How ranking works
PokeIndie's discovery is built on one principle: organic ranking is earned through genuine player engagement and can never be bought. Paid options exist, but they are always separate and clearly labeled.
What the organic score measures
Each game's organic score is computed from real signals, weighted and combined, then decayed over time so fresh momentum matters more than old activity. The main inputs are:
- Recent pokes: engagement in the last hours, days, and weeks, with the most recent weighted most heavily.
- Velocity: how quickly engagement is growing.
- Unique players: breadth of interest across distinct users, not just repeat activity.
- Meaningful updates: substantive changes and new versions to a listing.
- Listing age and time decay: older activity gradually counts for less, so rankings stay current.
- Suspicious-activity penalties: engagement that looks manipulated is discounted.
What does not affect the organic score
- Payment. Premium subscriptions and credits never raise your organic position.
- Sponsored and staff-featured placements. These are separate surfaces, always visibly labeled as promoted or featured, and kept out of the organic calculation.
Keeping it fair
We actively detect and discount artificial engagement such as botting, poke rings, and coordinated manipulation. Attempting to game the rankings violates our Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy and can lead to score penalties, delisting, or account action.
How to rank well, honestly
- Publish a clear, complete, accurate listing with strong media.
- Ship meaningful updates and keep your listing current.
- Bring your community in through the Discord integration and share your PokeIndie page.
- Earn genuine pokes from players who actually want others to discover your game.
Promotion can help visibility, but sustainable ranking comes from a game people genuinely want to poke.