Clean exits · 30%
We note the minute at which you first reach a safe place to stop, then check whether leaving at that point loses anything. Short, self-contained levels score well. Timers that punish you for walking away score badly.
Department of method
The audit, line by line
Every game on our list went through the same procedure, written down here so you can check our working. If you disagree with a score, this page tells you exactly which line to argue with.
Procedure
Four stages, never skipped
Paperwork
We read the game's CrazyGames page in full: description, controls, any listed level counts or features. Those claims become the checklist for everything after.
Cold start
Someone who has never played it opens it on the oldest phone in the cupboard and writes down how long it takes to understand what to do.
A week of breaks
Then it is played in real gaps of the working day for at least five days, on at least three devices, with the stopwatch running.
Sign-off
All three of us compare notes, mark the five lines and agree a score. If we cannot agree, the lower mark stands until a replay settles it.
The scorecard in detail
What each of the five lines actually measures
Straight dealing · 25%
Do the features on the game's page exist? Are adverts placed between rounds rather than in the middle of them? Is anything presented as urgent that is not? A game that nags loses points here.
Kit tolerance · 20%
Time to first play on each device, dropped frames we can see, heat and battery drain over twenty minutes, and whether the layout survives a small screen.
Learn-in-a-minute · 15%
We hand the game to a colleague with no explanation. If they are playing properly within sixty seconds, full marks.
Charm · 10%
Art, sound, the small jokes. It is the least scientific line on the card, which is why it carries the least weight.
The red pen
Some things remove a game outright, whatever its score: anything resembling a gaming hall, pressure to pay, requests for personal details just to play, or a page that misdescribes the game.
The bench
Devices and browsers we test on
We deliberately avoid new, fast hardware. Most people take their breaks on whatever is in their pocket or on their desk, and that is usually a few years old.
- Phone: a mid-range Android handset from 2022, running Chrome, plus an iPhone SE running Safari.
- Tablet: a ninth-generation iPad with Safari, passed down from a relative.
- Laptop: a Windows work laptop with Edge and Firefox, always with a dozen other tabs open.
- Desktop: a tower PC in the corner of the studio, Chrome on a 24-inch screen.
Connections are the studio Wi-Fi and, for the commute test, a phone on 4G somewhere between Piccadilly and Victoria.
| Game | Best device | Also fine |
|---|---|---|
| Candy Riddles | Phone | Tablet, laptop |
| Tiny Fishing | Phone | Everything |
| PLINKO! | Desktop | Laptop, tablet |
| Fortune Match | Laptop | Desktop |
| Fruit Party | Tablet | Phone, laptop |
Independence
Who gets a say in the score
Only the three people in the studio. Developers are not shown a score before it is published, and no one can buy a spot on the list or a better mark. Referral fees from some outbound links help keep AJN running, but the scorecard is filled in before anyone looks at whether a link earns anything.
When a game changes, its score can go down as easily as up. The desk log on the front desk notes every move.