you liked enough to add to your list of friends. Unlike some social sites, you can friend anyone you want—a developer whose game you like, a moderator who helped out in chat, or just someone you like as a person. You will be able to see what they have been doing (depending on their privacy settings) in your activity feed.

A fan is someone who likes you and added you to their list. They can see all of your Kongregate activity in their activity feed. If you want to change what they can see, go to your profile and select "Account Settings," then "Feed Preferences."

What do the little icons next to people’s names in chat mean?Link to this question

When you enter a chat room, you’ll see a list of people in the room. Your name will be at the top, followed by any administrators or moderators in the room. After that, your friends’ names will appear, with a little person symbol next to them.

An orange moderator [M] icon is shown next to users who are capable of banning and silencing abusive users in the chatroom; the room owner [R] icon indicates a moderator who has added responsibility to care for the particular room where you are at that moment. The light-red [K] icon denotes Kongregate employees (also known as administrators or admins), and the dark red [K+] icon represents users who are Kong Plus subscribers. The blue developer [D] icon is shown next to someone who has uploaded a game. Forum moderators have an orange [F] next to their name in the forums where they are mods, but that icon is not shown in chat.

Types of moderators and what they do Link to this question

There are three kinds of moderators on Kong. Global moderators can moderate in any chat room on the site. Once upon a time all mods were global mods. We found, though, that this approach had quite a few flaws. So we switched over to a system of room mods, where players are mods in one or more chat rooms but not for every room on the site.

Global mods are not better than room mods; they have just been around longer. We are not making any more global mods. All this is discussed a bit more here.

There are also forum mods who (as you might guess) keep an eye on some of Kong’s many forums.

How can I become a moderator? Link to this question

Moderators are selected by the Kongregate staff. Users do not need to be developers, attain a particular level or purchase K+ before they can become moderators; those factors are not considered.

"I need more information! Who appoints moderators? How are they selected? Why am I not a moderator, even though I’m the greatest person who ever lived?"

The process is not perfect. We wish we could hire a team of psychologists to carefully analyze the chat logs on Kongregate, scouring for the best and brightest to help us keep the site sanitary.

The community administrators who appoint moderators are also the same people who deal with every flagged game or comment, award missing achievements, investigate every abuse report against a user or a mod, answer the large volume of email we receive, etc. So please do not take offense if you’re a regular, long-time user on the site who is always mature and courteous, but has never been noticed by the folks who appoint mods. Also don’t take offense if you happen to be a pretty cool person who’s been deemed a little too rough around the edges to represent Kongregate as a mod. Just because you’ve been passed over to do our work for free doesn’t mean we don’t still love you.

Realistically, most moderators are appointed after a confidential nomination by current mods. Friendliness, maturity, and professionalism can go a long way in getting yourself nominated. Zealously promoting yourself will likely disqualify you entirely, as it makes us question both your motives and your maturity level.

I believe a mod didn’t handle a situation correctly. What can I do? Link to this question

Let’s start with what you shouldn’t do: please don’t insult or rant at the mod. Even if you believe they are the worst person ever, a power-hungry neckbearded manchild who embodies every gamer stereotype and who is bullying you to make up for personal inadequacies… don’t say any of that. If you do, you’ll probably get silenced for harassing them.

Instead, you should use the "report abuse" option on the mod’s profile and tell us what happened.

Remember that mods are volunteers; they take care of chat for free because they care about Kongregate. They are also human beings with strengths and weaknesses. We train them, but no training system is perfect. When we hear about a problem, we offer them coaching, suggestions and encouragements to excellence. Your reports help us do that.

What kind of behavior is expected of me on Kongregate? Link to this question

Only the best, of course! :-D

We actually don’t ask for much. We know the internet won’t ever be perfectly polite, but that doesn’t mean there are no rules here. Take a moment to read through our simple (and entertaining!) behavior guidelines.

