Reviews provided by players are an essential part of StartPlaying. They make it easier for players to find the right GM for them, and provide your GM essential feedback to help them level up!
We want all reviews on StartPlaying to be genuine, informative, and constructive.
StartPlaying Review Submission and Removal Policies
To keep reviews fair for everyone, the following items are not permitted in a review on StartPlaying:
Review Extortion/Manipulation
Reviews on StartPlaying may not be given or held in exchange for refunds, discounts, or a promise not to take a negative action against someone else.
Game Masters may not promise a Player a full refund if they change their review from 1 star to 5 stars.
Players may not withhold a review for the purpose of forcing a desired outcome from their Game Master.
StartPlaying users may not coordinate with, manipulate, or pressure other users to influence a review or exploit the review system.
Violations of StartPlaying Policy
Reviews may not contain content that violates our Terms of Service, Code of Conduct, or Privacy Policy, including but not limited to:
Personal Attacks that cannot be reasonably viewed as Constructive Criticism
Explicit Language or Obscenities
Hate Speech
Implied or Explicit Threats or Intimidation
Personally Identifiable Information
Parts of the Game that are Outside of the Game Master’s Control
Reviews should accurately reflect the experience that the Game Master provided you.
Reviews may not be about parts of your game that the Game Master can not reasonably be expected to control.
If your computer does not have the right specifications to run the Virtual Table Top (VTT) the Game Master has listed for your game, and you experience technical difficulties during your game due to this, your Game Master is not liable for this.
Misinformation About Game Listings
Reviews may not be about issues with games that were correctly disclosed in the game listing.
If a Player leaves a review saying they hated that a game was Play by Post rather than a live game, and it was clearly stated in the listing that the game was Play by Post, then the Game Master is not liable for this.
StartPlaying Website Errors
Reviews should be about your experience with your Game Master, not your experience with the StartPlaying website.
Reviews may not contain content that is specifically about StartPlaying as a website, including but not limited to:
Website Bugs and/or Outages
Feedback on StartPlaying Policy
Manipulating the Marketplace
Reviews may not be used in an attempt to artificially boost your own standing on StartPlaying.
Game Masters may not post biased reviews of themselves using alternative accounts to inflate their own review numbers.
Extraneous Details
Reviews may not focus on the perceived experience of other players at the table. Reviews are meant to reflect your own personal experience.
When will StartPlaying remove a review?
StartPlaying will only remove a review if it violates our Review Policy.
StartPlaying will not remove a review if it follows the Review Policy, even if a Game Master disagrees with the star rating and/or the player’s opinion of a session.
StartPlaying is not in a position to judge the accuracy of a player’s statements regarding subjective things like a GM’s knowledge of rules, combat flow, session quality, or a GM’s communication style. StartPlaying cannot determine how reasonable a player’s feedback is.
Can a player's review be removed?
Yes, but only if it violates the policy above. A review that is honest and reflects a player's genuine experience will not be removed, even if it is negative.
How do I report a review?
If a Game Master believes a review violates the above policy, they can flag the review for StartPlaying to investigate.
To flag a review:
Find the You got a new review! email
Click Flag Review
Select the reason for the report
Attach evidence (up to 10 images)
Click Report
This is the only way to flag a review.
Each review flag is investigated by a member of the StartPlaying team. Review investigations typically take 1-3 business days, but may take longer depending on the nature of the investigation.
Flagging a review is not a guarantee that it will be removed.