Play well
Chat, age, money and time in browser board games
Of these 6 games, 3 can seat you with a stranger and none takes payments. This page collects what CrazyGames and Poki say about chat, children, money and adverts, next to what was seen in the games.
What each game lets a stranger see or say
- Yacht: a chat in every match, with ready-made phrases and a free-text box; CrazyGames' data says it is not moderated. A private match limits it to the friends who have the number.
- Master Chess: no chat box and no emotes. A stranger sees your nickname, which the game invents and lets you edit, and the name of your room, which the form lets you type.
- Ludo Hero: has an Online Mode and a name field. The mode was not opened, so what it shows to other players is not verified.
- Mancala Classic: the computer or a second person at your screen. Online play with a friend needs a CrazyGames account and was not reached.
- Four in a Row and Hearts: Classic: no other people in the game.
Poki's FAQ says most of its games have no chat, and that those with one let players choose from “a set of predefined messages”. CrazyGames leaves chat to each developer. Its rules for game makers require moderation wherever chat exists and add: “The simplest solution is a profanity filter.”
To report something seen in a game or an advert, Poki's FAQ gives an address, [email protected].
Two hosts, two age figures
CrazyGames' terms list who may not use the site, starting with anyone “younger than thirteen (13) years old”. A second line adds anyone below the minimum age of the country they live in. For children it runs a separate site, kids.crazygames.com.
Poki's website rules, in the version served to a connection in Thailand, say: “If you are under the age of 16, this website is not meant for you.” The same page asks readers to check whether an age restriction applies to their location. Lobby Meadow did not read the rules from a British connection, so 16 is not confirmed as the UK figure.
An app-store rating exists for 1 of the 6 games: the Android edition of Master Chess is rated PEGI 3 on Google Play. The other five have no store edition linked from their pages.
For a child under 13, neither portal is the right place by its own rules. CrazyGames and Poki each point to a children's version instead.
Nothing to buy, and adverts around every game
The six games showed nothing to buy. CrazyGames says in its terms that it “does not sell in-game items” itself and passes such purchases to a third party; each of its four games here carries the flag for no purchases.
What the portals sell is space for adverts. A CrazyGames page had 3 slots and a Poki page 2, and Poki states that it offers no paid or ad-free version.
A flag is not a guarantee. English Checkers Free carries the same no-purchases flag on CrazyGames and still puts a bet in gold on every online match, which is why it has no page here.
Chess clocks, a stopwatch and a dice game that waits
Master Chess lets you set the limit before the first move: 1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes a player, or no clock.
Four in a Row shows a stopwatch that counts up and never runs out. Mancala Classic and Hearts: Classic have no clock and wait for your move.
In a private match of Yacht the setting Time Freedom read “No timers, wait until everyone is ready”. The other timer settings were not tried.
Advert breaks may set a rhythm of their own on Poki. The page code of Four in a Row carries timers that read as a first break after 2 minutes of play and one every 3 minutes after that. Poki does not document the numbers, and no break was seen in visits shorter than 2 minutes.
Guests, nicknames and saved progress
All 6 games start as a guest. In Yacht the player panel offers a log-in for a friends list and more avatar looks; without one, the game invents a name such as GenerousAce.
Poki's FAQ says a guest's progress is kept “in your browser cookies” and that private browsing can stop it being saved. CrazyGames showed a banner inviting visitors to log in to save progress.
Ludo Hero has a name field on its first screen and Master Chess shows a nickname you can edit. Neither asks for a real name.