mrkgnao: If you need a short tutorial about using steamcmd, just let me know.
Pajama: Thank you for the info - and a short tutorial would be most welcome :)
Short tutorial on SteamCMD.
The two most useful commands are:
(a) to download and install a new owned game, or to update an existing owned game:
steamcmd +force_install_dir [PATH_TO_GAME_DIR] +login [STEAM_USER] +app_update [GAME_ID] +quit - the numeric game ID is found on the steam game page URL
- the tool is clever enough not to do anything if the game is already up to date
(b) to claim a free game or demo that does not have an "add to library" button on steam's website
steamcmd +login [STEAM_USER] +app_license_request [LICENSE_ID] +quit - one way of finding the numeric license ID is by right clicking on the "download" button and selecting (in Firefox) "Inspect (Q)", then looking for the number following "steam://install/"