How to find indie games and apps ranked by real players

Why the usual way fails

Store charts reward download volume and ad spend, which favours established studios with marketing budgets. Many directories and review sites sell placement without saying so, so a top spot may just be a paid one. Ranking rules are rarely published, which leaves you guessing why one game sits above another. And voting systems that need a full account often get gamed or ignored, so the numbers stop meaning much. Even honest lists go stale fast, because new indie releases appear every week and nobody updates the old recommendations.

How Valeri helps

Valeri is a directory of indie games and apps that ranks them with a published formula fed by upvotes, reviews and comments from the people using them. An upvote is worth 10 points, a review 12 and a comment 4, plus a rating bonus that grows with the number of reviews, and every listing page shows the numbers behind its score. Developers can buy a labelled advert in the featured band above the board, but not a place on the board or a single point. You can vote and review with an anonymous identity, without an email or a profile.

Step by step

1. Open Valeri and browse the leaderboard, or switch between games and apps.
2. Filter the directory by category or platform, such as mobile or web, and sort by score, rating or newest.
3. Open a listing to read its reviews and see how its score was calculated.
4. Try the game or app from its store link.
5. Come back and upvote, review or comment, so the next person gets a better list.

Tips

• Look past the featured band. Those slots are labelled adverts, and the board below them is the part ordered by players.
• Check New arrivals now and then. Fresh listings start at zero points, so this is where you find games before anyone else has voted.
• Write a review rather than only upvoting. A review counts for more points and tells the next player why a game is worth their time. Reviews are worth 12 points against 10 for an upvote, so they also help good small games climb.
• If you make games yourself, list one for free. There is no fee, no revenue share and no exclusivity, and it is ranked like everything else.

Questions