Level Up Your Gaming With These 7 Steam Tips And Tricks

Steam is a popular gaming platform with around 120 million monthly active users, according to Finance Online. Steam lets you play PC games alone or with friends and is compatible with third-party consoles. Plus, the games always have sales, so you'll never run out of something fun to play.

If you know where to look, these services offer much more than games and deals. Here are some tips and tricks every Steam user should know to get the most out of the platform

Share your library with friends

If you have a huge game library through Steam, you can share it with friends and family You can select up to five users to access and use your library on 10 authorized devices.

Open the Steam app and click on Steam in the top left corner of the screen. Select Settings (Windows) or Preferences (Mac) and select Family from the side menu. Click the box that says Allow library sharing on this computer .

You can revoke access by clicking your username in the top-right corner of the Steam app and selecting Account Details from the drop-down menu. From there, open Family Settings and tap Manage Family Library Sharing . Under Sharing Status, tap Revoke on a device or account you no longer want.

Enable Steam Guard and two-factor authentication

Steam Guard can be used as a useful tool to provide an additional layer of security against unauthorized access. To set it up in a desktop or browser program, click your username in the upper-right corner Click Account Details in the drop-down menu and select Manage Steam Guard under Account Security.

When Steam Guard is active, you can send a code to your phone or email and deauthorize any computer or device other than the one you're currently using that may be storing your login information. Steam recommends that you send your passcode to your phone to act as two-factor authentication.

Set up Family View

Family View can be a useful tool for adults who share accounts with younger users. This feature allows other users in the household to customize which parts of Steam they can access. To get started, log in to the Steam account your child will be using, click the Steam menu in the top left corner and select Settings (Preferences on Mac). Select the Family tab and click Manage Family View.

• Select the protected accounts that can be accessed in Family View, such as "Only games I select" or "All games", as well as online content and social features. Once you are satisfied with your choice, click Next .
• If you select "Only the games I've chosen," Steam will list all your games, and you can click on the individual games you want to protect with a PIN.
• Click Next , check the reset email address and click Next again.
• Create PIN, enter and re-enter and click Next . Steam will send a verification code to your reset email, enter this code when prompted and click Next to complete the process.

To turn off Family View, go back to "Manage Family View" and click "Turn off Family View ."

How to use Shared Remote Play

Steam's Remote Play feature lets you play local multiplayer games with friends and family. One player owns and manages the game and up to four players can join. To find a list of games compatible with Remote Play, open the Steam app, click Categories , and select Remote Play under the Special category.

To start a session, open your game , make sure your friend is logged into Steam from their device, and open the Steam overlay in-game. Find your friends list and right-click the name of the person you want to play with, then click Remote Together . After accepting all your guests you can start the game.

How to create a library group

Steam stores your games in alphabetical order on the left side of the screen, but if you have a large library or want more organization, you can create collections. In the Steam app, click Library and select Collections . Name your group and select Create Group . From there, drag and drop any games you want to include. The group will be saved automatically. These games will be organized by your group name in the left menu instead of a larger alphabetical list

You can define dynamic groups by following the same steps. Dynamic Collections uses filters to create a collection that is constantly updated as you add more games to our library.

Add and play non-Steam games

You can play native non-Steam games on the platform fairly easily. To add non-Steam games to your library, open the Steam app and click Add Game in the bottom left corner of the screen . From there, click Add a non-Steam game .

Steam will open a window listing all the games on your device. Check the boxes next to the games you want to add and click Add Selected Software If you don't see the game you want, browse and click on Steam to expand your search results. Find the program you want and click Open . Make sure the program or game is highlighted in the Add Game window and click Add Selected Program.

You'll then be able to see the games or programs you've added to your library in an alphabetical list on the left side of the screen. When you click on the game, the page will probably have little or no information, since the game is not original to play.

Manage bandwidth

Since Steam uses the Internet to download games, games may take little or no time to launch. But if you have a slow internet connection, downloading games from Steam probably won't sacrifice download speed for anything else. So, if you want to multitask while downloading, you can limit the download speed of Steam.

Click Steam in the top left corner of the app and select Settings ( Preferences on Mac). Click Downloads , then check the box next to Limit Bandwidth From there, you can enter your preferred download speed and click OK . You can change or remove restrictions at any time.

For more information, see CNET's review of the Steam Deck and how to install Steam on a Chromebook .

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