Docs / Catalog
Items and kinds
The item record, its known fields, and the kinds of things in the catalog.
An item is anything in the catalog: a game, an expansion, an RPG book, a card set. GET /v1/items/{id-or-slug} returns one in full.
{
"id": "fc0f21c4-…",
"kind": "board_game",
"name": "The Settlers of Catan",
"slug": "the-settlers-of-catan",
"data": {
"year_published": 1995,
"min_players": 3, "max_players": 4,
"min_playtime": 75, "max_playtime": 75,
"min_age": 10,
"website": "https://www.catan.com/",
"short_description": "board game (1995)"
},
"provenance": { "year_published": { "source": "wikidata", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17271" } },
"credits": [{ "role": "designer", "id": "…", "kind": "person", "name": "Klaus Teuber", "slug": "klaus-teuber" }],
"terms": [{ "kind": "mechanic", "name": "Trading", "slug": "trading" }],
"relations": [{ "type": "expansion_of", "direction": "incoming", "id": "…", "kind": "expansion", "name": "Seafarers of Catan", "slug": "seafarers-of-catan" }],
"images": [{ "id": "…", "kind": "box_front", "url": "…", "medium_url": "…", "thumb_url": "…", "license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "attribution": "…" }],
"image_count": 1,
"external_ids": [{ "source": "bgg", "id": "13", "url": "https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13" }],
"created_at": "…",
"updated_at": "…"
}images is filled only for requests with a key or a session (see Photos); image_count is always there. Lists show photos on their first page to everyone.
Slugs are stable and readable; ids are UUIDs. Either works in the URL. If two items are merged, the old id and slug redirect to the survivor.
Fields in data
These are typed and validated. Anything else a source records (box size, component counts, card attributes) is kept as-is, so you may see other keys.
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
description | string | Up to 20,000 characters |
short_description | string | One line, e.g. "card game from 1890s Hungary" |
min_players, max_players | integer | |
min_playtime, max_playtime | integer | Minutes |
min_age | integer | |
year_published | integer | |
alternate_names | string[] | Other titles and translations |
website | URL | |
language | string |
provenance names the source of each field. See History and provenance.
Kinds
| Kind | What it is |
|---|---|
board_game | A board game |
card_game | A card game, including trading card games as a whole |
card_set | One set or expansion of a trading card game; left out of listings unless asked for |
rpg | A tabletop role-playing game (the core rules) |
rpg_supplement | A sourcebook or rules supplement |
rpg_adventure | An adventure or campaign |
miniatures_game | A miniatures wargame |
expansion | An expansion for a game |
edition | One edition or printing of a game; left out of listings unless asked for |
accessory | Sleeves, inserts, playmats, dice |
other | Anything else |
GET /v1/items leaves out edition and card_set items unless you ask for that kind or search by external_id, so a search for a game returns the game, not its forty printings.