What if someone is breaking these guidelines in chat? Link to this question

Assuming that a room moderator isn’t online and keeping the situation under control, you can report that user to us. Click their name in chat, then "Report Abuse." (You can also report abuse from the full profile; it’s under the gear icon.) Select "Chat Behavior" and fill out the report; we’ll review it as soon as possible. Details about people and history are welcome, but there’s no need to copy-paste the chat logs into your report, because we have links to those and always review them.

Reports help us stay on top of what is happening around the site, and get problems resolved as quickly as possible. Our administrators review all reports, and we encourage reporting inappropriate behavior even if you do not receive a reply from us every time. Your name is not given to the user(s) you report.

What if someone is breaking these guidelines in the forums? Link to this question

To report a forum post, click the "flag post" option in the light-blue box on the left of the post; you will have the option to add a note to explain the problem in case it might not be immediately obvious. If a particular user is causing problems overall, flag several of the posts and leave a note for the forum mod about the problem.

What if someone is breaking these guidelines in the game comments? Link to this question

If you downvote the comment, you will be given the option to flag it as well-- click the symbol that looks like an exclamation point inside a triangle.

What if someone is breaking the guidelines in some other way? Link to this question

Go to the person’s full profile and click on the gear icon. You can use the "Report Abuse" option there to report inappropriate usernames, avatars, profiles, or any other problematic behavior.

Badges Link to this question

Badges are added to games with high ratings that have implemented our high-scores API. Unlike challenges, badges do not expire, though games with achievements may be removed due to unforeseen circumstances. Your badges are displayed on your profile.

Badges have four levels of difficulty: easy, medium, hard, and impossible. They award 5, 15, 30, and 60 points, respectively. We are not responsible for any mouse, keyboard, or emotional damage that may occur while attempting "impossible" achievements.

Every day we pick an existing badge to be the Badge of the Day. If you earn that badge before midnight (Pacific time, UTC-8), you’ll get double the Kongregate points! So if you earn an easy Badge of the Day, that’s 10 Kongregate points. Even if you have already earned the badge, you can still get in on the action. Just load up the game; your Kongregate account will receive its extra points.

(You can also earn PowerUp Rewards points for completing the Badge of the Day; go here for more details.)

Quests Link to this question

A quest is a group of badges that are somehow related to each other. If you earn all the badges for a particular quest, you get an additional award on your profile and some extra points (varies by quest difficulty, but between 20 and 50) in addition to the points for all the badges. A list of quests can be found here.

Challenges Link to this question

Challenges are time-limited achievements, typically beginning on Friday afternoon and lasting for one week. These challenges typically award either points or items/perks in one of our many multiplayer games. Current challenges are featured under the "Achievements" tab at the top of the page and can also be found here.

Loot challenges are like regular challenges, except that you earn an award for your profile and a chance to win a real-world prize. Typically, each person completing the challenge is entered in a drawing to win a gaming system or other prizes. If there is a current loot challenge, it will be displayed here and usually also promoted on the homepage.

How can I find games with achievements? Link to this question

Clicking on the "Achievements" tab at the top of the page, you can view badges you’ve earned and badges you’ve not yet earned. Click any unearned badge to open the game and begin your task. The "Achievements" tab also provides links to a list of quests and to the current challenges. You can also go directly to our badges page.

Help! I didn’t get a badge or a card!Link to this question

For the love of all that is holy, do NOT refresh the page or navigate away! It’s likely that your badge is just delayed a bit. Be patient, and wait a full 30 seconds before freaking out. If the badge is score-based, make sure that your game has ended; some badges will only report statistics after you’ve completed the game or run out of lives.

Also make sure that you’re connected to chat, and make sure that the light in chat is green. Unless otherwise stated in the achievement description, you will not receive any badges if this light is red.

If chat is working, the light is green, you’ve waited patiently, and your game has ended with no badge awarded, feel free to contact us with a screenshot (showing your username and proof that you met the badge requirements) and an explanation of what happened.

