08.10.2022, 23:24
We have looked into the matter and didn't find any "troll" users who rate hundreds or thousands of puzzles with 1 star.
Of course, some puzzles have received predominantly high ratings and some low rating outliers. This is nothing new; some of my own puzzles from years ago have received similar rating distributions. There are always solvers who for some reason disagree with a majority, and generally there is nothing wrong with that.
As others have said, there are no clear rules how to rate a puzzle. Some solvers treat any puzzle as "very good" unless they are somehow flawed; others may use "good" or "average" as default and give a better rating only if a puzzle contains some outstanding features. Some users rate only the puzzle logic, others include presentation (for example the quality of the graphics and the instructions) as well.
The rating system is somewhat biased, as you have to solve a puzzle before you are allowed to give a rating. There are puzzles that from the presentation alone don't fit my taste which I most likely wouldn't rate as very good, but since I prefer solving other puzzles instead, I can't rate them. From this restriction it is likely that the puzzle ratings are somewhat inflated. The existence of solving videos or solving tools may allow some users to circumvent that restriction. However, this isn't happening as frequently as it was suggested in this thread ("thousands of puzzles"), not even close.
From our point of view the situation doesn't warrant any action.
Of course, some puzzles have received predominantly high ratings and some low rating outliers. This is nothing new; some of my own puzzles from years ago have received similar rating distributions. There are always solvers who for some reason disagree with a majority, and generally there is nothing wrong with that.
As others have said, there are no clear rules how to rate a puzzle. Some solvers treat any puzzle as "very good" unless they are somehow flawed; others may use "good" or "average" as default and give a better rating only if a puzzle contains some outstanding features. Some users rate only the puzzle logic, others include presentation (for example the quality of the graphics and the instructions) as well.
The rating system is somewhat biased, as you have to solve a puzzle before you are allowed to give a rating. There are puzzles that from the presentation alone don't fit my taste which I most likely wouldn't rate as very good, but since I prefer solving other puzzles instead, I can't rate them. From this restriction it is likely that the puzzle ratings are somewhat inflated. The existence of solving videos or solving tools may allow some users to circumvent that restriction. However, this isn't happening as frequently as it was suggested in this thread ("thousands of puzzles"), not even close.
From our point of view the situation doesn't warrant any action.