How we review
Every product is scored one category at a time, then the math takes over. On video reviews, Joe and Blaine score separately, on camera, before comparing notes. Written reviews are Blaine's. Either way, the numbers are on the page, so you can check them yourself.
How a score gets made
Step 1
Use it
Books get read cover to cover. Gear goes on the table. Whenever we can, we play it, and every review says which one it got.
Step 2
Sort the notes
Under each category, notes go into four piles: how it works (no judgment), what stands out (unique, and it works), what falls short (unique, and it doesn't), and personal taste.
Step 3
Score each category
Each category gets a whole number from 1 to 20, set by weighing what stands out against what falls short. Taste gets said out loud as taste and never carries a score on its own.
Step 4
Let the math finish
Your final is the average of your categories. On a video review, the table score is the average of both finals. Nobody picks a number by feel.
What we grade
A battle mat doesn't have rules, and a rulebook doesn't survive spilled drinks. So what we grade depends on what the product is. Tap a category to see what it means, or a product type to see those reviews.
Rulebooks and starter sets
Core rulebooks, starter boxes
Adventures and campaigns
One-shots and full adventure paths
None reviewed yet
Setting books and supplements
Lore books, bestiaries, player options, expansions
GM guides and toolkits
GM advice books, random tables
Battle mats and terrain
Mats, tiles, terrain, miniatures
Dice
Dice sets, trays, towers, bags
Accessories and gadgets
Scent machines, ambience gear, table gadgets
Apps and digital tools
VTTs, character apps
None reviewed yet
The categories
Each one is a whole number from 1 to 20, no half points. The examples are the highest and lowest we've actually given.
Adventure
Is the story worth running? Good hooks, and room for players to go off-script.
Nothing scored on this yet.
Layout
Can you find what you need mid-session? Organization, cross-referencing, indexing, and how the book reads.
- Highest
- 20/20 Invincible RPG
- Lowest
- 1/20 Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG Core Rulebook
Look
Does it look good on the table and in front of players?
- Highest
- 20/20 heyTrace Battle Mat
- Lowest
- 10/20 Melee Mats Battle Mat
Prep
How much work does it take to run? Read-aloud and stat blocks where you need them, or a pile of homework?
Nothing scored on this yet.
Quality
Materials and build. Does it survive spilled drinks and being packed in a bag every week?
- Highest
- 20/20 heyTrace Battle Mat
- Lowest
- 8/20 ScentedRealms Scent Engine v1
Rules
Do the mechanics fit the theme and stay out of the way? Can a new player learn them?
- Highest
- 19/20 Cosmere RPG Stormlight Starter Set
- Lowest
- 6/20 Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG Core Rulebook
Setting
Does the world make you want to play in it, and does it give the GM hooks to build on?
- Highest
- 20/20 Pathfinder 2e Review: The Core Rulebook
- Lowest
- 10/20 Twilight Sword RPG
Usability
How easy is it to use during play? Setup, readability, markers, and how well it fits the table.
- Highest
- 20/20 heyTrace Battle Mat
- Lowest
- 1/20 Wand Dice
Usefulness
How often will this actually come off the shelf and help at the table?
- Highest
- 19/20 Tome of Adventure Design
- Lowest
- 8/20 The Oracle Monster Generator
Value
What you get for the price, compared with what else is out there.
- Highest
- 20/20 Lancer RPG
- Lowest
- 2/20 Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG Core Rulebook
How the final score works
Every score is out of 20, like a d20. Each of us scores the categories, and our final is the average of them, rounded to a whole number. That's the whole formula. Here's a rulebook:
Rules 16 + Layout 12 + Setting 18 + Value 10 = 56 ÷ 4 = 14
Skipping a category doesn't hurt a product, because we only average the ones we scored. A battle mat graded on three of its four categories:
Quality 18 + Usability 16 + Value 13 = 47 ÷ 3 = 15.7, which rounds to 16
There are no hidden adjustments. If the math ever lands somewhere our gut disagrees with, that means we're not grading something that matters, and the fix is a better category, out in the open. That's why rulebooks now get a Value score: a game that sells its missing pieces back to you should lose points where you can see it.
Every review shows this math under each reviewer's scores, so you never have to take the final on trust.
The table score and the verdict
When we both score a product, the headline table score is the average of our two finals, rounded to a whole number. When only one of us reviews it, that final is the score. Either way, it reads like an attack roll: the higher it lands, the better it hits.
| Score | Verdict | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Critical hit | Perfect for what it is. |
| 16 to 19 | Hit | Buy it. |
| 11 to 15 | Graze | Good for the right person, with real caveats. |
| 6 to 10 | Miss | Skip it, unless the one thing it does well is what you need. |
| 1 to 5 | Critical fail | Skip it. |
If our finals land 4 or more points apart, the review gets a Split decision badge. We're an unlikely party. Sometimes we don't agree, and you should know when.
One exception: our first review, the Dungeon Crawler Carl Starter Set, came before we settled on this method. Its categories are out of 10 and its finals are the ones we gave on camera. We've left it that way so it matches the video.
Read-through, hands-on or played
Every review is labeled with how we tested it. Played means we ran at least one session with it before scoring. If we haven't played it yet, books are labeled Read-through: we read it cover to cover, so the scores are about the book, not the game at the table. Gear like dice, mats and cards is labeled Hands-on: we've had it in our hands and put it through its paces, but not in a session yet. We won't call something played when it wasn't.
Affiliate links
Some reviews link to DriveThruRPG or Amazon, or use a Kickstarter referral link, and we earn a commission if you buy or pledge through one. Every review with a link like that says so before the first one, and if we joined a referral program after reviewing something, the review says that too. A link has never changed a score, and the formula above doesn't leave room for it to.
Free copies
Everything we've reviewed so far, we paid for. We bought it or backed it ourselves. If a publisher ever sends us something for free, the review will say so at the top, before the score, and it gets graded exactly like everything else.
Review requests
Publishers and makers, we'd love to see what you're working on. Email reviews@unlikelyparty.com with a link and a line about what it is. If it fits one of the product types above, we can grade it.
A few things up front. We review in the order things reach us, around one video a week plus written reviews, so we can't promise coverage or a date. A free copy doesn't buy a good score. It goes through the same categories and the same math as everything we paid for, and if it's a Miss, we'll say so.