1Which games reach the shelf
Digital editions of board games and video games built around boards, cards and tiles that players in the UK can start today on at least one mainstream console, computer or phone. We mix family games, puzzles, strategy and darker stories for adults, games for one and games for a group, and we favour games that sell nothing once you are playing.
2How we play them
Over many evenings, alone and with others where the game allows. We look through any shop and expansion, try the chat and report tools, set up the family controls, check the comfort and accessibility options and time ordinary games before we write a word.
3What a score weighs
- Play: rules, depth, fairness and how it feels to improve.
- World: art, sound and whether the table is worth sitting at for an evening.
- Company: how well it works alone, with a partner or with a group.
- Packing away: clear game ends, sensible playing times and how hard the game pulls you back.
4From score to hex tokens
One editorial score out of five, in tenths, laid out as five hex tokens: whole points fill whole tokens and the last fills by the fraction. The score also sets a band:
- Table classic (from 4.6): Among the best games we have played: it earns a permanent place on almost anyone's shelf who likes the genre.
- Shelf favourite (from 4.3): Excellent, with a rough edge or two that the review spells out.
- Worth a game night (from 4.0): Very good for the right table; the review says who that is.
- Niche pick (below 4.0): Uneven in places, but worth an evening if the genre is yours.
5Energy
Energy describes how a game feels to play, never how good it is:
- Relaxed: unhurried; nothing chases you.
- Thinky: steady, and it asks you to plan several turns ahead.
- Lively: quick decisions and plenty happening at once.
6Players, playing time and the game end
Players are the numbers the game supports, alone, at one screen or online. Playing time is the length we timed for an ordinary game, a chapter or a run. The game end is the natural moment to put the game down, usually where it saves. None of this changes a score; all of it helps plan an evening.
7Breaks
The house-rules card adds a break every 30 minutes to any game longer than half an hour: stand up, look into the distance and drink some water. The board itself carries rest spaces between games for the same reason.
8Comfort notes
Flashing light, motion, volume, hand strain and long sessions matter in every genre. Each review notes what we found and which settings help. Always read a game’s own health and safety warnings too.
9Where the facts come from
Platforms, chat options, accounts, expansions and costs come from our own play and are checked against each game’s official pages, which remain the reference for prices and age ratings.
10What we never do
No paid placements, no sponsored scores, no invented facts and no reviews written from trailers or press releases.