How We Actually Test Mobile Games

People ask how long we play before writing, and the honest answer is: as long as it takes to have a real opinion. For a two-minute mini-game that might be a week of casual sessions. For an RPG it could be dozens of hours.

We test on a spread of devices because performance varies wildly. A game that's smooth on a flagship can stutter badly on a three-year-old budget phone, and that's the phone a lot of readers own. We note which device we used so you can judge for yourself.

We also try to play the way you would, not in some lab vacuum. On trains, during lunch, half-distracted. If a game only shines in perfect conditions, that's worth knowing.

None of this is scientific. It's just people playing games carefully and writing down what they felt. We think that's more useful than a spec sheet anyway.