How games feel.Measured by bots84 games measured

Kheeladi’s bots played 84 games and measured how each one feels: how far your chances swing, how late the winner is known, how much your choices matter.

Set one game beside another

Each dot is where a game sits among the 84 measured. Point at one for its number.

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See more: 56 published games too

Ludo4 players · about 47 min with botsTeen Patti4 players · about 7 min with bots

SuspenseHow far your chances swing between two moments, before the end.

5111

TwistsHow often the real favourite changes hands, an upset at the end included.

8322

Near missHow much of a chance the eventual losers still had in the last third.

5888

Decided lateThe share of all uncertainty about the result that resolves in the last third.

3899

AgencyHow much your own choice moves your chance, per decision.

2062

Bluff tensionThe gap between what players believe and the truth.

063

Skill paysHow much a stronger player gains, as a share of the gap to always winning.

1971

Each dot is where a game sits among the 84 games measured: further right means more of that feeling than most games. Numbers on the right are those percentiles. Measured by bot simulation: 60 games per measure at the game’s usual player count, between casual players.

What players say

Beside what the bots measure: what people have written about these games in reviews, articles and app stores.

TraditionNostalgia, festivals and family play.

9/105/5

LuckHow much chance decides the result.

8/103/5

InteractionHow much players affect each other.

8/10–

Table talkLaughter, banter and a social occasion.

8/103/5

ControlWhether your own choices shape what happens.

6/10–

LearningHow easy it is to learn and to play with anyone.

6/10–

Each dot is the average leaning of the sources that speak to a feeling, between the words at either end; numbers on the right are how many of the game’s sources do. A feeling shows only when at least three sources mention it. Read from public reviews, articles and app-store pages and scored by AI; this is not a survey.

Sources for Ludo (10)

Ludo (board game), Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
Critical Play: Is this game balanced? mechanicsofmagic.com
Ludo Under Lockdown jgnt.co
Ludo King's Vikash Jaiswal on how Ludo became India's No. 1 lockdown game afaqs.com
Ludo Mania (Nintendo Switch) review ladiesgamers.com
Ludo King Craze Increases During Lockdown blog.gametion.com
How Ludo has endured through the ages (The Week) theweek.in
Pachisi, Sepoys, Cowries: My Grandparents' Tabletop Story museumofmaterialmemory.com
Ludo King, App Store (India storefront) apps.apple.com
COVID-19: Can India's lockdown gaming craze thrive in a post-coronavirus world (Gulf News) gulfnews.com

Sources for Teen Patti (5)

Teen Patti, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
Traditional Diwali Games and Family Activities with a Spiritual Touch (Hindutone) hindutone.com
11 games to add to your Diwali party (Daily O web story) dailyo.in
Teen Patti: how India's favourite card game became a Diwali tradition (Homegrown, 20 Oct 2024) homegrown.co.in
Card games for Diwali (Free Press Journal, 2 June 2019) freepressjournal.in

Show as a table

Measure	Ludo	Teen Patti
Suspense	8.8 points (percentile 51)	5.6 points (percentile 11)
Twists	1.23 per game (percentile 83)	0.55 per game (percentile 22)
Near miss	0.53× a fair chance (percentile 58)	0.77× a fair chance (percentile 88)
Decided late	59% (percentile 38)	96% (percentile 99)
Agency	0.6 points (percentile 20)	2.0 points (percentile 62)
Bluff tension	0.0 points (percentile 0)	5.0 points (percentile 63)
Skill pays	9% (percentile 19)	61% (percentile 71)

What players say (public reviews, articles and app-store pages, read and scored by AI; not a survey)
Feeling	Ludo	Teen Patti
Tradition	nostalgic (+1.4 of ±2, 9 of 10 sources)	nostalgic (+1.4 of ±2, 5 of 5 sources)
Luck	lots of luck (+1.4 of ±2, 8 of 10 sources)	lots of luck (+1.0 of ±2, 3 of 5 sources)
Interaction	interactive (+1.0 of ±2, 8 of 10 sources)	not enough said
Table talk	loud and social (+1.4 of ±2, 8 of 10 sources)	loud and social (+1.0 of ±2, 3 of 5 sources)
Control	your choices matter (+0.7 of ±2, 6 of 10 sources)	not enough said
Learning	easy to learn (+1.2 of ±2, 6 of 10 sources)	not enough said
Tension	tense (+1.0 of ±2, 5 of 10 sources)	not enough said
Fairness	feels unfair (-0.8 of ±2, 4 of 10 sources)	not enough said
Pace	slow (-0.3 of ±2, 3 of 10 sources)	not enough said
Risk	not enough said	push your luck (+1.3 of ±2, 3 of 5 sources)
Replay	one more game (+0.3 of ±2, 3 of 10 sources)	not enough said
Variety	different every time (+0.3 of ±2, 3 of 10 sources)	not enough said

Measured, not felt

Each number comes from 60 games between casual bots at the game’s usual player count. It models a casual table, and says nothing about theme, art or table talk.

Do bots and players agree?

On two things, so far: games players call bluffy show more bluff tension at the bots’ table, and games that run long with bots are the ones players call slow. Of eleven links registered before reading any reviews, the other nine did not hold, so the Atlas is growing towards 2,000 games.

Why a designer cares

When you test a game in KAGS, its fingerprint sits among these. If you want a game that is decided late with comebacks, like UNO, or one where every choice counts, like Onitama, you can see which way your rules push it.