All checklists, in printable form

Every checklist from the five steps is gathered here in order. The page is laid out to print on white paper with the menu and footer links removed, so a single print gives you five lists on a couple of sheets you can keep next to the computer.

How to use these lists

The boxes are printed, not interactive. Nothing on this site remembers a tick, because the site stores nothing in your browser at all — no cookies, no saved progress, no account. If you want a record, print the page and use a pen, which also means your notes stay with you rather than with a website.

The lists are written to be worked through in order, and most of them are clerical rather than difficult. Checklist 1 is about the words and the decisions; it takes fifteen minutes and can be done before you look at any particular game. Checklist 2 is the one that saves the most time, because it either confirms your computer fits or tells you to stop, and both answers are useful. Checklists 3 and 4 are done at the computer, in the half hour before and the first hour after a game is installed. Checklist 5 is the one to do with the household rather than alone, and it is the only one with a review date attached.

Three habits make the lists work better. Write your own figures down rather than keeping them in your head, because the comparison in Checklist 2 needs two columns and your memory only holds one. Do an item fully or leave it unticked — a half-checked data allowance is the same as an unchecked one. And treat a "no" as an answer rather than an obstacle: a computer that does not fit, or a household that decides against the whole thing, has used the course correctly.

If an item sends you back to a step, each list below links to the step it came from, and each step explains why that item is on the list. Nothing here expires, and there is no order in which you must finish.

Checklist 1 — Understanding the offer

FROM STEP 1

• Write down, in one sentence, what you expect the game to cost you in the first month.
• Find the game's own page and read its description of the game — not a third party's summary of it.
• Check whether the page says anything about purchases inside the game, and note which of the four mechanisms it mentions.
• Check which operating systems the vendor lists. If yours is not listed, stop here; that is a complete answer.
• Note whether a separate launcher or an account on another platform is required.
• Decide, before installing, how many evenings a week you want to give it.
• Decide whether your answer to the spending question is "nothing", "a set amount" or "not decided yet".
• If anyone under 18 will use the account, note that and read Step 5 before Step 2.

Checklist 2 — Does your computer fit

FROM STEP 2

• Read the vendor's platform line and confirm your operating system is on it.
• Note your operating system version, not just its name.
• Write down your processor exactly as your system information shows it.
• Write down your installed memory in gigabytes.
• Write down your graphics device, and on Linux the driver in use.
• Write down the free space on the drive you would install to.
• Compare each row against the vendor's minimum column, then the recommended column.
• Add headroom for updates on top of the stated install size.
• Check your monthly data allowance and what your provider does if you exceed it.
• Pick a time for the download that does not clash with anyone else's work or streaming.

Checklist 3 — Account and sign-up

FROM STEP 3

• Choose the email address you will still be reading in two years, and check you can log into it.
• Reach the game's site by typing the address or using your own bookmark.
• Confirm the sign-up does not ask for payment details to play.
• Read the purchases clause in the terms of service.
• Read the account suspension and termination clause.
• Open the privacy notice and check what is collected, who receives it, and whether it goes overseas.
• Leave every optional field blank.
• Set a long password used on no other account.
• Turn on multi-factor authentication if it is offered.
• Confirm the email, then delete the confirmation message so it cannot be mistaken for a later one.

Checklist 4 — First session

FROM STEP 4

• Obtain the installer from the vendor's own site or the platform the vendor names.
• Install to the drive you checked in Step 2, and let the first update finish.
• Open settings before clicking Play.
• Set the quality preset one below your expectation and match the resolution to your monitor.
• Turn shadows down and motion blur off; consider a frame rate limit.
• Set master volume, and music lower than voice if they are separate.
• Choose a display name that identifies nothing about you.
• Set who can message or add you, and locate the mute, block and report controls.
• Do the tutorial before the first real match, adjusting mouse sensitivity while you are there.
• At the end of the hour, write one line on whether you want a second session.

Checklist 5 — Spending, ratings and rules

FROM STEP 5

• Write one sentence stating your monthly limit, or zero, and the date you will review it.
• Decide whether payment details are saved to the account or the platform at all.
• Work out the Australian dollar cost per item before any purchase of premium currency.
• Check whether anything you buy renews automatically, and note the date in your own calendar.
• Decide your position on randomised purchases, and keep it simple.
• Look up the title's classification and consumer advice on classification.gov.au.
• Write the four household rules down where everyone can see them: money, time, chat, reporting.
• If a young person uses the account, make sure a parent or carer can access its email address.
• Keep receipts, account names and dates for anything you pay for.
• Read the ACCC's page on consumer guarantees once, before you need it rather than after.