A word about reviews and ethics

There has been much discussion over the recent Federal Trade Commission's so-called "crackdown" over paid endorsements of products in blogs and similar online sources, such as Examiner pages. There has also been some controversy as to what constitutes a review, and whether a genuine review of a roleplaying game product must include actual play. To clarify these things for you, the reader, I have composed the following blurb, which I will append to all reviews written in my role as the Phoenix RPG Examiner going forward. This is not an attempt to appease any group or groups, but simple statement of my personal ethics regarding reviews.

Statement of Review Ethics

Berin Kinsman brings over 30 years of experience in playing, running, and writing tabletop roleplaying games into the equation when writing reviews. Unless otherwise noted, all reviews are based on a reading of the book and not actual play. Games are evaluated on presentation, including quality of writing, artwork and graphic design, setting material, player character options, and the level enthusiasm to play them that is generated by that presentation. It is safe to assume that all games have been provided by the publisher, author, or other party associated with the game for review in return for promotional consideration. Not every game provided for this purpose will be reviewed. The source of the game provided for review does not influence the opinion of the reviewer, and each game will be evaluated on its own merits.