how did people find cheat codes in older games?

Question

Older games had stuff like passwords or the konami code, but i dont see how those button combos could be figured out by one player. Im guessing some official strategy guides had them but if the game didnt have one or didnt include them, did they just spread word-of-mouth from that kids uncle who actually does work at nintendo?

In: 16

Answer 1

The game developers would provide them to magazines, or publish them themselves in newsletters. Or share them to bulletin board systems – the 1980s predecessors to social media.