All five checklists
Every checklist from the course, gathered in order on one page. The boxes are printed marks rather than controls: nothing on this site records what you tick, on paper or on screen.
How to use these lists
The lists are in course order, and each one assumes the step before it has been done. If you are starting here rather than at the beginning of the course, the list will still make sense, but the reasoning behind each line sits in the step it came from, and each heading below links back to it.
Work through one list in a sitting. Most take between fifteen and thirty minutes, except the Step 2 list, which takes longer because looking up a classification and checking a computer's parts are two separate jobs. There is no need to finish all five in a week, and there is nothing to lose by stopping after any of them.
A line you cannot answer is worth more than a line you guess at. If the game's own site does not say what a game sells, or you cannot tell which graphics chip the computer has, mark the line as unknown rather than ticking it. Unknowns collected honestly are the useful output of this exercise; a page of ticks that includes three guesses is not.
If more than one person is involved — a shared computer, a household with a young player — do the lists together rather than on someone's behalf. Several lines ask for an agreement, and an agreement made by one person about another rarely survives contact with a second week.
Printing works from the button above, or from your browser's own print command. The printed version leaves out the menu and the links, keeps the boxes and the headings, and fits the five lists onto a small number of pages. A printed copy beside the computer is easier to work through than a page you scroll.
Finally, the lists are written for the category rather than for one game. Nothing on them names a product, and every line works for any large online game with an account, a client and a shop. If you later move to a different game, these are still the questions to ask.
Step 1 — What these games are, and what they cost
- Write down the name of the game you are considering, and the address of its own website.
- On that website, find out whether an account costs anything to create.
- Find the shop or store section and note which of the four doors it uses: appearance, time, access, chance.
- Note whether anything sold affects the outcome of a match rather than only its appearance.
- Note whether randomised items are sold, and whether the odds are published anywhere.
- Check which platforms the game lists — desktop computer, console, phone — and whether yours is among them.
- Write one sentence in your own words describing what the game actually asks you to do in a match.
- If you could not answer one of these from the game's own site, write down the question and carry it into Step 2 rather than guessing.
Step 2 — Ratings, age guidance and whether your computer can run it
- Search the Australian Classification Board database for the exact title and note the classification and the consumer advice.
- Note separately whether the game has live voice or text chat with other players.
- Write down who will play, and whether anyone playing is under 18.
- Agree and write down the session length, the chat rules and the spending rule for the household.
- Record your operating system and its version.
- Record your processor, memory and graphics chip.
- Record the free disk space on the drive where programs are installed.
- Compare each line against the published minimum and recommended requirements, and mark any line you could not verify.
- Check the download size against your monthly data allowance.
- Check whether the game names a server region near Australia.
Step 3 — The account and the email confirmation
- Decide which mailbox the account will use, and who else can read it.
- Open the game's site by typing the address or using a link you already trust.
- Choose a display name that identifies nothing about you offline.
- Fill in the required fields only, and leave optional fields empty.
- Generate a unique password and store it in a password manager.
- Untick any pre-ticked marketing box you do not want.
- Wait for the confirmation message, check it matches the registration you just made, and follow its confirmation link.
- If nothing arrives, check the junk folder and use the site's own resend function rather than searching for support elsewhere.
- Turn on two-factor authentication and save the recovery codes outside the computer.
- Decide whether the account stays signed in on a shared computer, and tell the household which way it was decided.
- Read the publisher's privacy policy for what is collected, who it is shared with, and where it is stored.
Step 4 — Your first session
- Set the graphics preset to match what Step 2 told you about the computer.
- Find the separate volume control for other players' voices.
- Learn the keys for mute, scoreboard and leaving a match.
- Choose who can reach you in voice chat, and who can reach you in text chat.
- Set the microphone to push-to-talk rather than open transmission.
- Decide how friend requests from strangers will be handled.
- Find the mute, block and report controls before you need them.
- Agree what will be done if something in chat is upsetting, and who will be told.
- Set a finishing time for the first session and put a clock where it can be seen.
- After the session, note whether it ran smoothly and whether the chat settings were right.
Step 5 — Spending, randomised items and staying in control
- Work out what the game's premium currency costs per unit in Australian dollars, at each pack size.
- Convert one thing you are considering back into dollars before deciding on it.
- Check whether the game sells a season pass, how long the season runs, and what happens to unclaimed rewards.
- Check whether randomised items are sold, whether the odds are published, and whether the contents can be bought directly instead.
- Read the title's consumer advice for any note about in-game purchases or simulated gambling.
- Remove saved payment cards from the game, the launcher and the store account.
- Set up a prepaid or gift-card payment method with a known balance, if anything will be spent.
- Check what spending controls your bank or card provider offers in its app.
- Write down an amount and a period, agreed with everyone it applies to.
- Keep receipts and confirmation emails for any purchase.
- Read the card statement at the end of the first month and compare it with the agreed figure.
- Diarise a date a month from now to review the limits, the chat settings and whether the game is still worth the time.
One more time, because it matters
These lists are free to use and nothing on this site asks for anything in return. The course contains paid affiliate links to one game's website, described in full on the Affiliate Disclosure page, and none of these lines changes because of them.