Three weeks in the field

Every plate is the result of at least three weeks in the game by two of us, on ordinary accounts we made ourselves, with notes kept as we went. This page is the whole method.

The key

The identification key on the front page is built from the properties that decide most whether you will enjoy a game: whether other players can attack you, whether the world ends, how long a round lasts, and whether the pleasure is in numbers or in a quick fight. Those questions were chosen after the plates were written, not before, so the key routes you to a game we would actually recommend for that answer.

The four criteria

Time 35%

Does the game fit a working week? Can you miss a day? Are timers set for the player or for the shop?

Fairness 30%

What money buys and how loudly it is offered. We score the experience of a player who never pays, and we say where the paying players sit.

Depth 20%

Whether there are real decisions after week two, or only attendance.

Polish 15%

Interface, stability, readability on a laptop and a phone, and whether the game explains itself.

Two observers

We play separately and score separately. Where a criterion differs by more than a point we argue it out and record why; the plate's scores are the average once the argument is settled, and the verdict is the weighted average. Anything under 7.0 is left out of the edition rather than published with a warning.

The classification

Orders and families on the plates are ours, not the publishers'. "Builders" cannot be attacked by other players; "Conquerors" can; "Fighters" fight other players only in a ring, never over territory. The Latin is left out on purpose.

Money

"Open the game" links are affiliate links and may pay us a commission if you sign up. Plates are finished and locked before any link is added. No publisher sees a plate before you do, and we spent only our own money in any game.