A handy guide to the Steam Summer Sale, and maximizing your savings

Huzzah! The Steam Sale is here and that means your wallet is cowering in fear. But no worries, here at GameZone, we're all about saving money, and giving you the biggest bang for your buck.

We know how tempting it is to scroll through the Daily Deals, Community Votes and even the games all the way on the bottom and start adding them to your cart, salivating over installing them and booting them up, knowing you paid a fraction of the price. But hang on, not every single deal on the Steam Summer Sale is at its lowest, and we have a handy guide to ensure you save a good amount of money, and then use it to buy more games.

This flowchart actually perfectly depicts exactly how you should handle the Steam Sale page:

But I'll make sure to walk you through it. The first thing you need to look at is Daily Deals! This is the most prominent part and the easiest to follow. If you see a game on the Daily Deals sections, and you're interested in the game, BUY IT. Being part of the Daily Deals means it's at the lowest it will be during the Summer Sale.

However!

There is a big exception to the rule here. Games that are part of the same franchise get the same discount as the ones listed under Daily Deals. For example, if Far Cry 3 is listed as a Daily Deal, that means Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon is also listed at its lowest price, though it's not listed there. Another example would be XCOM. If XCOM: Enemy Unknown is discounted as a Daily Deal, that means The Bureau: XCOM Declassified will also be at its lowest possible sale price.

Scrolling down, you'll come across the Flash Sales. These are once again the lowest price you'll see these games at, so if any grab your attention, now is the time to buy them. It's important to note that Flash Sales change three times a day; 10am PT / 1pm ET, 6pm PT / 9pm ET and 2am PT / 5am ET. The last Flash Sale can safely be checked when you wake up in the morning, before the next one starts.

Next up is the Community's Choice. Much like Flash Sales, these also happen multiple times a day, but they rely on the community input to decide which sets of games will be on sale. If a game you want appears in the Community's Choice, it's a safe bet to buy it, as once again, that's the cheapest it will get.

If you keep scrolling, you'll then come across a wall of games on sale, labeled as Top Sellers. This is where you might want to indulge but hang on. If the Top Seller is part of any of the above mentioned sections, it's safe to buy. However, if you see Dark Souls II for example, on sale for 33% Off, but it's not a part of any of the above sections, WAIT. DO NOT BUY. The game will get cheaper.

Hope this handy guide helps save you some money, and maximize your savings.