How we actually test a mobile game

People sometimes ask how long we play before writing. The honest answer is: until we have something real to say, which varies wildly by game.

For a short adventure like Hollow Lantern, we play it to the end. For an open-ended sim or strategy game, we set a minimum of several hours and keep notes in a shared document as we go. Those raw notes are messy and often funnier than the final article.

We test on more than one phone when we can. A game that sings on a flagship can stutter badly on a three-year-old handset, and most players aren't carrying the newest hardware.

The last step is the walk-away test. We stop playing for a day, then ask whether we miss it. That gut reaction tells us more than any checklist.