The Rating System
We only list Persistent Browser Based Games or PBBG’s. Our PBBG’s are categorized into 2 types: Persistent Browser Role Playing Games (PBRPG’s or RPG PBBG's) sometimes referred to as Browser Based MMORPG’s, and Persistent Browser Strategy Games (PBSG’s or Strat PBBG's) sometimes referred to as “Strats”.
Each list contains a list of the top 10 only with a subset of games that deserve an honorable mention but are not officially ranked. The top ranked games are pulled from a list of 100's of competing PBBG's (361 at the time of this writing).
It is impossible to rate games impartially and no attempt has been made to do so. However, common standards have been defined. For RPG standards, click the RPG tab found above. For Strat standards, click the Strat tab.
Please note that we do not accept the results of votes exclusively because in a polling system, the winner ends up being the game with staff members that promoted the poll most effectively; this is not an accurate portrayal of the games popularity and popularity cannot be used exclusively to determine how good a game might be.
Reviews
Reviews on this site are contributed by site users and are not connected to our rating system. This does not exclude the ability of staff members to contribute their own reviews.
RPG PBBG Standards
The following defines the base standards for how we judge whether or not an RPG PBBG ranks well enough for our list.
- The game must be playable through a browser or browser plugin such as Flash or Java.
- The game must not require any manual downloads. Automatic cache downloads of temporary files such as those found with games that use plugins are okay. Optional downloads such as image pack downloads are okay too. This standard defines the games portability so that it can be enjoyed from public PC's and PC's at work or school.
- The game realm must be persistent.
- The realm should feature a "walkable" world map. A walkable world permits your character to travel using an Interactive Graphical Map (IGP). A game that is traveled by clicking a selection from a list of locations to instantly transport to that location is not walkable.
- The game must offer you one character to manage, not an army or fleet. This does not include parties, pets, or alts. Some exceptions may apply depending on the circumstances. Generally speaking, an army of characters would define the game as a Strat, not an RPG.
- The game must provide a playable free version. The free version must not impose significant penalties on players such as level limits or limitations that would otherwise render the game unenjoyable unless premium services were paid for.
- The game must be a massive multi-player PBBG.
- The game must not be a MUD. There are numerous quality MUD lists already.
Though rare, some of these standards may be overlooked. For example, Kingdom of Loathing does not contain a walkable world map but it's extreme depth and popularity are factors that will help to rank this game well.
The following standards are applied with more leniency. They may not necessarily be required of the game, but they are certainly things that we look for in a good RPG PBBG.
- The game should feature an economy system.
- There should be a character development system to improve the abilities, skills, or attributes of your character.
- PvP, FvF, and GvG are features that will also improve game rankings.
- There should be no occurrences of gross staff misconduct. While this does not represent a game feature, in some cases it may reflect on game-play in ways that affect the enjoyment more so than the game features.
Popularity
Popularity is a rank factor and helps to rule out reviewer bias, but will not eliminate it. Unless a game has made their webstats public, commercial stat services are used to determine the number of unique visitors to a site to get a feel for the games popularity. The stats will not always be accurate but is used in combination with other factors to determine a games rank.
It is important to understand that the popularity of a game may not be an accurate gauge of how fun it is to play. Some developers are great game-makers but lack marketing resources. In other cases the game may be too new. For these reasons, popularity may not always be a factor in determining rank.
Hands on experience
Due to time constraints, we are rarely able to progressive a character to a veteran level in order to learn about all of the game features. Instead, we play the game to get some hands on experience and then talk to the players that have progressed to veteran level to benefit from their insight and experience.
Other factors
Other factors we look for that are largely biased include a clear navigation layout, original content or common content done well. Colors that are easy on the eyes, and games that are not geared towards racism or hate. Content is very important but if a game offers something truly unique when compared to others, it may still get ranked even if it lacks content.
STRAT PBBG Standards
The following defines the base standards for how we judge whether or not a Strat PBBG ranks well enough for our list.
- The game must be playable through a browser or browser plugin such as Flash or Java.
- The game must not require any manual downloads.
- Automatic cache downloads of temporary files such as those found with games that use plugins are okay. Optional downloads such as image pack downloads are okay too. This standard defines the games portability so that it can be enjoyed from public PC's and PC's at work or school.
- The game must be persistent or semi-persistent. (Many Strats reset but retain player obtained stats and skills)
- While this may break from the consistency behind the meaning of PBBG, some Strats have weekly or monthly resets but retain some persistency for the player regardless.
- The game must provide a playable free version.
- The free version must not impose significant penalties on players that would render the game unenjoyable unless premium services were paid for.
- The game must be massive multi-player.
Some of these standards may be overlooked in cases where extreme popularity over-rules them.
Popularity
Popularity is a large factor and helps to rule out reviewer bias, but will not eliminate it. Unless a game has made their webstats public, commercial stat services are used to determine the number of unique visitors to a site to get a feel for the games popularity. The stats will not always be accurate but is used in combination with other factors to determine a games rank.
It is important to understand that the popularity of a game may not be an accurate gauge of how fun it is to play. Some developers are great game-makers but lack marketing resources. In other cases the game may be too new. For these reasons, popularity may not always be a factor in determining rank.
Hands on experience
Due to time constraints, we are rarely able to progressive a character to a veteran level in order to learn about all of the game features. Instead, we play the game to get some hands on experience and then talk to the players that have progressed to veteran level to benefit from their insight and experience.
Other factors
Other factors we look for that are largely biased include a clear navigation layout, original content or common content done well. Colors that are easy on the eyes, and games that are not geared towards racism. Content is very important but if a game offers something truly unique when compared to others, it may still get ranked even if it lacks content, though it will probably not make the gold lists until content is added.