How can I earn points? Link to this question

There are several ways to earn points: uploading games, rating games, completing achievements, and inviting friends. See the table below for exact numbers.

"Bonus points for uploaded games based on rating? Explain!"

If your game has a rating of at least 2.5 stars on the 50th rating, you receive 50 bonus points ("good game bonus"). If the score is at least 3.0 on the 100th rating, you will receive 75 bonus points ("rad game bonus"). The "totally awesome game bonus" awards 150 bonus points if your game has a score of at least 3.5 stars on the 200th rating, and the "legendary game bonus" awards an unbelievable 300 bonus points if your game has a score of at least 4.0 stars on the 500th rating.

You cannot lose points if the rating for your game falls, and note that these points are ADDED to what you already have. Uploading a game with a rating above 4.0 could therefore earn a total of 575 points. This is, however, pretty rare, as Kongregate users can be pretty picky with their ratings of 4 and 5.

What are points used for? Link to this question

You accumulate them to get to a higher level on the site. Each level is harder to earn than the one before; getting from level 1 to level 2 takes 50 points, but getting from level 64 to level 65 takes 1705 points. There are currently no levels higher than 65, and no plans to raise the level cap.

Want more information? Go here for a cool user-created graph.

What are levels used for? Link to this question

Two words: bragging rights.

How can I report a bug I found in a game? Link to this question

You can submit game bug reports in the toolbar section under each game by selecting the "Game Bug" link located underneath the game (next to the little bug symbol.) This link is only available if the developer has opted in for bug reporting.

Alternatively, there may be a bug report method within the game. We would recommend using that link instead to better regulate bug reports and make sure they are seen by the developer.

I found a game that seems inappropriate… and something else that’s not even a game. What should I do? Link to this question

In the "contribute" section under each game, there’s an option to flag the game as inappropriate. Flagging games will alert the Kongregate staff that something is amiss. Please do not harass the developer or leave vengeful comments for the game; your anger is probably better spent elsewhere. If a game is broken or not working, game bug reports are preferred to flagging.

What are Kreds? Link to this question

Kreds are virtual coins that can be spent on cool stuff at Kongregate. Once your account is funded, you’ll be able to instantly purchase power ups and virtual items within many of our games found here. While games on Kongregate will always be free for anyone to enjoy, Kreds enable players to purchase bonuses that would not otherwise be available or that would take longer to acquire. It’s just another way we enable people to have fun while game developers earn their livings. We don’t want our developers to starve, right?

How do I get Kreds? Link to this question

You can load up your account with Kreds right now by clicking here. You’ll also be given the chance to buy Kreds whenever you add a virtual item to your cart that you don’t have the funds to cover. We also have certain promotions or challenges that offer free Kreds. Keep a look-out for them!

(You can also earn PowerUp Rewards points for buying kreds; go here for more details.)

I had a problem with my purchase! What do I do? Link to this question

If you experience problems purchasing Kreds, whether it be a technical error or if you are blocked from purchasing, please contact us to let us know, specifying that you have a "Kreds Inquiry" so we can respond as quickly as possible. We strive to keep our customers happy, and want to help get things fixed up!

If you are having problems with an in-game purchase, please review the steps in this post.

Kongregate Plus Link to this question

We have mentioned Kong Plus throughout the FAQ, so let’s explain! Kong Plus is a yearly subscription to exclusive features on Kongregate such as no advertisements, profile skins, early access to beta games, private chat rooms, and more. You can learn more about Kong Plus here.

Kong Plus costs $30 per year; you can buy it for yourself or give it to anyone else on the site. It can be purchased only with credit card or Paypal, not with kreds or gift cards. You also get it for free if you are a PowerUp Rewards Pro member. All Kongregate moderators also receive K+ to help assist the site.

