Reviews are an essential part of the professional GM process. They let future players learn more about your brand, your GMing style, and the quality of your customer service. But, how do you get reviews? 👀
Do I need reviews to get started on StartPlaying?
The final step in the “GM Onboarding” is to receive 5 reviews on your account. If you don't have any reviews yet, that's OK! 😁 You can still create adventures, schedule them, and be booked by players.
If you do not have 5 Reviews, then you will not be listed in the GM Search. But, your games will still appear on the “Find Games Page.”
How do I get 5 reviews if I haven't run any games on the site?
Don't worry, we know that when you're just starting out on StartPlaying all your players will have come from games off the site.
If you do not have any reviews on StartPlaying, you can share your review link with your past players (even if they're not from games on StartPlaying!) so they can leave a review for you 😁
How do I find my review link?
1. Click on the Game Master Navigation Button (shaped like a book) at the top right of the Home Page.
2. Click on Profile
3. Copy the link under "Getting Reviews as a Game Master"
Do past players need an account to leave a review?
Yes, for past players to leave you a review on StartPlaying, they need to make an account on StartPlaying first! 👍
How do players in my games on StartPlaying leave me a review?
Players in games on StartPlaying can also use your review link, but they also have 2 additional options to leave reviews for their GM:
They can leave a review using the "Leave Review" button in their Adventure information.
They can also use the link listed in the bottom of the "Charge Successful" email they get once their card is charged for a session.
Both options are laid out in more detail in this FAQ article 😁
What are the 2 types of reviews on StartPlaying?
You might notice that some reviews have a blue check mark under them, as well as a number of how many sessions the reviewer has played with the GM. These are Verified reviews.
Verified reviews (with a check mark) come from a paying player of a past session on StartPlaying.
Verified reviews will update with how many paid sessions the player currently has played with the GM. So even if they review after session 1, the verified review will show 14, 32, or however many paid sessions you've played together on StartPlaying. A session counts as a paid session if the player has been charged $5 or more for a session, or sent the GM $5 or more as a custom payment/tip.
Unverified reviews come from free sessions, or reviews obtained through review links.
Unverified Reviews won't show how many sessions the reviewer has played with the GM, but the review text still shows up in full. So even if they don't have a check mark, Unverified reviews still help other players learn about the GMs and GMs have a more robust profile.