Reviews Policy

My reviews aim to equip you with enough information, analysis and context to decide whether you will find interesting.
I select software for review on the basis of what I feel will interest you.

What I review, and when
I only review software from retail copies, or versions that are identical to a retail copy. I do not review from pre-release "debug code", or alpha or beta versions.
I sometimes review chess-related products and media: for example, books, films, hardware, software.

Review recommendations
I offer a single sentence summary, plus number of recommendation star:
1 Star - Avoid. Waste of time.
2 Stars - Just OK. I wouldn't recommend. They are better alternatives.
Avoid and Just ok: is not so much for software that aren't to my taste as software that have serious flaws in design, technology or concept - flaws that make them impossible to recommend spending your money or time on.
3 Stars - Good. Useful.
4 Stars - Great. Everyone will benefit from this.
Good and Great: are just that. They're the software that I find most interesting, most useful and most universal; the software that I want to bring to your attention.
5 Stars - Extraordinary. Widely appealing, innovative and must-have.
Extraordinary: are the best of the best. They're software that thrill me to the core, that get to the heart of what chess software can and should be.