--- title: "Cozy game rating checklist: 25 questions, one score | A Short Sail" description: "A cozy game rating checklist built from designer and psychologist research: 25 yes or no questions, five ingredients, and a score for any game." url: https://ashortsail.com/blog/cozy-game-rating-checklist/ published: 2026-10-29 updated: 2026-10-29 author: "Yos Riady" image: https://ashortsail.com/og/blog/cozy-game-rating-checklist.jpg --- # Cozy game rating checklist: 25 questions, one score A cozy game rating checklist built from designer and psychologist research: 25 yes or no questions, five ingredients, and a score for any game. By [Yos Riady](https://ashortsail.com/authors/yos-riady/) · Published 29 October 2026 · **Last checked: 29 October 2026** Is a game really cozy, or does it only look cozy? Here is a checklist of 25 yes or no questions. They come from two good sources: the Project Horseshoe report on coziness, and the Epic Games Store interviews with cozy game makers and psychologist Dr. Rachel Kowert. Tick what is true for you, add it up, and see how cozy a game is for **you**. ## What is a cozy game rating checklist? A cozy game rating checklist is a list of 25 yes or no questions that scores how cozy a game feels to you. It covers five ingredients that designers and researchers name: safety, abundance, softness, pace and choice, and warmth. Each tick is one point, so a game scores from 0 to 25. Cozy is a feeling, not a genre. Kyle Keersemaker, who makes Cosmic Coop, said it to the Epic Games Store: “It’s less about genre and more about feeling.” So a checklist of feelings works better than a list of tags. Here are the five ingredients at a glance: | Ingredient | The question it asks | Main source | | --- | --- | --- | | Safety | Can anything hurt me, or force me to act? | Project Horseshoe, Dr. Rachel Kowert | | Abundance | Is anything lacking or urgent? | Project Horseshoe, Dr. Rachel Kowert | | Softness | Are the look, sound and pace gentle? | Project Horseshoe, Dr. Rachel Kowert | | Pace and choice | Do I decide what to do, and when? | Bad Viking, Square Glade Games, Project Horseshoe | | Warmth | Do I feel welcome and close to someone? | Dr. Rachel Kowert, Project Horseshoe | The first three come from a simple idea. The Project Horseshoe designers wrote that coziness is how strongly a game evokes “the fantasy of safety, abundance, and softness”. Dr. Rachel Kowert, a research psychologist, gave the Epic Games Store the same three words. The last two come from the pace and the people that the developers describe, and from self-determination theory, which says we want to feel free to choose, to achieve something and to feel connected to others. ## How to rate a cozy game in five steps 1. **Pick one game** you have really played. 2. **Tick every question that is true for you.** Leave it blank if it is not. There are no wrong answers. 3. **Count the ticks** in each ingredient. Each has 5 questions. 4. **Add all five counts** for a total out of 25. 5. **Read your verdict** in the table further down. You can score a game in about five minutes. Do it after a few hours of play, not after the first ten minutes. ## 1\. Safety A cozy game has no danger and no risk of loss. It also never forces you to do anything. - [ ] Nothing in the game can hurt me, or danger stays far away and I can skip it. - [ ] Every activity is my choice. Nobody pushes me into it. - [ ] The game feels familiar. I mostly know what will happen next. - [ ] I can try things, be silly or make mistakes, and nothing bad follows. - [ ] The game welcomes me as a person, not as a hero with a job to do. **Where it comes from:** the Project Horseshoe report says safety means “an absence of danger and risk”, and that activities should be “voluntary and opt-in”. Kowert adds inclusion, reliability and familiarity. The report also says a welcome works best when it gives you no duty: you can join in, or be alone, as you like. ## 2\. Abundance In a cozy game, the basics are looked after. That frees you to care about nicer things. - [ ] Food, shelter and other basics are easy to get, so I never fear running out. - [ ] The world looks generous: warm food, full shelves, things to gather. - [ ] Nothing is urgent. If I wait, I lose nothing. - [ ] I see signs that all is well, such as a cat asleep or a guard at rest. - [ ] Because the basics are covered, I spend my time on friends, beauty or making things. **Where it comes from:** the report says that when low needs like food and shelter are met, there is room for “deeper relationships, appreciation of beauty, self actualization, nurturing, belonging”. Kowert’s example is the trees in Animal Crossing: you do not need them to survive, but they are already on your island. The report’s picture of protection is a sleeping dog or cat, or a guardian who is relaxing. ## 3\. Softness Softness is how the game looks, sounds and moves. It keeps your mind calm but still awake. - [ ] The colours are warm and gentle, with no harsh contrast. - [ ] The sound is soft