Getting the BBCodes (right)

BBCodes are there to make life easier for Grepolis players. They provide a shortcut to player profiles, alliance profiles and city information windows. With a simple click, Grepolis players can access these things when the writer of a message or a post in the forum uses BBCode in his forum posts and his messages. How do I get BBCode? And what more can I do with it?

With many thanks to Grepolis player Australianmonkey90 who collected the data and wrote the original post.

BBCode is important to make life easier for Grepolis players by providing shortcuts in text that can simply be clicked on by the reader. You have to be aware that BBCode doesn't work in thread titles or message subject lines. It only works in the text boxes provided by Grepolis in the alliance forum and the messages.

There are two ways to get BBCodes. One way is to use the icons above the writing box you are writing in (available in messages, forum posts, and notes). This is the one you need for BBCodes to name a single player, alliance or city. 

The other way is to go to a player profile; above the list of the player's cities, you'll find a button BBCode that will allow you to copy the BBCodes of all his cities. In an alliance profile, the BBCode button will allow you to copy all its players' BBCodes. These multiple BBCodes will appear in the form of a list once you send your message, create your post, or save your note.

BBCode for in text use

When you write a text (in a message, in a forum post, or in your notes), the menu bar appears over your text writing box.

1. Shows a helmet and is used for players. Click on it and start writing the player's name in it. When you reach three letters or numbers (space works too), Grepolis starts giving you suggestions in a drop down menu. If you see the player you want, click on his name and his BBCode will be inserted into your text. While you are writing, this looks like this: [player]Australianmonkey90[/player].
2. Shows a banner and is used for alliances. Click on it and start writing the alliance's name in it. When you reach three letters or numbers (space works too), Grepolis starts giving you suggestions in a drop down menu. If you see the alliance you want, click on its name and its BBCode will be inserted into your text. While you are writing, this looks like this: [ally]The Drunken Monks[/ally].
3. Shows a building and is used for cities. Click on it and start writing the city's name in it. When you reach three letters or numbers (space works too), Grepolis starts giving you suggestions in a drop down menu. If you see the city you want, click on its name and its BBCode will be inserted into your text. While you are writing, this looks like this: [town]3407[/town].

Once you send your message (or preview it), create your post, or save your note, it would come up like on the following screen shot. Each of the three can be clicked on; the first gets you to the player profile, the second to the alliance profile, and the third opens the city shortcuts.

You should be using BBCode constantly when messaging and posting in the alliance forum. It saves other players time. It allows them (and you as a recipient) to click on the shortcut and get on with it. When posting for help in a city (you need help defending one of your cities, you need help in attacking an enemy city, you need resources sent to one of your cities, you need a spell cast on one of your cities or on one of the enemy).

BBCode for lists

A player's profile shows all the cities he owns; an alliance's profile shows all their players. Both have a BBCode button above those lists. When you click on this button, a window will open with one or more pages of BBCodes. If you copy and paste the first page into a forum post and publish it, the cities or players will appear in a table form. Each page needs a separate post in the alliance forum as space is limited.

The use of the city list is useful to target all cities of a player and to publish them in a time saving way. I use the players' list from alliances to check who is in other worlds I am playing in and how they are doing there. A player with a 947 points city in one world might suddenly become interesting when he has 140 cities in another one.