What are PowerUp Rewards? How do I sign up? Link to this question

PowerUp Rewards is GameStop’s new rewards program in which you score rewards points to get awesome perks! You can read more about the program on GameStop's PowerUp Rewards Benefits Page, and sign up for a PowerUp Rewards card at your nearest GameStop.

Unfortunately, the PowerUp Rewards program is U.S.-only at this time. We know, we’re bummed too. Hopefully global domination will happen soon.

Perks, you say. What kind? Link to this question

The ever-expanding list includes GameStop gift cards and merchandise, invites to exclusive events, subscriptions to Playstation® Network, Xbox LIVE® and more. And, of course, you can also use PowerUp rewards points to get Kreds! To see the complete PowerUp Rewards catalog, go to the PowerUp Rewards Catalog, log in with your PowerUp Rewards email address and password, and the list of rewards will unfold. To see the Kreds offer, click on Categories in the left-hand column, followed by Digital.

Yay, more points! How do I get my hands on these PowerUp Rewards points? Link to this question

While you can already score PowerUp Rewards points by purchasing games or consoles from GameStop, now you can get them on Kongregate, too! We offer rewards points for:

• Linking your PowerUp Rewards and Kongregate accounts (explained here)
• Purchasing Kreds: Whenever you buy Kreds you’ll score rewards points, too! You'll be getting approximately one PowerUp Reward point per Kred, so the more you buy the more you get - up to 1000 points! You can then use those very same points to get even more Kreds-- how cool is that?
• Earning the Badge of the Day: Every time you earn the Badge of the Day on Kongregate, you will automatically earn the same number of PowerUp Rewards points as the difficulty of the badge. So if you earn an easy BotD, you'll get 5 PowerUp Rewards points. Even if you have already earned the badge that is BotD, you can still get in on the action. Just load up the game and your PUR points will be automatically added.

How do I link my PowerUp Rewards and Kongregate accounts? Link to this question

When you sign up for PowerUp Rewards at your local GameStop, you’ll be given a card. Be sure to use that card number to activate your PowerUp Rewards account online at poweruprewards.com. Once you’re up and running, go to http://www.kongregate.com/poweruprewards and click on "Link My Accounts." Then, simply enter the number on the card into the field provided. You’ll be linked, and given 250 PowerUp Rewards points for your efforts. Easy as pie! And we know how you like pie.

Help! I don’t know my PowerUp Rewards number! Link to this question

Stay calm. There are two ways to find your PowerUp Rewards account number:

First, you can find your number printed right on the back of your handy little black-and-red (or silver-and-red, if you’re a fancy Pro member) card. You’ll find two numbers printed back there, so be sure to enter the number just under the barcode, like so.

If you have activated your PowerUp Rewards account but can’t find your card, all is not lost! Go to your PowerUp Rewards Account page and login with the e-mail address and password you used when you activated your account. Once you're logged in, under the "Rewards Account" tab, next to "PowerUp Rewards ID" you’ll see your account number clearly displayed, as shown in this Rewards Account page screenshot.

Alternatively, if you’re logging in from the front page of the GameStop PowerUp Rewards site, you’ll arrive on the Dashboard. Mouseover the "My Account" menu item, and click on "Rewards Account" from the dropdown menu, as shown in this Dashboard screenshot. Now you'll be on your Rewards Account page, and next to "PowerUp Rewards ID", you’ll see your account number clearly displayed, as shown in this Rewards Account page screenshot.

I’ve upgraded my account to PowerUp Rewards Pro. Can I score even more points on Kongregate? Link to this question

Why yes, yes you can! PowerUp Rewards members who upgrade to PowerUp Rewards Pro receive an extra 10% bonus in the PowerUp Reward points they earn on Kongregate, along with a bunch of other benefits from GameStop.

Even though you’ll receive a new PowerUp Rewards Pro card in the mail, you don’t have to link your new card number on Kongregate. We check the status of your account every time we credit you with PowerUp Rewards points, so we’ll automatically detect your 1337 Pro status and you’ll starting scoring your 10% bonus right away.

