About

Pocket Verdict started as a group chat where three friends kept arguing about which games were worth the storage space. At some point we figured we should write things down properly instead of forgetting our own opinions a week later. So here we are: a small independent site with no publisher pulling the strings.

Every game we cover gets played on at least two devices — usually one older phone and one newer one — because a game that runs beautifully on a flagship can turn into a slideshow on a three-year-old handset. We watch the frame rate, we watch the battery meter, and we pay attention to how the controls feel after twenty minutes, not just the first two.

We pick titles based on what people are actually installing and what quietly deserves more attention. Trends matter, but so do the odd little games that never get marketing budgets. If something bores us, we say so.

Nobody pays us to write nice things. The reviews are our own reactions, warts and all, and we'd rather lose a reader than fake enthusiasm.

Lena Hofmann — Lena has been reviewing mobile games for over eight years and still keeps a drawer full of old phones for testing. She writes most of the long reads and referees the team's arguments.