Two Rating Systems But One

So when I rate games on Nerdologists.com, I rate them with a letter grade scale. Then on Board Game Geek, I rate them numerically, since that is BGG’s scale. But I really use both of them as the same thing. I started with my own letter grades simply because that’s how I think of them more so. Lately, I think of grades or ratings on games in both.

So, while my grades might not always seem to align perfectly with the number scale, the two are meant to be the same. Or if there is a larger discrepancy Board Game Geek is more up to date of the two. I don’t go back and change a review article of a game increases or decreases for me.

What Do The Different Letters/Numbers Mean?

10

This generally equates to a game that I give an A+. Or it might be a game with an A rating but is really close to getting an A+.

But what does it mean? Generally these are the games that I love the most, not generally, but specifically. And generally, that means that I want to play them all the time. Now some, like Gloomhaven, I don’t know when or if I’ll come back to it. But that extensive experience that I had with it is that memorable and enjoyable. The same with other campaign games, I want to play them, but once I’m done, I might never come back.

9

This is going to be my A games. Again, these are games that I basically always want to play. I really enjoy them. The main difference between a 9 and a 10is just maybe, how memorable they are. Or how much each play can feel different. 9’s are going to be a bit less epic in my memory of the game.

8

This will be A- and B+’s in my letter grading. And they are a bit lower because I do see some flaw with the game. Not one that will keep me from playing the game, but something that might have me play it less. Or it is a smaller game, as well. Something like Arboretum is an amazing game, but since it’s not as epic as a game like Aeon’s End, for example, it gets a slightly lower grade. This is where a big bulk of the games are going to end up for me.

7

A 7 is going to be a game that is a B or B-. Fun games and one’s that I’d play, but now we’re getting to games that I’d be less likely to pull off the shelf myself. The example of this would be Air, Land and Sea. It is a good two player game where you fight for control in three theaters of war by playing out cards. It is similar to Hanamikoji, which I like a lot better. Hanamikoji is a 10 for me, and I would always pull it off the shelf before Air, Land, and Sea, but Air, Land, and Sea is still a game that I’d play if someone else wanted to.

6

6’s are going to be that C+ to C range when I give out a grade. Generally they are games that I can have fun with, but they aren’t ones that give me the same range of choice of other games, I feel. These are often, for me, gateway style games at this point, but not the really good ones that offer depth and strategy. Again, not a game that I’d say no to playing, but most 6’s leave the collection pretty quickly.

5

Following the scale, this is a C- of a game. Slightly below overage game or just doesn’t work for me for some reason. Often times there is a lot more luck in these games. Or the game is more about the laughs, which has limited replay value as well. The game does what it says but not enough to interest me to continue playing it.

4

With four, I think this often is where I stop wanting to play the game again. Though, there are some fours, for me, that I’ll come back to. This is a D+ game for me. And I think this is the spot, often, where a game promises something but fails to fully deliver on it. So, something like Codenames is a D+ for me, or a 4. Mainly because it promises to be a party game, but isn’t. And I don’t get any additional benefits like feeling clever from it.

3

D rated games go here. 3’s are games that I just find boring to play. Dominion, it might be a great game, but I find it boring to play, and I don’t want to anymore. And I find that there is a limited amount of strategy to the game. If you are good at Dominion, you spot the best combination and build that engine. The game doesn’t offer the variety to do well.

2

This is going to be a D- game. If I rate it a two, I really don’t like the game. It might do one thing, but that one thing isn’t that interesting. Exploding Kittens or Dr. Eureka are two 2’s for me. Exploding Kittens feels derivative and boring. Dr. Eureka is basically a puzzle with a speed element to it and dexterity thrown in. It just feels like a puzzle you give a kid, not a game.

1

These are straight up F’s for me. I don’t think a one is worth playing. Often times a game will get a one because it leans on it being a joke. For example, Exploding Kitten: NSFW Decks. It is just not an interesting thing to take a boring game and pretend that it’s now risqué. Actually adding in NSFW content takes a bad game and makes it worse. Or a game that is boring. Concept, for me, is a game that just adds in boredom. The game drags and it is just players thinking on something that masquerades as a fun social game.

Board Game Ratings Final Thoughts

Now, your ratings on a given game will differ from mine. That is why I try and give ratings for gamers and for casual players. I don’t care how great I think Gloomhaven might be, it won’t work that well for a casual gamer. Even the box, just the size of it, might immediately push them away. I think if they can learn it, it’ll be something they don’t find too complex, but there’s a massive barrier to entry.

And even my estimates for a gamer or a casual player, those are going to vary for each person individual. What I hope by giving a rating is that you can start to figure out how you align with my perspective on games. I want you to see what I like or dislike about a game, but then also have a quicker reference, than just reading a review, to know how you’d compare.

How do you rate board games? Do you do a letter grade, 1-10, 1-5? Do you use decimals, or do you not really have a grading system? Let me know in the comments below.

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What Do My Ratings Mean

The baseline that we should get started with is looking at what the numbers means. Obviously a 10 is the best and a 1 is the worst. However, it is more nuanced than that. I do use the half point scale as well. So right now I have everything from 10’s to 1’s, but no 0.5’s in there.

A 10 is a game that is as close as perfect for me as you can get. And I say for me, some board games are objectively good and some are objectively bad, but when rating games, so much as to do with taste. So a 10 is a game that is as close to perfect for me as you can get.

A 9 is a game that I love, and I’d always want to play it. 8 is a great game for me and I’d likely not say no to playin that game. 7, I like and I’d play, but I won’t seek it out. 6 is a decent game but I probably am not that interested in playing it often. 5 is okay and I’d play it if people want to. 4, I’ll try and recommend another game to play. 3, I don’t want to play it. 2, I actively don’t like the game. 1, I wouldn’t play that game again ever.