Wait—I did what I was supposed to do, but I haven’t gotten my PowerUp Rewards points! Link to this question

For any issues or questions you have relating to PowerUp Rewards on Kongregate, just send us a message via our Contact Us page by following that link and selecting "PowerUp Rewards" from the drop-down menu. Be sure to include your Kongregate username, your PowerUp Rewards account number, and the nature of your problem.

What are the advantages of linking my Kongregate and Facebook accounts? Link to this question

• Makes it easy to find your Facebook friends on Kongregate.
• If you’re new to Kongregate, signing up via Facebook means you skip our registration form.
• One-click login to both accounts—easy just got easier.
• Bonus round: Get 25 points for linking your accounts.
• If you want, Kongregate will brag about your accomplishments—so you don’t have to.

Getting started Link to this question

I don’t have a Kongregate account yet. See the blue "Facebook sign in" button on the top right-hand corner of your screen? Click once and follow the instructions.

I already have a Kongregate account. Sign into both Kongregate and Facebook on different tabs of the same browser, then connect them via your account settings page.

I linked my accounts before, but most recent upgrade isn’t working for me. Link to this question

All you need to do is go to your account settings page, and then click the blue update connection button.

My accounts are linked. How do I sign back in? Link to this question

If your Facebook and Kongregate accounts are already linked, click the "Sign In with Facebook" button instead of using your Kongregate username and password. You’ll be signed into both Kongregate and Facebook with just one click!

Why do you want all that information from me, anyway? Link to this question

When you link your accounts, you’ll be asked to allow some information-sharing, as with any Facebook app. This includes your basic info, like your birthday; this is the stuff we ask for when you sign up for a Kongregate account anyway. We also ask for the ability to send you e-mail and post to your wall. Never fear! While we never want to send you stuff you don’t want, we do want the ability to offer you cool new features as they’re developed.

Kongregate users won’t be able to see your real name or any of your other Facebook information, unless you’re Facebook friends already.

A possible exception: if you create a brand new Kongregate account using Facebook connect, your proposed Kongregate username will be based on your first name and last initial on Facebook. It’s only a suggestion, though, and you can easily choose something else when signing up.

My Kongregate accomplishments will be posted to Facebook? Link to this question

We’ll spread the word about the stuff you’re enjoying on the site. After all, if you like it, your friends probably will too. Specifically, we’ll post when you…

• Earn an achievement (badge, card, award, challenge, etc)
• Rate a game 4 or 5 stars, or add it as a favorite
• Comment on a game
• Win a spot on a high-scores leaderboard

Not interested in that? No problem. Go to your account settings page. When this list pops up, adjust the checkboxes however you like, then save.

Can my Facebook friends find me on Kongregate? Link to this question

Yep! If you link your accounts, any of your Facebook friends will be able to see your Kongregate username, and you’ll be able to see theirs as well! It’s a great way to tackle a game together.

If you have already linked your accounts, it’s not too late to find your friends! Go to the navigation bar dropdown and choose "find friends." Just click to the left of each name to turn the minus sign (aka "do nothing") to a plus sign (meaning "become a fan of this person"). Click the "connect with friends" button and you’re instantly a fan of them.

How do I unlink my Kongregate account? Link to this question

Go to your account settings page. Make sure all of the sharing boxes are unchecked, then click remove connection. Done!

Remember: If you originally made your account by connecting via Facebook, you’ll need to set a Kongregate password or you’ll be locked out of your Kongregate account.

How can I upload my game onto Kongregate? Link to this question

To upload your game onto Kongregate, simply go to the upload page and follow the instructions.

What format of games can I upload? Link to this question

We support Flash (swf) files, HTML5, Java, and Unity game files. We do not have any plans to support executables (exe). We also support additional files through an iframe.

 Additionally, games have a maximum file size of 20MB and a maximum width of 800 pixels. There's not a hard height limit but please keep it reasonable to make sure your game is still playable.

