How the number is made
Last updated 2026-09-01
A score is only useful if you know what went into it. This page is the whole recipe, including the parts that are judgement calls.
Who gets tested
A game qualifies if it runs in a current desktop browser without a required download, can be played in full for free, and contains no real-money gambling. Candidates come from publisher releases, community forums and reader suggestions. We test far more games than we list.
How long we play
Two reviewers register fresh accounts on a live server and play independently for at least three weeks, daily. That is long enough to get past the tutorial honeymoon, sit through at least one live event and see how the game treats a free player once the early boosts stop. The in-game shop is opened and priced; nothing is bought for the review.
Four criteria, fixed weights
Fun is the minute-to-minute feel: do choices matter, is there feedback, would you play without any reward loop? Depth asks whether the game keeps unfolding after week one: economy, tactics, social systems. Fairness is how far a free account gets and what money actually buys; cosmetics and convenience are fine, unreachable power is not. Polish covers performance in a tab, readability, art direction, bugs and how much the UI nags.
From four scores to one
Each reviewer scores every criterion from 1 to 10. The two sets are compared. If any criterion differs by more than two points, the reviewers talk it through until each can explain the other's number; the published score is the average of the two. The total is the weighted mean, rounded to one decimal. Anything under 7.0 is not listed.
Re-tests
Browser games change every few weeks. After a major update, and at least every six months, one reviewer returns for a week and confirms or adjusts. If a game drops below 7.0 at a re-test, it comes off the list; if it climbs, its position moves.
Independence
Publishers cannot buy a score, a listing or an early look. We accept no keys, currency or perks. Affiliate links are added after scores are locked, by someone who did not review that game, and reviewers are not told which games have agreements.
Think a score is wrong?
team@playintab.com