I score games on a five-point scale. Occasionally I’d rather use a ten point scale (and very rarely a 20 point scale). Ultimately, though, a five-point scale fits best for me most of the time.

I thought long and hard about the best way to describe each point on my scale; however, nothing I could come up with was better than the descriptions provided by Giant Bomb. Here’s my rating scale shamelessly plagiarized borrowed from Giant Bomb with a few adaptions.

5 Stars = Highly recommend. Unless you hate the genre, you’ll probably love this game. Even if you hate the genre, you might want to give this game a chance.

4 Stars = Recommend. Most people will enjoy this game. There are probably several notable flaws, but nothing that should stop you buying the game if it’s something you’re interested in.

3 Stars = It’s okay. If you’re a huge fan of the genre/style/developer/etc then you may enjoy the game. Otherwise, don’t go out of your way to play it.

2 Stars = The game’s problems outweigh its good qualities.

1 Stars = You’d rather stick pins in your eyes than continue to play this game.

0 Stars = Broken in a way that makes the game either partly or completely unplayable.