and steady: rain, a fire, a stream, a gentle tune. Nothing makes me jump. - [ ] I see natural, handmade things: wood, stone, wool, water, plants. - [ ] The spaces feel close and small enough to know. The far horizon is partly hidden. - [ ] No pop-ups, alarms or sudden flashes break into the moment. **Where it comes from:** the report lists warm light and colour, natural materials, intimate spaces and cozy audio (“continuous, soft, and non-intrusive”), and names sudden or loud things as breakers. Developer Tobias Schnackenberg told the Epic Games Store that his game Outbound uses “warm tones, gentle lighting, and natural materials”, with birds, wind and rustling trees as its ambience. ## 4\. Pace and choice This is the biggest feeling in the developer interviews: nobody is rushing you. - [ ] There are no timers and no ticking clock. - [ ] There are many things to do, and I can ignore all of them with no bad result. - [ ] Some activities feel good on their own, not only for the prize. - [ ] I can skip a day or walk away. There is no chore, no needy pet and no penalty. - [ ] There is a small ritual I enjoy repeating, and I know how long it takes. **Where it comes from:** Rob and John Donkin of Bad Viking said cozy games are “games you can play at your own pace, without timers and pressure”. The report says a cozy activity should be satisfying in itself, such as the sound of shaking a tree in Animal Crossing. It also says a safe ritual is safe, known and relaxed, and that a wide range of optional tasks, none of them forced, gives you the agency that coziness needs. ## 5\. Warmth The last ingredient is the people, and the sense of a place that is yours. - [ ] I feel close to a character, a neighbour or a pet in the game. - [ ] Gifts and favours are given freely. I do not feel that I owe anything. - [ ] I can be alone or with company, whichever I want that day. - [ ] I have a spot that is mine, and I can set it up my own way. - [ ] The game carries me to a calmer place, and I feel lighter after I play. **Where it comes from:** Kowert said Animal Crossing is a very good example of the need to feel connected, because the bond players feel with their villagers is well documented. The report says a gift is a strong sign of abundance and care, and that decorating lets a space suit your own taste. Kowert also said players describe being “transported” to a place where everything is less stressful. ## Add it up Write down your five counts. Each is from 0 to 5. Add them for a total out of 25. Here is a made-up example. Say you play a game called *Game X*: | Ingredient | Ticks (out of 5) | | --- | --- | | Safety | 5 | | Abundance | 4 | | Softness | 5 | | Pace and choice | 3 | | Warmth | 4 | | **Total** | **21 of 25** | Next, find the verdict. ## What does your cozy score mean? These bands are our own guide, not a research result. Move them to suit your taste. | Total | Verdict | What it means | | --- | --- | --- | | 21 to 25 | Cozy through and through | The game fits what cozy means to you almost everywhere. | | 15 to 20 | Mostly cozy | A warm game with a few rough spots. | | 8 to 14 | Cozy in patches | It has cozy moments, but you cannot count on them. | | 0 to 7 | Not your kind of cozy | It may be a fine game. It is just not a cozy one for you. | *Game X* scores 21, so it is **cozy through and through**. Its one weaker spot is pace and choice. ## Look at the ingredients, not just the total The total is a nice headline, but the five counts tell you more. A low count shows where a game lets you down. It also shows what you need. Try the checklist on three or four games you love. If safety and softness are always high, you want a calm place to rest. If warmth is always high, look for games full of friendly people. Then use that to choose your next game. A low score is not a verdict on the game. Bad Viking’s Strange Horticulture is “cozy in tone, but with undercurrents of unease”, in the studio’s own words. It would lose points on safety and still be a favourite of many players. Cozy is personal, and the checklist is there to help you see your own taste. When a score is low and you do not know why, look at our list of [what breaks a cozy game](https://ashortsail.com/blog/what-breaks-a-cozy-game/). Danger, timers, chores, needy characters, nagging, loud sounds and status all take points from the ingredients above. ## How we use it We make [A Short Sail](https://ashortsail.com/), a cozy sailing game where you are a little tabby cat with a sailboat. When we plan something new, we run a quick version of this check in our heads. Does it keep the player safe, soft and unhurried, with someone to care about? If it only adds a chore, we think again. ## Read next - [What is a cozy game?](https://ashortsail.com/blog/what-is-a-cozy-game/) - [What breaks a cozy game? 10 things that spoil the mood](https://ashortsail.com/blog/what-breaks-a-cozy-game/) - [Are cozy games good for you? What experts say](https://ashortsail.com/blog/are-cozy-games-good-for-you/) - [Short cozy games