PP Plain Pulse
DUTY 00 // ALL SHEETS

All five checklists

Every checklist from the course, gathered here so you can print the lot on paper and work through them with a pen instead of a mouse.

How to use these

The boxes are printed, not interactive. Nothing on this site stores what you have ticked, because the site stores nothing about you at all. That is deliberate: a list you have marked with a pen is one you can leave next to the computer, and a list stored in a browser is one that disappears the next time somebody clears it.

Work through them in order the first time. Checklist 1 produces a sheet of your own — a few sentences about what you want from a game and what you are prepared to spend — and Checklists 3 and 5 both refer back to it. If you skip the first list, the later ones have nothing to compare against and become much less useful.

After the first pass, the lists stop being sequential and become reference material. Checklist 2 is the one to repeat whenever you are considering a different game or a different computer. Checklist 3 is the one to repeat whenever a publisher tells you the terms have changed. Checklist 4 applies to every new account you ever make, not only to games. Checklist 5 is the only one with a schedule attached, and its quarterly section is the part most worth keeping where you will see it.

None of the items requires you to spend money, and none requires any software beyond what came with your computer and a password manager, which has capable free versions. If an item cannot be completed — because the information is not published, or a control does not exist — write that down too. A published gap is a finding in itself, and it is the kind of thing worth knowing before an account exists rather than afterwards.

Each heading links back to the step that explains why the item is on the list. If a line looks arbitrary, the explanation is one click away, and the explanation is usually the part that makes the item stick.

Checklist 01 // from Step 1

Deciding what you are looking for

  • Write down, in one sentence, how long a typical session would be for you on a normal weeknight.
  • Write down whether a recurring monthly charge is something you would consider, or a firm no.
  • Write down whether you mind spending many hours earning new equipment, or would rather that happened quickly.
  • Decide, now, the maximum amount in AUD you would be willing to spend in a year on a game you have not played yet. Writing "zero" is a complete answer.
  • Name the three revenue sources — cosmetics, convenience and progression, randomised items.
  • Check whether anyone else in the household will use the same computer, and when.
  • Decide whether a person under 18 will be playing. If so, read Step 3 before Step 2.
  • Keep the sheet. Steps 2, 3 and 5 all refer back to it.
Checklist 02 // from Step 2

Your machine and your connection

  • Write down your operating system and its exact version number.
  • Write down the processor make and model.
  • Write down the installed memory in gigabytes.
  • Write down the graphics hardware make and model, including whether it is integrated or a separate card.
  • Write down the free space on the drive you would install to.
  • Open the publisher's own requirements page and compare all five, line by line.
  • Mark each line as above recommended, between minimum and recommended, or below minimum.
  • Find out whether the game has a server region in Oceania or Asia-Pacific, and note the answer.
  • Check whether a wired connection to your router is possible from where the computer sits.
  • Agree with anyone else in the household about large downloads during your playing times.
  • If any line is below minimum, stop rather than installing and hoping.
Checklist 03 // from Step 3

The paperwork

  • Open the publisher's terms of service, privacy policy, code of conduct and support pages.
  • Find and note the clause describing what a purchase actually buys.
  • Find and note the refund process and any time limit.
  • Find and note what conduct can suspend or end the account.
  • Find and note how the publisher may change the game or the terms.
  • Find and note whether randomised paid items exist, and whether probabilities are published.
  • Find and note what personal information is collected and whether it is processed outside Australia.
  • Find and note the process for closing the account and deleting it.
  • Look the title up on the Australian Classification Board's database and read its consumer advice.
  • Read the ACCC's own guidance on consumer guarantees.
  • If anyone under 18 will play: check the publisher's minimum age, the available controls and how payment details are stored.
  • Write your spending limit for the first month on the sheet from Step 1.
Checklist 04 // from Step 4

Account and first sessions

  • Reach the sign-up page by typing the publisher's address, and check the address bar before typing anything.
  • Use an email address kept for games rather than your main personal one.
  • Generate a long password used on no other service, and store it in a password manager.
  • Choose a display name that is not your real name and gives away no personal detail.
  • Read every consent box and tick only the ones required to have an account.
  • Confirm the account through the email the publisher sends.
  • Turn on two-factor authentication, preferring an authenticator app to SMS.
  • Write the recovery codes on paper and store them away from the computer.
  • Leave payment details unsaved.
  • Download the client only from the publisher's site or a platform the publisher names.
  • Decline any extra software offered during installation.
  • Set graphics to a low preset before the first match, then raise it if the game is smooth.
  • Find the mute, block and report controls before your first match.
  • Buy nothing for the first month.
  • After the third session, write one sentence about whether you want to continue.
Checklist 05 // from Step 5

Time, money, people and the exit

  • Write a session start time, an end time, and the days you will not play.
  • Decide in advance what each session ends on, in matches rather than in feelings.
  • Notice whether you are playing to keep a daily streak rather than because you want to.
  • Write an annual spending figure in AUD, even if it is zero, and a date to review it.
  • Work out what one unit of the in-game currency costs in AUD and write the number down.
  • Multiply any recurring premium status by twelve before comparing it to your figure.
  • Record every purchase with its date, in the same place as your sheet.
  • Keep payment details out of the account.
  • Every three months: check two-factor is on, recovery codes exist, no card is stored, no unknown sessions are active.
  • Mute and report rather than argue; escalate serious abuse to the eSafety Commissioner.
  • Refuse all account trading, boosting and third-party currency offers.
  • Treat any link claiming to be from the publisher as unverified, and go to the publisher's site yourself.
  • When you leave: remove payment details, cancel recurring charges at their source, request closure, uninstall the client.
  • Re-read your Step 1 sheet once a year and see whether it is still true of you.
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