What are the guidelines for uploaded content? Link to this question

First, it must be a game. Kongregate does not allow Flash movies, regardless of how great they might be. There has to be some level of interaction with the player. 

Although it’s a growing process of establishing specific guidelines for acceptable content, obscene, pornographic, and hateful material are not allowed and never will be. 

Most importantly, uploaded games (including all components of games, such as audio) must be your original work or work you have permission to upload from the owner. Kongregate has absolutely no tolerance for uploading stolen content. Violators of this policy will automatically receive a one-week ban without warning on the first offense, and a permanent ban on the second.

Once I’ve uploaded a game, how can I edit the information associated with that game? Link to this question

Inside your profile page, you’ll find a list of the games you’ve uploaded beneath your profile information. Clicking the "manage my games" link will bring you to a separate page in which you can edit information for games you’ve uploaded. While you won’t be able to change the title of your game (that title is, after all, part of the game’s URL) or delete your game entirely, you can update anything else, including the description, instructions, tags, etc. You can also upload a new version of the game, or a new icon. 

Because Kongregate links to each game, we don’t allow removing games through user profiles (broken links make us sad). If you’d like us to remove your game manually, please email us at feedback@kongregate.com.

What can cause my game to be hidden from the site or deleted entirely? Link to this question

Games that are deemed obscene, hateful, pornographic, stolen (you must be the creator or one of the creators to upload a game) or not even games will be deleted from the site, and it's very likely that the uploader will be banned permanently.

 Additionally, if games receive an overall rating of 2.0 or less after a certain number of ratings, they will be "hidden" on the site. When a game is hidden, it will not appear in any of the lists (such as latest games or highest rated games). Hidden games are still on the site, however, and they can be reached manually by going directly to the URL, running a search for them, or following a link through someone's profile (as either a favorite or as an uploaded game in the developer's profile). Games also need a minimum rating of 3.5 to show up at all in the "highest rated" games list or on the front page under a specific category.

I just uploaded my game and the rating is "under judgment." What does that mean? Link to this question

When a new game is uploaded its rating is not displayed until it has a minimum number of ratings. This ensures that the early raters make an independent decision.

What is this mass message feature? Link to this question

If your game has this enabled and has a high enough rating, you will be able to send a mass message to all active and/or inactive players of your game. You are limited to one message per week, so please send wisely! Messages are approved by our staff team, and we ask that you do not link our members to external websites.

How do sponsorships work? Link to this question

When a Flash game is sponsored, the developer will typically insert a preloader and a "play more games" link back to the sponsoring website. For this, the sponsoring website will pay the developer a flat, agreed-upon amount. Kongregate is always open to considering additional sponsorships; feel free to email us at sponsor@kongregate.com about your game.

What are the terms of Kongregate's sponsorships, specifically? Link to this question

Kongregate offers some of the most developer-friendly sponsorship terms on the web. Kongregate allows its sponsored games to sell site-locked licensed versions on other websites, in which the Kongregate branding is removed. Kongregate-sponsored games also receive 15% additional ad revenue from Kongregate. You can read our full sponsorship terms here.

I submitted my game to be sponsored, but I never got a reply! Link to this question

Due to the volume of emails we receive regarding sponsorships for games, it's unfortunately impossible for us to reply to every single one. If you don't hear back within a week, you may consider looking elsewhere for a sponsorship. You also might consider uploading your game to Flash Game License, where it can be viewed and bid upon by many Flash portals, including Kongregate.

Can I upload my games if they have been sponsored by other websites? Link to this question

Of course. They're also fully eligible for our current contests as well as ad revenue share. However, it should be clear to the player that any outbound links are going to a different site.

How can I earn advertising revenue for my game? Link to this question

Once you’ve uploaded a game, you’ll be prompted to provide a bit of information required for our revenue share program. If you don’t fill out this form immediately or you wish to change the information you entered originally, you can go back to the form at any time through your account profile.

