How Unfound finds and checks games
Making a game is getting easier every year, and more of the best small games now live in a browser tab: a daily puzzle someone built for their friends, a cafe sim made in a weekend jam, a game about the city its developer grew up in. They're free and instant, and almost impossible to find. Unfound exists to find them and send you to the people who made them.
We start from what players share: the top posts on r/WebGames and r/CozyGamers, launch posts on X, and the most-rated games on itch.io. Then someone opens every game and checks it.
What every game has to pass
- Live
- The game loads today. We re-check every listing and show the date on its page.
- Plays in a browser
- No download or install needed. Some games also offer downloads; that's a bonus, not the point.
- Free to play
- Free, or pay-what-you-want with a free option. If a game shows ads, its page says so.
- Original
- No fan games of commercial characters, no ports of commercial games, no ROMs.
- Safe to share
- No adult content, no crypto or play-to-earn, no real-money gambling.
- Good
- Polished enough to recommend to a stranger, and backed by what players say about it.
- Proven
- It clears the Unfound bar, below: real evidence that players love it.
The Unfound bar
Passing the checks isn't enough. Every game on Unfound also has to show that players love it. It must have at least one of these:
4.3+ stars
from at least 20 players on itch.io
20+ upvotes
on a Reddit post about it
1,000+ likes
on Instagram and X posts about it
The bar is the same for every game, from any developer and on any side. Games that pass everything else but haven't won players over yet go on a re-check list, and come back the day they clear it. Every game page says which part of the bar it cleared and links to the evidence.
Why so strict? Because a list is only useful if everything on it is worth your time. We would rather show you 50 games you'll enjoy than 500 you'll close after a minute.
When a game gets a score
A score means an editor has played the whole game. Most listings don't have one yet; they show the facts and what players say instead. When we do score a game, this is what the number means.
| Score | Label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | Essential | A standout. We'd recommend it to almost anyone. |
| 85–89 | Excellent | Exceptional at what it sets out to do, with minor reservations. |
| 80–84 | Great | An easy recommendation for anyone the premise appeals to. |
| 75–79 | Good | Worth playing if it sounds like your thing; has clear rough edges. |
| Below 75 | Worth a look | Interesting or ambitious, but uneven. |
Frequently asked questions
Can developers pay to be featured on Unfound?
No. Unfound has no paid placements, sponsored rankings or pay-to-review. Developers can submit a game, and it goes through the same checks as everything else.
Where do you find the games?
From what players share and upvote: r/WebGames and r/CozyGamers on Reddit, launch posts on X, and the ratings on itch.io. Then every game is opened and checked by hand.
What does it take to be listed on Unfound?
Every game has to be live, free, playable in a browser, original and safe to share, and clear the Unfound bar: rated 4.3 or higher by at least 20 players on itch.io, 20+ upvotes on a Reddit post, or 1,000+ likes on Instagram and X. The bar is the same for every game.
How are lists ranked?
Games with an Unfound score come first, ranked by score. The rest are ranked by player response: itch.io ratings and Reddit upvotes count one each, and a like on X counts a tenth, since it takes one tap. Each game's page links to its ratings and posts so you can check them. Political satire only appears in the homepage's top games when its player response clears a high bar (roughly 50,000 likes), whichever side it's on.
Why don't most games have a score?
Because we only score a game after an editor has played all of it. Until then, a listing tells you the facts, what players say and why we think it's worth your time, without pretending to be a review.
Do you list political satire?
Yes, from any side, labelled as satire, when it passes every check and clears the Unfound bar like any other game. Listing a game isn't an endorsement of its message.
Do you list games made with AI?
Only if they clear the same quality bar as everything else, and the page says what the developer used AI for.
Whose images are these?
Cover images belong to each game's developer and are shown to help you find their game. Every listing links to the developer's own page. If you made a game and want its listing changed, get in touch through the submit page.