I can’t believe I’m talking about it again, but a recent conversation on a Facebook group got me all riled up again, so here we are.

I’m in a Facebook group that helps board game publishers and media get together. If someone wants to get their game into reviewers’ hands, they can put it out there and see who responds. It’s a great tool for networking and comparing things too. Recently, someone representing their own publishing house asked for people to get in touch if they wanted to review his game. It was successfully Kickstarted, it’s due to be delivered very soon, and he’d like more coverage. Good stuff. That’s one of the ways our two sides of the same coin can help one another.

Today, the same publisher posted there because they’re upset. Some of the people who approached him, offering to do a review have gotten in touch to tell him how much money they want for their review. The reason I’m putting review in bold letters is to emphasise the fact that the publisher is not looking for basic promotion. They’re not even looking for a paid, opinion-free preview of their game. They want to send creators a copy of their game so that those people can play it, and give their followers their opinion of it.

Unfortunately, some people think that their opinion is worth the publisher’s cold, hard cash.

I’ve seen this banded about so many times. “We work hard on our content, we deserve compensation”. No, chum, you don’t. You (for the vast majority of content creators) don’t do this professionally. You’re like me - you review games because you’re passionate about them, and you want to tell the world what makes them so much fun. Maybe you’re someone who started out doing some videos, and now you get paid to produce how-to-play videos. If so, that’s great. I know people who do this, and I’m rooting for you. I also know that they’re professionals working under contract, who won’t talk about the game going “Wow, it’s so amazing, you should all buy it!”, because they have morals.

What we’re talking about here, in contrast, is people who want to turn their small followings into a side-hustle. You spend money on cameras, coloured LED lamps, ring lights, and then sit there for hours editing video in your spare room. The thing is though - that’s your choice. It’s not business expenses. It’s not your career. You’re not entitled to money just because you’ve spent some, and put in some time.

The thing I read that made me laugh the most is someone saying “No, you’ve got it all wrong. You’re not paying for a review, you’re paying for the time, the gear, the promotion, the followers. The opinion bit is free”.

Yeah, good luck explaining that to your legion of followers.

Now while I’m sure there are plenty of ‘reviews’ out there that have been paid for, that doesn’t mean that a) they all are, or b) you should be paid for yours. The very minute money changes hands, there’s an implicit bias. There’s a level of expectation, however unspoken it might be. Even if you tell yourself there isn’t, there still is.

Even if there is plenty of it going on, it doesn’t mean you have to follow suit. There are plenty of us who like to keep some kind of journalistic integrity or attempt to follow some kind of ethical code. The problem is the space is full of hobbyists with no formal training, and no idea of how these things ought to be done, and have been done before social media became prevalent.

“But they’re giving you games to keep. You’re being paid, you hypocrite!”

Nope, sorry, try again. If you set your stall out early, and make it clear what you expect and what you promise in return, then this is absolutely not the case. How do you make it clear? A good place to start is having a clear review policy, just like I do - punchboard.co.uk/review-policy . I also make it abundantly clear when I speak to publishers at the beginning of a relationship with them that I will always give my honest opinion. The idea of telling yourself that giving someone the game is the same as paying them money is nonsense. I can no more review a game I don’t have than I can review a restaurant I’ve not eaten at. A restaurant won’t pay me to eat there either.

If money changes hands, it isn’t a review. Don’t fool yourself into thinking it is, and don’t pretend to your viewers or your readers it is. It is not a review. It’s a paid piece of marketing or promotion. Maybe it’s a paid preview for a crowdfunding campaign even.

And you know what? That’s okay. It’s good even! The hobby needs to be visible, it needs charismatic people singing its praises into the screens we focus on every waking minute. Just be honest with yourself, and honest with everyone else about what you’re doing.

At the same time, however, remember that nobody owes you a penny. The world owes you nothing. If you want to spend the money on your camera, spend your spare time making videos, that’s your choice. The idea that a publisher should give you money for doing it, as a hobbyist, is ridiculous. Build your followings, and get their financial support. Get a contract and make a how-to-play video for someone. Just don’t think that your ‘review’ should somehow line your pocket.