BoardGame Archive helps readers choose games and understand how they work. Our editorial standard separates verifiable game information, strategic interpretation and first-hand experience so readers can judge the basis of an article.
Policy updated: September 12, 2026.
What our article labels mean
- Researched game guide: A reference built from identified rulebooks, official FAQs and publisher material. It can include clearly labeled editorial analysis, but does not imply that the writer has played or tested the game.
- Rules or how-to-play guide: An explanation tied to a named edition and official rules. House rules, variants and uncertain interactions are identified separately.
- Strategy guide: Advice with a stated reason, example and tradeoff. A strategic suggestion is not presented as a rule or a guaranteed winning formula.
- Hands-on review: An assessment supported by documented play. It identifies the edition, reviewer, player counts, session coverage and relevant limitations. We do not invent sessions, photographs or testing results.
- Comparison or recommendation: A choice between games using explicit criteria. Recommendations distinguish documented experience from research-based judgments.
Sources, editions and fact checking
Rules are checked against the official rulebook first, then the publisher’s FAQ or errata. We identify the edition, scenario or expansion when it changes the answer. If official sources disagree or leave an interaction unresolved, the article explains that uncertainty rather than presenting a guess as settled law.
Core facts include the designer, first-release year, publisher-listed player count, duration and minimum age. We distinguish the original publisher from a current distributor. Advertised duration is labeled as a publisher estimate; it is not a measured session time unless our own method and observations are supplied.
Complexity and suitability are editorial assessments unless another source and method are named. A recommended player count needs a stated basis. We do not turn an unexplained community rating or a popularity list into evidence of quality or search demand.
The structure readers can expect
A game hub should provide quick facts, edition scope, who it may suit, a concise rules and scoring overview, common mistakes, strategic reasoning, expansion relationships and useful next links. Sources and the date of a substantive source check appear on the page. Supporting articles address a distinct question and link back to the relevant game hub.
We combine overlapping questions when one clear answer serves them. We do not publish near-identical pages for alternate keyword wording. Future or unfinished coverage is not linked as though it already exists.
Evidence for reviews and recommendations
A hands-on review records what was played and by whom. Relevant evidence can include original play photographs, session notes, player-count comparisons and quantified observations with an explained method. A small sample is described as a small sample. We do not claim a “best” player count, measured play time or superior win rate without support.
Reviews explain both advantages and limitations, and connect them to the readers or situations they affect. A researched guide remains labeled as a guide even when it discusses whether a game may suit a particular group.
Editorial assistance
AI tools may assist with research organization, drafting and editing. Assisted text follows the same requirements for source verification, edition accuracy and originality. It must not manufacture personal experience, quotations, statistics, image permissions or reviewer credentials. The published article should help a reader make a decision or resolve a question beyond repeating promotional copy.
Corrections and updates
A substantive update checks the affected facts and links, changes the article where needed and adds a dated correction or edition note for a meaningful factual change. Cosmetic edits do not justify a new “facts checked” date. Unresolved details stay identified until supported by evidence. Corrections can be raised through an available article comment channel; we do not publish an unmonitored contact address.
Commercial relationships
If an article contains affiliate links, sponsored placement or a publisher-provided review copy, the relevant relationship is disclosed clearly on that page. A commercial relationship does not justify an unsupported recommendation or the omission of a material limitation.
Images and accessibility
New images require a recorded source and permission or license basis, or documented original authorship. Publisher-hosted artwork is not automatically free to reuse. Legacy images with incomplete provenance remain recorded internally for review; their presence does not imply that permission has been verified.
Alt text describes what the image communicates in context. Decorative images use empty alt text. Captions must not imply a first-hand play session when an image is a cover or promotional asset.
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