ratings

Every registered user can rate any game in the BGG database. To do this, find the game and go to that game's Main Page; this is most easily done using the Search option near the top of every page. Near the bottom of the page is a "User Information" section (unless you have changed your game entry layout). It is here that you can rate a game. Click "Record information" in that "User Information" section for the game, and then click the field to the right of "Rating:" - initially it says "N/A".

Every game can be given a rating from 1 to 10. These ratings are entirely subjective but the suggested guidelines are:

• 10 - Outstanding game. A classic. Always want to play and expect this will never change.
• 9 - Excellent game. A near-classic. Always want to play it.
• 8 - Very good game. I like to play it. Probably I'll suggest it and will never turn down a game.
• 7 - Good game, usually willing to play.
• 6 - Fair game, some fun or challenge at least, will play sporadically if in the right mood.
• 5 - Average game, nothing really stands out, take it or leave it.
• 4 - Not so good game, slightly boring, it doesn't get me but could be talked into it on occasion.
• 3 - Below average game. Likely won't play this again although could be convinced.
• 2 - Poor game. Annoying, and I plan never to play this again.
• 1 - Defies description of a game. You won't catch me dead playing this again. Clearly broken.

In the box next to Rating: you can click to type in any number between 1 and 10, including decimals, as your personal User Rating of a game.

A further rating you can give to a game is the Game Play Weight. This is another personal opinion expressing how difficult the game is to play - either because it has long and/or complex rules, requires deep thought to play well or some other factor. "Weight" is not actually defined at BGG so different people have different ideas of what it means. The choices for Game Play Weight Are:

• Light
• Medium Light
• Medium
• Medium Heavy
• Heavy

The Game Play Weight is selected from a Drop Down List.

Once you have made your choices they are saved by clicking on the "Submit" button further down the page.

All recorded Game Play Weights are then averaged to produce a single Game Play Weight that is shown in the "Statistics" section for each game as Avg. Game Weight.

All recorded User Ratings are averaged to produce a single Average Rating shown in a game's "Statistics" section.

The User Ratings are also used to determine the Rank of a game in the BGG database. Only games that have at least 30 User Ratings are eligible for Ranking and to the User Ratings are added a number of "dummy" ratings, which are then used to produce a new average Rating. This is the rating that shows up in BGG searches and the number can, and does, vary from the Average Rating. In effect the "dummy" ratings move a game's average towards the norm of all games on the database - making games with few votes but very high ratings lower ranked than games with many more ratings but a lower Average Rating. (If you want to know more about this process, search on "Bayesian" within BGG.)

Note that the number of "dummy" ratings apparently depends on the total number of ratings. This explains the apparent "paradox" (often asked in the forums, e.g. here) of why game X is higher ranked than game Y overall, but game Y is higher ranked than game X in subdomain Z.