If you choose not to fill out this form, your game will still generate ad revenue, and we’ll still keep track of your share. However, we can’t mail a check until we know where to send it, so you’ll need to fill out the required information before we can send anything out.

How much ad revenue does Kongregate share? Link to this question

Kongregate shares between 25% and 50% of ad revenue generated by games with their respective developers.

The specific percentages of ad revenue share are subject to change. However, Kongregate will honor whatever percentage your game held at the time of upload if we decide to change our share percentages later.

Determining my percentage Link to this question



By default, all developers receive 25% of the ad revenue generated from their games. This includes all ads within the games and any potential ads on the game page that may be added in the future. Games that integrate Kongregate’s Statistics & Challenges API earn an additional 10%, and games that are offered exclusively on Kongregate’s site earn an additional 15%. Thus, it’s possible for a game to earn 25%, 35%, 40%, or 50% of ad revenue. Note that games sponsored by Kongregate also qualify for this exclusivity bonus, even when they're uploaded elsewhere.

Integrating statistics APIs Link to this question

We currently have a statistics API for AS2 and AS3 and a shared content API for AS3. Our Developer Site has the instructions for implementing the various APIs for your game on Kongregate.

Future Kongregate APIs Link to this question

Once you’ve implemented the APIs that are required for the bonus at the time of upload (currently the Statistics & Challenges API), your game is locked in with the 10% bonus. New games must comply with the current API requirements at the time of upload to be eligible the bonus. The API bonus will be applied when your game reaches 50 score submissions from players.

Exclusivity bonus Link to this question

To qualify for an additional 15% of your game’s ad revenue, the game cannot be hosted on any website beyond Kongregate.com, with the exception of your own personal site. Games sponsored by Kongregate also qualify for this bonus when they're uploaded elsewhere.

Even if you’re receiving an exclusivity bonus from Kongregate, you still hold the complete rights to your game. However, you must modify your account settings and deactivate the exclusivity bonus before you upload your game elsewhere. This can be done in your profile settings.

Getting paid Link to this question

Once your total ad revenue reaches the payment threshold (25.00 USD for Paypal, 100.00 USD for checks, or 1000.00 USD for wire transfers), your account will enter a 30-day verification period at the end of the month. After this period has ended and your account has been cleared of any fraudulent activity, a payment will be sent based on the information you provided. If a monthly pay period ends and your account has less than the threshold, your balance will roll over to the next month. This rollover process will continue until your account reaches the threshold.

Taxes and withholding Link to this question

We require the full name and address for all developers that we pay so that we can determine whether U.S. Tax laws apply. For U.S. Citizens and permanent residents we are required to collect some additional information, including tax status and social security number, equivalent to filling out a W-9 form.

For most developers, we don't do anything with the information. However, if you are a US developer who earns more than $600 in a calendar year we will send out a 1099 with your earnings to you and the IRS no later than January 30th of the next calendar year.

More about withholding: Ad and kred revenue share income generated on Kongregate by non-U.S. persons and non-resident aliens is subject to taxation under U.S. law as royalty income. This is due to the fact that our servers are based in the U.S. so the revenue is considered to be U.S. income. U.S. developers do not have withholding, but may have to pay taxes after the fact.

For non-U.S. persons the withholding differs from country to country based on tax treaty. By default we are required to withhold 30%, but where tax treaties are in place (and we have a fully completed W-8BEN, filled out through your Kongregate account) the rates are generally lower, 10% or less, and for citizens of many countries we are not required to withhold taxes at all. You can view a list of the countries with which the U.S. has standing tax treaties, as well as the full text of those treaties, here.

Contest winnings are also subject to withholding as "Other Income", also depending on current treaties and tax law.

