How long a Casual Play shortlist should stay

We keep four titles because re-checks beat sprawling shelves. Here is the desk method in three steps.

A Casual Play shortlist dies when nobody reopens the store headers. This guide is the routine we use at Cephron Games before we add or drop a mark.

1. Step 1 — Cap the count before you browse

   Decide the maximum before you open Play. Our cap is four. That forces a swap if something new arrives, instead of silent inflation. Write the cap on the tally so the whole desk sees it.

2. Step 2 — Score only published fields

   For each candidate, copy rating, review count, downloads if shown, content rating, monetisation notes, and update date. If downloads are missing — as with Soul Knight on 22 October 2026 — say so. Never pad the card with guessed size or OS lines.

3. Step 3 — Re-check before you expand

   Schedule the next open of every listing already on the shortlist. If you cannot re-check the current four, you do not have capacity for a fifth. Log the date in the check archive so readers see the freshness.

What to expect next

Use the same steps when a friend suggests another Casual Play title. Either it replaces a weaker mark or it waits. More in our listing checks note and on the briefs index.