What decides a server's position
- The main list on the homepage and on each game's page shows active servers by the number of counted votes they have this month, highest first, 50 servers per page.
- Only counted votes are added. Attempts that fail our checks are logged but never counted.
- You can also sort by Top Rated (servers with the most reviews from the last three months first, then by average rating), Newest (most recently added first) or Latest Reviews.
- On the homepage, Trending This Week shows the servers with the most counted votes in the last seven days, and game pages have a similar section. Both are refreshed every two hours.
- Listing a server is free, and there are no paid or sponsored places in the lists.
One vote per server every 24 hours
You can vote for as many servers as you like, but for each server only once every 24 hours, counted from your last counted vote for it. A vote is refused if any of these matches a counted vote for the same server in the last 24 hours:
- Your IP address. On IPv6 the whole /64 network block counts as one address, because the last part of an IPv6 address changes often.
- Your browser. A counted vote leaves a cookie in your browser that lasts 24 hours.
- Your device. The vote page works out a fingerprint of your browser and device, so a second vote from the same device through another network or in a private window is refused.
- Your wider network. On IPv6, once two votes for a server have come from the same browser (the same user agent) within the same wider /32 network block in 24 hours, further ones are refused.
What happens when you vote
- On the server's vote page, solve the audio captcha: play the recording of five spoken digits and type them in. You have 20 seconds after the recording ends, and three tries per recording.
- Press Vote. Your browser sends the vote together with the results of the browser checks described below.
- Our server runs its checks. If they pass, the vote is added to the server's total for the month.
- If the server has set a return URL, you are sent to its website so it can give you a vote reward. Otherwise you go back to the server's page.
How votes are checked
These checks block most VPN, proxy and automated votes. No system catches everything, and now and then a real player on a shared, public or mobile network is blocked by mistake.
Your browser
- The vote must be sent by an ordinary browser: with the usual browser headers, a user agent that does not look like a bot, and the address of the page it came from.
- The checks on the vote page must have run: your browser must have sent us its browser check from your IP address in the last hour. If an ad blocker or privacy extension stops our scripts, the vote is refused and the page tells you what to change.
- A behaviour check looks at mouse movement, clicks, scrolling, form use and time on the page. Only a clearly automated pattern blocks a vote.
Your connection
- Header check. We score the request headers and the details Cloudflare adds, such as whether your IP address's country fits your browser's language, and look for signs of proxies and automation tools. A high score blocks the vote.
- Blocklists. Addresses on public abuse and proxy blocklists, including Tor exit nodes, are refused.
- IP reputation services. We ask ProxyCheck.io, iphub.info, ipapi.is, ipdata.co and VPNAPI.io, in that order, whether the address belongs to a VPN, proxy, Tor or hosting network. Once one of them flags it, the rest are skipped. ProxyRadar.io and AbuseIPDB are built in but switched off for votes.
- Hardware and connection tests. A short test in your browser spots virtual machines, and the way your browser loaded the page (the HTTP/2 check) can reveal a proxy in between.
Your device
- Besides the 24-hour device check above, a device that shows up on many IP addresses or in several countries within 24 hours has its votes refused.
Recorded, but not used to refuse votes
Some tests are only recorded for now, so that we can measure them before relying on them. The main one is a WebRTC test that compares the public IP address your browser reports through Google's STUN server with the address your vote came from; the audio, battery and screen details collected with it are recorded too. The privacy policy lists everything the vote page collects.
When a vote is refused
- You see a message that explains the reason in general terms. The attempt is logged and shows up, with its reason, on the server's public vote analytics page.
- Some refusals also ban your IP address: an attempt that looks automated from an address that already has a failed vote on record; a failed connection test from an address that already has a VPN or proxy failure on record; or a device caught switching between many addresses. Three blocked VPN or proxy attempts when registering, or when posting reviews or replies, also lead to a ban.
- A ban blocks voting, reviews, replies, registering and signing in from that address. Bans do not expire on their own.
- If you think you were blocked or banned by mistake, contact us. You need to be signed in; if your address is banned, use another connection, such as mobile data.
The monthly reset
At midnight at the start of the first day of every month, Singapore time (UTC+8), every server's vote count goes back to zero, and so do the counts of clicks to servers. The countdown at the top of each page shows how long is left, so the rankings always reflect the current month's votes.
The reset does not delete individual votes: each server's vote analytics and vote history still show earlier ones.
Servers without votes
- If a server gets no counted votes for 7 days, its owner receives a warning email.
- After 14 days without a counted vote, the server is marked inactive and hidden from the lists.
- Its vote page keeps working, and one counted vote puts it back on the list straight away. Owners can also reactivate a hidden server from their dashboard a limited number of times.
Vote rewards
Many servers give players an in-game reward for voting. To do this, the server's owner sets a return URL. After a counted vote we send you to that address with the server's ID, the vote ID, a timestamp, your IP address and a signature, so the server can credit your reward.
- Rewards are given by the server, not by us. If a reward does not arrive, contact the server's staff.
- Only counted votes send you back; a refused vote earns no reward.
- Rewarding votes this way is allowed. Rewarding reviews is not (see the terms).
Server owners can find the details in the Vote Return Guide.
Reviews and ratings
- Who can review: anyone signed in with a player account. Server owner accounts cannot post reviews, and nobody can review a server they own. Reviews and replies go through the same VPN and proxy checks as votes.
- One review per server: a rating from 1 to 5 stars with your text. You can edit it once and you can delete it, but not after the server's owner has replied.
- No approval queue: reviews appear as soon as they are posted. Offensive or off-topic reviews can be removed; if you see one, tell us through the contact form.
- Owner replies: the server's owner can post one public reply to each review, and the reviewer cannot answer it, so reviews do not turn into arguments.
- Ratings: the star rating on a server's page and the Top Rated order count only reviews from the last three months, so they reflect the server as it is now. The server's reviews page lets you look further back.
- No paid reviews: server owners may not reward players for reviews or ratings.
Check it yourself
Every server has a public vote analytics page, linked from its vote page, with its vote attempts from up to the past year: when each came in, a shortened IP address, the country and city, and whether the vote counted or why it was blocked. The Live Activity page shows who is on the site right now and which servers people are voting for.