How we check
Five checks, fixed weights, published marks
The whole method in one page, with every individual mark for every game.
Every game on the site is judged on the same five checks. Each is marked out of ten, each has a fixed weight, and the overall score is the weighted average, rounded to one decimal place. Nothing else goes into the number: not how popular a game is, not how pretty, and never whether anybody would like us to say something nice about it.
The five checks
| Check | Weight | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| Easy to join | 15% | How quickly a friend who has never played can install it, get into your party and do something useful. |
| Better together | 30% | Whether the game is built around people co-operating or competing as a group, or merely tolerates it. |
| Evening fit | 20% | Session length, drop-in and drop-out, matchmaking speed and what happens when someone has to leave at ten. |
| Plays across systems | 20% | Which platforms it runs on, whether they can play together, and whether progress follows you between them. |
| Fair shop | 15% | What is sold, how clearly it is priced, and whether anyone in the group has to spend to keep up. |
“Better together” carries the most weight because it is the reason the site exists. A brilliant game that happens to allow a second player is not the same as a game that is built around a group.
How a check is played
- At least three evenings, with a real group. Two to six people, depending on what the game supports, on the platforms it runs on. Where it has cross-play, we mix systems on purpose.
- At least one newcomer. Somebody in the group has never opened the game. Their first hour is what the “Easy to join” mark is based on.
- Our own copies and accounts. We buy the game or play the free version like anyone else. We do not accept review codes or early access.
- A written note per check. Each mark comes with a sentence that explains it. You will find those sentences beside the score on every game page.
- Facts checked against the publisher. Platforms, prices, cross-play and ratings are checked against official pages when the check is written and again whenever a game changes.
What the labels mean
- Ready for your group: 8.5 or higher
- Ready, with notes: 7.5 or higher
- Check before inviting: below 7.5
The tick colours follow the same idea for each individual check: green from 8.0, amber from 6.5, grey below that.
Every mark, in one table
| Game | Easy to join | Better together | Evening fit | Plays across systems | Fair shop | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phasmophobia | 8.8 | 9.6 | 9.2 | 8.4 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| Helldivers 2 | 8.4 | 9.6 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 8.8 | 9.0 |
| Among Us | 9.6 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 9.6 | 8.2 | 8.9 |
| Fall Guys | 9.6 | 8.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 7.4 | 8.8 |
| Overwatch | 8.0 | 8.8 | 9.2 | 9.6 | 7.6 | 8.7 |
| Sky: Children of the Light | 8.6 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 9.6 | 8.8 | 8.7 |
| Marvel Rivals | 8.2 | 9.0 | 9.2 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 8.6 |
| Valheim | 7.4 | 9.2 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 10.0 | 8.5 |
| Warframe | 6.4 | 8.6 | 8.8 | 9.8 | 8.4 | 8.5 |
| Final Fantasy XIV | 6.8 | 8.8 | 7.6 | 9.4 | 8.6 | 8.4 |
| Dead by Daylight | 7.2 | 8.6 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 6.8 | 8.3 |
| Stardew Valley | 9.0 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 5.6 | 10.0 | 8.3 |
When scores change
Games are updated; so are checks. A big patch, a change to the shop or a new platform means we play again and revise the relevant marks. Every revision is recorded on what changed, with the old and new numbers.