How we test
Updated 12 September 2026
Every score on this site comes out of the same process. It is not complicated, but it is slow, and that is the point.
Who plays
Two of us play each game on fresh accounts, on a normal live server, without press access or free premium currency. The third person reads both sets of notes and asks awkward questions. Minimum three weeks; longer if the game has a round structure worth seeing to the end.
The four criteria
| Criterion | Weight | What we are asking |
|---|---|---|
| Time respect | 35% | Can you make real progress in a short session? Are the timers pacing or pressure? Does it punish you for a day off? |
| Fairness | 30% | How far does a free player get, and does paying buy convenience or victory? Are prices shown plainly in pounds? |
| Depth | 20% | Is there still something to learn in week three? Do alliances or guilds create real social play? |
| Polish | 15% | Does it load fast, run in all four major browsers and stay readable on a laptop screen? |
Each criterion is scored out of ten by both players independently. Where they differ by more than two points we play another week and talk it out. The published number is the weighted average, rounded to one decimal place.
Example: 9.0, 7.5, 9.0 and 7.5 on the four criteria gives (9 × 0.35) + (7.5 × 0.30) + (9 × 0.20) + (7.5 × 0.15) = 8.3. That is how Conflict of Nations got its score this edition.
The paid week
After the free period, one of us spends a fixed £20 the way a typical player would and writes down exactly what it bought and how far it moved the account. That week feeds the Fairness score and the "minus" lines in each review.
Re-tests and removals
Games are re-tested when they change their shop, release a major update, or when readers report something material. A game comes off the list if it breaks any of the entry rules or if its community shrinks to the point where multiplayer no longer works. Scores can go down as well as up.
Independence
Affiliate links are marked with the sponsored attribute in the page code. Scores are fixed before links are added. Publishers have no editorial input. If you think a review has got something wrong, tell us and we will look again.