If you believe that we are withholding the wrong amount or you have any other questions concerning U.S. tax withholding, you can email developer_support@kongregate.com and we’ll do our best to answer your questions. We will not be able to give you specific tax advice, however, so your best resource for figuring out how to file returns, for example, is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

For more information about taxation of foreign persons by the U.S. we have a dedicated FAQ on international tax issues that goes into more depth on withholding, W-8BENs, and getting a U.S. tax id

How would you guys feel if I ran a few bots for my games? More cash for everyone, right? Link to this question

If your game’s views and click-through rates are fraudulently inflated through botting, regardless of whether you’re responsible, you will not receive any revenue from actions that can be attributed to botting, as this revenue will be credited back to advertisers. If we suspect that you’re responsible for this botting, we will exercise our right to remove your game and ban your account from Kongregate.

My game is lagging a lot when I try to play. Link to this question

You may have too much running on your computer. Try closing any unneeded programs as well as extra tabs in your browser. It may also help to restart your browser, or even try a different one.

Additionally, some games (such as Cell Warfare) write a lot of data to your computer for saving your game. You may need to increase the amount that you allow Flash to save. You can do this by right-clicking on the game and clicking on "Settings…", then selecting the storage tab (it looks like a folder) and setting it to Unlimited.

My keys are sticking or not responding in the game I’m playing. Link to this question

This is a problem that has been observed in Internet Explorer 8. If you’re seeing it in other browsers, please use the Contact Us link in the Help menu at the top of the page to send in a non-game bug report to us so we can look into it.

If you are using IE8, we’re working on trying to get a fix for it, but until then you have a few options. The simplest is to use another browser. Firefox and Chrome are both good alternatives that don’t have the sticking problems with our application. If you must use IE8, one of our users (thank you bbiernat!) found a solution for the problem. You can read about it here in our tech support forum.

I can’t see the box to type messages into chat with, or my game is zoomed in/out too much. Link to this question

This is a problem that arises from the zoom feature of Firefox 3. Fortunately, it has a very easy fix. Just hold down Control (or Command if you’re in OSX) and press the + and - keys (or roll your mouse scroll wheel) until the zoom changes so that you can see the chat box. You can also click on "View" in the top menu and then select "Zoom" and then "Reset".

Additionally, this could be a problem with the zoom feature in Flash itself. Try right-clicking on the game and then select "Show All" from the menu that appears. This should reset the zoom level for Flash.

My game saves are missing! Help! Link to this question

Game saves are stored as local files (called local shared objects or .sol files) on your computer. They’re kind of like cookies only they’re specific to Flash. This means that game saves are only stored on a particular computer, so if you change computers you won’t have access to them. Traditionally, things like clearing your cookies and clearing your browser cache shouldn’t delete them but if you’re using Adobe Flash Player 10.3, clearing your cookies may also clear out your .sol files. In addition to this, some software is designed to remove temporary files for security reasons and may delete your .sol files, and browsers may be set to automatically clear cookies for similar reasons. Please check the settings on your browser or security software to ensure this is not the case.

Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do if you lose your files. We don’t store them on our servers so sadly we can’t help you with them. If you were playing on another computer you may be able to find the .sol files and transfer them over, though it can be complex to find them and make sure they go in the correct folders (this thread may help). You also may want to check that you’re logged in as the correct user on your computer since .sol files are specific to whomever is logged in at that time.

How to create a screenshot Link to this question

If you’re on a Windows PC, you can take a screenshot by pressing the Print Screen key. The label for this key is often abbreviated as "prt scr" or something similar, and the key should be located on the upper right area of your keyboard, to the right of the F-keys. The key will copy an image of your screen to your clipboard, which you can then paste into any image editing program (like MS Paint) by opening the program and then either going to Edit > Paste or by pressing ctrl+v. You can then save the image to your computer.

If you’re on a Mac, you can take a screenshot by pressing Command+Shift+3. This will save an image of your screen to a file on your desktop.

Screenshots submitted to Kongregate must be saved using the JPG, GIF or PNG format, and can not exceed 2MB in size.