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Be Ready to Lose Control — Tips for Rating Jam Games

A topic by Ansel Games created Nov 17, 2025 Views: 109 Replies: 4
Viewing posts 1 to 5
Submitted (1 edit)

Since the theme of the game jam is “Take Control,” expect moments where the game intentionally makes you lose control. Most developers didn’t have enough time to polish explanations, UI, and other elements that help players understand the game, so take a moment to understand what the developer intended before giving your final verdict.

Here are simple guidelines you can follow when rating:

1. Don’t rush through ratings.

Some people try to rate as many games as possible, but that usually leads to mistakes and unfair scores. Slow down, play the game properly, and give it a fair chance.

2. Rate others the way you would want your own game rated.
This is the principle I follow: judge a game as if it were yours. No developer wants a dishonest or careless rating.

3. Stay calm even when the game feels chaotic.
This can be difficult, but it ties into the point above. Developers spent time and effort on their entries, so take a breath before giving a harsh rating.

With these in mind, we can keep the rating process fair.

Submitted

Thanks for these rating tips, I think I'd apply them

Submitted

This is of course a great thing to write, but I think most people won't read it anyway and will intentionally give it bad ratings.

Submitted

Thank for Tips, I will definitely apply them

Submitted

100% Agree!

This is some great advice that unfortunatelly will be ignored exactly by the people who usually do it. 

It's really hard to make something interesting that takes some degree of gameplay development when many people just play for 30 seconds and rate.