How we score

01The four parts

Calm: how relaxing it is: no pressure, no punishment, nothing that nags.

Charm: art, music and personality: does it make you smile?

Depth: how much there is to discover and how long it stays interesting.

Fair to you: whether it respects your time and money: clear stopping points, honest length, no pushy extras.

02How the parts become one score

Each part is marked from 0 to 5 in tenths. The overall score is the plain average of the four, rounded to one decimal place. No part counts more than another, and there is no hidden bonus for hype, sales or brand.

The label next to a score (for example the top band) only describes the range the score falls in. It is not an award and nothing is won.

03What we never score

We do not score how much money a game makes, how many people stream it, or whether a publisher works with us. We also never mark a game up for encouraging you to play longer than you planned; we mark it down for that.

04When scores change

If a patch, a new edition or a price change makes a real difference, we replay the relevant part, update the score if needed and note the date at the bottom of the review.