How the ratings work
How We Rate Movie and TV Board Games
Each game page has four ratings: Difficulty, Time to explain, Player experience and a playful Geek Level Required. They’re estimates based on published data, not review scores. Here’s exactly how we calculate them.
Friendly numbers, no report cards.
A rating is more useful when you know how we got it. We start with published numbers, mainly a community complexity score voted on by players and the rulebook length. Then we apply the same fixed rules to every game. You can see the results on any page, such as the Star Wars board games guide.
Stars measure how easy the rules are to learn, not how good the game is.
The four ratings, in plain English
Lore is the film-fan side of the score.
How we calculate each rating
Difficulty
Take the community complexity weight (1 to 5) and round to the nearest 0.5. A weight of 2.3 becomes 2.5 stars.
Time to explain
5 minutes or less earns 1 star. Up to 10 minutes earns 2, up to 20 earns 3, up to 30 earns 4, and more than 30 minutes earns 5.
Player experience
A weight below 1.6 earns 1 star. Below 2.2 earns 2, below 2.8 earns 3, below 3.5 earns 4, and anything higher earns 5. Party games and children's games always get 1 star. Licensed editions of classics like Monopoly or Clue use the classic game's level.
Geek Level Required
Multiply the weight by 1.6, add the lore score from 0 to 3, then round to a whole number and keep the result between 1 and 10. For an imaginary game with a weight of 2.0 and lore score of 2, that's 3.2 plus 2, which rounds to 5.
Chess sets and collector replicas
Replicas use the rating of the original game. Themed chess sets are rated on learning the rules, not mastering chess, so they get 2 stars for difficulty and experience. Both types are marked as collector items.
Two games can be equally hard to learn but reward different amounts of film knowledge. That’s what lore measures. We add it to the complexity score to get the Geek Level. A simple game with deep story ties can score higher than a classic with a new board. The Disney board games page shows the contrast, with classic editions alongside Villainous and Lorcana.
What lore scores from 0 to 3 mean
Lore measures how much a game rewards knowing its source film or show. We score it from 0 to 3 based on the publisher's description and the rules.
0: Theme added to a classic
The original game’s rules, board layout and card structure stay the same. Only the names, art and tokens change. Themed Monopoly and Clue editions are common examples.
1: Names and art
Characters and places appear on parts of the game that matter, such as word lists or extra cards, but knowing the story doesn’t change the rules.
2: Characters and story drive play
Heroes, villains, or factions get abilities from the source, so fans may spot familiar ideas in the rules.
3: Deep lore
A campaign, scene-by-scene adaptation or trivia game built entirely around the source. Knowing the story helps on every turn.
The final number is for fun. The ten labels below range from someone who’s only seen trailers to a fan who edits the wiki, and they work for any film or show. Find your label, then browse the fantasy board games or sci fi board games guides to find a game that fits.
The Geek Level ladder, from 1 to 10
Estimated ratings are labeled, so nothing is hidden.
- 1Casual viewer, only saw trailers
- 2Watched it once on a flight
- 3Knows the main characters
- 4Owns the soundtrack
- 5Quotes the best lines
- 6Has a favorite side character
- 7Can explain the timeline
- 8Argues about the extended cut
- 9Reads the wiki for fun
- 10Deep-lore superfan, wiki editor
What the ratings don’t tell you
Not review scores
A rating shows how hard a game is to learn and how much it draws on the source. It doesn't say if the game is good.
Estimates based on published data
We use community complexity weights, rulebook length, and publisher information. We don't claim to have played the games.
Clearly marked estimates
If a game has no published weight, we estimate based on rulebook length, mechanics, minimum age, and play time, then label the rating as estimated.
Ratings can change
New data, a revised edition or a corrected rulebook count can change a rating, so numbers may shift over time. We last revised this page on 15 October 2026, correcting how some themed classic editions score lore.
Rating questions, answered
Are these review scores?
No. The ratings estimate how hard a game is to learn and how much it rewards fans of the film or show. They don't say if a game is fun or worth buying.
Where does the Difficulty rating come from?
The score comes from a published community complexity weight, rounded to the nearest half star. If there’s no weight, we estimate it using rulebook length, mechanics, minimum age and play time, then label it as estimated.
What is Geek Level Required?
It's a playful number from 1 to 10 that combines complexity and lore. Multiply the weight by 1.6, add the lore score from 0 to 3, then round.
Why does a licensed classic like Monopoly get a low experience rating?
A themed edition plays like the classic, so it gets that game's player experience rating. The lore score shows how much the theme adds.
Why do themed Monopoly editions have a Geek Level of 3?
They use classic Monopoly rules, so the lore score is 0. A weight of about 1.6 times 1.6 is 2.6, which rounds to 3.
Find your place on the ladder before you shop.