for a weekend](https://ashortsail.com/blog/short-cozy-games-for-a-weekend/) ## Sources - Tanya X. Short, Daniel Cook and others, [Coziness in Games: An Exploration of Safety, Softness, and Satisfied Needs](https://www.projecthorseshoe.com/reports/featured/ph17r3.htm), Project Horseshoe 2017. The source of safety, abundance and softness, the cozy aesthetics, the opt-in and intrinsic reward patterns, and the quotes from the report. - Dave Tach, [The Rise of Cozy Games](https://store.epicgames.com/news/best-cozy-games-why-cozy-feature-interview), Epic Games Store, 24 November 2025. The source of the quotes from Dr. Rachel Kowert, Kyle Keersemaker, Tobias Schnackenberg and Bad Viking. - Jess Bolam’s free [Cozy Gaming Rating Sheet](https://attachments.convertkitcdnn2.com/2710915/57dd5db4-47bf-470c-808e-cb3c3b525189/the-cozy-gaming-rating-sheet.pdf) gave us the idea of rating a game by ticking questions. It uses different pillars and its own scoring. Try it as a second opinion. ## Questions ### What makes a game cozy? Designers at Project Horseshoe describe coziness as a game evoking safety, abundance and softness. Psychologist Dr. Rachel Kowert uses the same three words. Add an unhurried pace, the freedom to choose, and a sense of warmth, and you have the five ingredients in this checklist. ### How many ticks make a game cozy? On this checklist, 21 or more ticks out of 25 means cozy through and through, and 15 to 20 means mostly cozy. Below 15, a game has cozy patches at best. These bands are our own guide, not a research result, so move them to suit your taste. ### How do I know if a game is cozy? Do not go by the look alone. Ask how it feels to play. Is it safe, is nothing lacking, is the sound and light soft, can you go at your own pace, and do you feel looked after? The checklist below turns those five ingredients into a score. ### Can a game with a cozy look still feel stressful? Yes. A soft art style can sit on top of timers, chores or danger. The Project Horseshoe report lists these as cozy breakers. Developer Kyle Keersemaker puts it simply: cozy is less about genre and more about feeling. ### Is there a right score for a cozy game? No. Cozy is personal. A dark game such as Strange Horticulture can feel cozy to one player and tense to another. Use the pillar scores to learn what you value most, and treat the total as a guide. ### Where do the questions come from? The five ingredients come from Project Horseshoe's 2017 report on coziness and the Epic Games Store feature The Rise of Cozy Games (2025). Each question links to an idea in one of them. The questions are written in our own words. - [cozy games](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/cozy-games/) - [relaxing games](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/relaxing-games/) - [game design](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/game-design/) - [game lists](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/game-lists/) **Written by [Yos Riady](https://ashortsail.com/authors/yos-riady/)** Yos Riady is the solo developer making A Short Sail, a cozy sailing game. ## Related guides - 16 Dec 2026 ### [Why cozy characters never get tired](https://ashortsail.com/blog/why-cozy-characters-never-get-tired/) Why do cozy game characters never get tired? One study explains how cozy games hide effort, and what happens when a game asks more of you than it looks. - [cozy games](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/cozy-games/) - [game design](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/game-design/) - [relaxing games](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/relaxing-games/) - 14 Dec 2026 ### [Why we unwind by working in cozy job games](https://ashortsail.com/blog/why-we-unwind-by-working/) Why do tired people relax by farming, cleaning or running a cafe in a game? What research says about cozy job games, routine and the pull to be productive. - [cozy games](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/cozy-games/) - [game design](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/game-design/) - [relaxing games](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/relaxing-games/) - [indie games](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/indie-games/) - 13 Dec 2026 ### [Why your favourite game feels like home](https://ashortsail.com/blog/why-games-feel-like-home/) Why a game you love can feel like home, even a dark one. What research on cozy games says about familiar places, inns, camps and knowing your way around. - [cozy games](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/cozy-games/) - [game design](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/game-design/) - [relaxing games](https://ashortsail.com/blog/tags/relaxing-games/) ## A Short Sail The cozy sailing game with a cat. Coming soon to Steam and [itch.io](https://yosriady.itch.io/a-short-sail) [Play the free demo](https://play.ashortsail.com/) [Get updates](https://ashortsail.com/blog/cozy-game-rating-checklist/#newsletter)