Check a game
No funding from the platforms we rate. Every score traces to a public, version-controlled rubric. Edited by Johan Sjöstedt.
Established bodies rate the platform; Ludograph rates what's inside it: every experience scored on its own, published only when there is enough information to trust the score.
Most played
Brookhaven 🏡RP
44
Steal a Brainrot
11
Blox Fruits
14
[🐝] Adopt Me!
29Better picks
By the numbers
One game, three steps: what it is, what we found in it, and what we recommend.
Growth (BDS)
37
Risk (RIS)
52
Daily limit
30min
| B1 | CognitiveHow hard the game works problem-solving, planning, spatial reasoning, creativity and memory. A higher score means more of a mental workout.Problem solving, strategy, creativity, memory (the B1 group) | 0.56 | |
| B2 | Social-emotionalWhether play builds teamwork, communication, empathy and ethical reasoning, usually through co-op or community features.Teamwork, communication, empathy, ethical reasoning (the B2 group) | 0.47 | |
| B3 | MotorHand-eye coordination, fine motor control and reaction time, and, in active games, real physical movement.Hand-eye, fine motor, reaction time, physical activity (the B3 group) | 0.35 | |
| R1 | Compulsion-loop designEngagement mechanics that can tip into compulsion: variable rewards, daily streaks, FOMO events and near-miss design. A higher score means more pull to keep playing.Variable rewards, streaks, FOMO, near-miss (the R1 group) | 0.50 | |
| R2 | MonetizationCommercial pressure on the player: pay-to-win advantages, obscured in-game currencies, and designs that target children's spending.Pay-to-win, currency obfuscation, child-targeting (the R2 group) | 0.00 | |
| R3 | Social riskExposure to strangers, toxic competition, and identity or status pressure in the game's social spaces.Stranger interaction, toxicity, identity pressure (the R3 group) | 0.39 | |
For this game, we suggest about 30 minutes of play a day.
Age guidanceE
Why:Risk score is high — significant compulsion or monetisation mechanics.
Every score traces to a public, version-controlled rubric.
See the full rating →Read the full methodology →Download PDF →Reading room
All guides →All essays →Practical guides for parents who play along.
Essay
Across 26 years and 16,960 scored games, the developmental upside barely moved. What changed is a whole category of engineered spending — and when it arrived.
Essay
Blizzard built its name on finished, self-contained masterpieces — Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo. Then it discovered the most profitable thing it could sell wasn't a game but time inside one. Here's how the studio changed, fact-checked — and what Ludograph's scores show happened to the games.
Age Guide
Ten is the age where 'kids' games' start feeling too small and 'teen games' aren't quite right. Here are eight Ludograph-rated games that hit the middle, with scores pulled live from our rubric.
Age Guide
Eight is the age where 'kids' games' start clicking. Here are seven Ludograph-rated picks that meet an eight-year-old where they are, with scores pulled live from our rubric.
Free teaching materials · 8 modules · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eight presentation modules on children and game design. Free to use, share, and adapt.
Ready-to-use sessions for parent meetings, classrooms, and after-school programs: the hooks in games, game economies, Roblox, and the real benefits. In Swedish, with sources, as web pages and downloadable PDFs.
For families
For partners & research
The dataset behind these ratings is licensable: bulk sync and delta feeds keyed to store identifiers across Google Play, Steam, Apple, and Roblox. Researchers can request dataset access.
Common questions
The Ludograph rating is a 0–100 score for every game. It combines a Benefits Development Score (skills the game builds) with a Risk Influence Score (compulsion-loop mechanics, monetization pressure, social risk) into a single number plus a recommended daily play time.
Every game is scored across 50 sub-dimensions from a public rubric: ten cognitive skills, six social-emotional skills, four motor skills on the benefits side, and compulsion-loop, monetization, and social-risk design patterns on the risk side. Read the full methodology for the formulas.
We calculate a daily play-time budget from the combined Benefits and Risk scores, from half an hour for higher-risk games to two hours for high-benefit, low-risk ones. The highest-risk games get no budget at all: we advise against them. The limit reflects how the game is built, not a generic screen-time recommendation.
Methodology
Every game is scored on developmental benefits and design risks across 50 sub-dimensions from a public rubric. The two scores combine into a recommended daily play time, from half an hour to two hours, that reflects how the game is built, not a generic limit. The highest-risk games get no time budget: we advise against them.
Benefits
Benefits cover ten cognitive dimensions (problem solving, spatial awareness, strategic thinking, creativity, and more), six social-emotional dimensions (teamwork, communication, empathy, ethical reasoning), and four motor dimensions, weighted into a Benefits Development Score (BDS)Benefits Development Score: a 0–100 rating combining cognitive, social-emotional, and motor benefits the game offers..
Risks
Risks are scored across compulsion-loop design (variable rewardsRewards given on an unpredictable schedule: sometimes you get a great drop, sometimes nothing. The same mechanic that powers slot machines; it keeps players engaged longer than fixed rewards., streaksMechanics that track consecutive days of play. Skipping a day breaks the streak and forfeits progress, which pressures kids to log in even when they don’t want to., FOMO triggersFear of Missing Out. Limited-time events, seasonal items, or one-off rewards that punish players for not playing right now.), monetization pressure (pay-to-winWhen spending real money gives a meaningful gameplay advantage: better gear, faster progression, or wins that free players can’t match., currency obfuscationUsing in-game currencies (gems, V-Bucks, Robux) instead of dollars, so it’s hard to tell how much something actually costs in real money., child-targeting), and social risk (stranger interaction, toxic competition, identity pressure), combined into a Risk Influence Score (RIS)Risk Influence Score: a 0–100 rating combining compulsion-loop pressure, monetization pressure, and social risk in the game’s design..
Built on a public rubric, version-controlled and free to download.
Benefit dimensions build on established research on the cognitive, motivational, emotional and social benefits of play (Granic, Lobel & Engels, 2014) and child-centred frameworks for well-being in digital play (RITEC; Livingstone & Pothong, 2021).