The Breakdown

10’s –

I have 12 games that I rate a 10. That is 4% of the games that I’ve played and rated. I’m sure that I’ve missed a few games, but likely not tens. There is also a wide variety of games in there, I have a massive dungeon crawler with Gloomhaven and then I also have a dexterity game with Ice Cool. But 67% of the games really immerse you in the story and world of the game, which I think will be a trend for these high spots.

9.5’s –

21 fall into the 9.5 category, this 7% of the game that I’ve played. We again stick with a lot of story with games like TIME Stories and Arkham Horror: The Card Game. We also get some lighter games like Sushi Go Party and The Lost Expedition and our first party game with Just One in this category.

9’s –

38 games fall into the 9’s, all the way up at 13%. I wonder if this might be one of the higher percentile groups out there. This is where we start to hit a lot of roll and writes with games like Clever Hoch Drei, Doppelt so Clever, and more. We also get a lot of games that aren’t as story driven anymore. More games like Letter Jam and Super Fantasy Brawl that give you more of a classic board game experience. We also get A Gentle Rain in this section.

8.5’s –

16 out of 283 are rated as 8.5’s. That is about 6% of my rated games. The trend holds pretty steady from the 9’s with a lot more of the classic board game experience. Another party game with Wits & Wagers makes the list. And we have a new game that I just played recently a few times with Merchant’s Cove.

8’s –

We likely have it the big number here, 50 games that are 8’s, which is 18% of my collection. So as you add up the percentages, keep in mind I am rounding up or down so it might not equal 100% in the end. But I feel like in the 8’s we get a number of games that are in that lighter category, more filler games. Things like Skull and Fruit Picking are easier to play and teach than a lot games earlier.

7.5’s –

At 20 games in the 7.5’s, we are at 7% of the collection again. While other sections have had games that were previously owned, with the 7’5’s, I definitely noticed a few more. Machi Koro, Winter Tale, Krosmaster: Arena and at least one more were in my collection and have left. It’s not because they are bad games, but I have other games that do it better. And with Krosmaster: Arena, I got rid of that before Super Fantasy Brawl, but I just didn’t have anyone to play it with.

7’s –

Sitting at 12% with 34 games out of 283, we again see a number of previously owned games. But we also see games that I grew up playing. Set, Dutch Blitz, and Scrabble all make it into this category as well as the party game Scattergories. I obviously have some level of nostalgia with these games, but at the same time, I’d still play them again right now.

6.5’s –

13 games in this number, for 5%. I think this is where we’ll start to see the numbers dropping off in terms of number of games rated in the area. It is also a lot of games that I don’t own but have played in this area. I guess that means that I buy games that I like a lot. Donner Dinner Party and Flapjacks and Sasquatches are two that I’d definitely play again, but I have games that I like better that do something similar, especially with Donner Dinner Party.

6’s –

A tick up here with 24 games which is 8%. Most of the time the whole numbers seem to have more than a half numbers ,I guess. I own a few games in this section, though some of that is nostalgia, or with a game like Splendor, it’s because I know other people who like it a lot. I probably won’t ever pull Splendor off the shelf to play myself, but I know my wife likes it, so I won’t remove it from the collection.

5.5’s –

5 games make up the 5.5’s which is just barely 2%. We are reaching the social deduction game area, I feel in the 5.5’s, and 5’s. Where I would play them again, but I won’t seek them out. They tend to be the very simple social deduction games like Secret Hitler, While that game does have a little double blind fun going on with it, the theme doesn’t interest me, and it’s just a fine game.

5’s –

Down in the 5’s we have 21 games at a whopping 7% again. Again more social deduction games like The Resistance and One Night Ultimate Vampire. These two really do what I don’t like about a lot of social deduction games, they don’t give you anything go on right away or in general much to go on at all. We also have all of Red Dragon Inn, a fun game but often is played with too many people. I think 4 is about my max for that game, maybe 5.

4.5’s –

1 out of 283 which is 0% for those keeping track at home. And it’s Seafall. I feel like it’s fair that Seafall falls into this spot by itself. It is a game that I want to like more, it is a game I can see the potential of it. It just ends up being a flop. The story doesn’t play out as it should, it is a just a bit too random, and the games are way too long. And the more you play the longer the games get. Yet, it’s just on that cusp of I’d play it again without an AP players.

4’s –

9 games or 3% of what I’ve played. This is where we get into a lot more of a mass market or mass market adjacent games. Not that there haven’t been some before, but we have stuff like Guesstures, Forbidden Island and Dominion. Yes, I have Dominion as a 4. It is a game that I’d play if you twisted my arm, but it is also a game that if you know the game extremely well you will win, and it’s not interesting enough for me to know it that well.

3’s –

You might be wondering where my 3.5’s are, the answer is there were none. Instead we have 10 3’s. That is 4% of what I’ve played. Again a lot of mass market games, and a lot of games I grew up with. This goes back to growing as a gamer, stuff like Malarky and Pit had their place getting me into the hobby, but I don’t need to go back to them.

2’s –

3 games or 1%. Monopoly falls into this group. It isn’t the worst of the worst, but it is very bad. Another super popular or at least well sold game, Exploding Kittens lands here as well.

1’s –

Finally, I have 5 1’s, or 2%. I really don’t like these games, and most people won’t like most of them. The two that will probably surprise people are Cards Against Humanity and Concept. Cards Against Humanity at one point in time I would have rated higher, but now I consider it a worse version of Apples to Apples because the jokes are created for you and often not funny. Concept is one that I know a lot of people like. It just didn’t work for me. It has this group feel to the game, but ends up just being boring.

Alright, there we have it, all the games in my collection rated. What do you think should be rated better? Or what do you think that I should rate lower?

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