Quality Guidelines

• We recommend that your game have a tutorial or onboarding flow. New players should be able to understand how to play without external instructions. The tutorial should teach the core mechanics within the first 30-60 seconds of gameplay.
• The tutorial should be interactive, not just text. Players learn best by doing. Guide them through actual gameplay actions rather than showing a wall of instructions.
• Consider making the tutorial non-skippable on the first play. This ensures all players experience the onboarding at least once. You may allow returning players to skip it.
• Game objectives should be clear. Within the first minute of playing, the player should understand what they are trying to accomplish and how to do it.

• We recommend that your game be engaging and have a clear core loop. Players should understand the repeating cycle of play (e.g., play a level, earn a score, try again or advance).
• The game should function correctly. All gameplay mechanics should work as intended without game-breaking bugs.
• The game should be winnable and losable. There should be meaningful outcomes -- players should be able to succeed and fail. Games that have no fail state or no sense of progression may receive lower review scores.
• Controls should be responsive and intuitive. Touch controls (on mobile) and mouse/keyboard controls (on web) should feel natural and respond immediately to player input.
• The game should offer sufficient depth. Games that are too simplistic (e.g., a single screen with a single button and no progression) may receive lower review scores. There should be enough content to keep players engaged for multiple sessions.

• Games are encouraged to integrate social features. Games that use Facebook’s social features (leaderboards, friend challenges, tournaments, sharing) are more likely to succeed and are viewed favorably in review.
• Social features should work correctly. If your game includes leaderboards, they should display accurate data. If your game allows sharing, the shared content should load correctly and be relevant.

• Your game should load within a reasonable time. As a guideline, aim for initial load times under 5 seconds on a standard mobile connection.
• We recommend showing a loading progress indicator. Use the FBInstant.setLoadingProgress() API to display accurate loading progress to the player. Avoid showing a static screen while loading.
• The loading progress should be accurate. The progress bar should reflect actual loading progress. Avoid making it jump from 0% to 100% instantly, and avoid letting it stall at any percentage for an extended period.

• The game should run smoothly. Aim for a consistent frame rate of at least 30 FPS on mid-range devices. Stuttering, freezing, or significant frame drops during normal gameplay will negatively impact player experience.
• The game should not crash. Any crash during normal gameplay or navigation is a significant quality issue. Test thoroughly on all supported platforms.
• The game should handle edge cases gracefully. Loss of internet connection, backgrounding the app, and returning to the game should all be handled without crashing or corrupting game state.
• Memory usage should be reasonable. Games that cause excessive memory consumption or trigger out-of-memory errors on standard devices will have a poor player experience.

• We recommend that the game not display raw error messages to the player. If an error occurs, handle it gracefully with a user-friendly message or a silent retry. Avoid showing JavaScript stack traces, API error codes, or technical error messages.
• Network errors should be handled. If the game requires a network connection, display a clear message when the connection is lost and attempt to recover when the connection is restored.

• The game should work on all supported platforms: Facebook app on iOS, Facebook app on Android, and web (facebook.com/gaming). Test on multiple devices and browsers.
• The game should support multiple screen sizes. The layout should adapt gracefully to different screen dimensions and aspect ratios, from small phones to tablets to desktop browsers.
• The game should respect the selected orientation. If you declare portrait orientation, the game should display correctly in portrait. If landscape, it should display correctly in landscape. If both, it should handle rotation.

• No violent, sexual, or otherwise inappropriate content unless it is within the boundaries of Facebook’s content guidelines (e.g., cartoon violence in a game rated for all ages).
• No hate speech, discrimination, or harassment in any form, including in-game text, character names, or implied through gameplay mechanics.
• No real-money gambling. Games should not involve wagering real money. Simulated casino games (where no real money is at stake) may be acceptable but are subject to additional scrutiny.

• The game name should accurately represent the game. Avoid using misleading names designed to confuse players with other popular games.
• The description should accurately describe the game. Avoid including features or content in the description that are not actually present in the game.
• The category should match the game. If your game is a puzzle game, avoid categorizing it as an action game to appear in different search results.
• The icon and cover images should represent the game. Avoid using artwork from other games, unrelated imagery, or misleading screenshots. See Asset Design Guidelines for detailed requirements.

• All player-facing text should be free of spelling and grammar errors in the primary language.
• Placeholder text should be removed. No “Lorem ipsum,” “TODO,” “Test,” or developer notes should appear in the live game.
• If the game supports multiple languages, all translations should be complete. Avoid shipping a game with partially translated text.

• Ads should not be too frequent. Showing an ad after every single gameplay action (e.g., after each puzzle attempt) creates a poor player experience. Space ads out appropriately.
• Ads should not block gameplay. Players should always be able to continue playing without watching an ad. Interstitial and rewarded video ads should not appear during active gameplay (e.g., in the middle of a level). Show them at natural breakpoints such as between levels, after a game over, or in a menu.
• Ads should not appear immediately on game start. Allow the player to engage with the game before showing any ads.
• Rewarded video ads should deliver the promised reward. If you offer a reward for watching a video ad (e.g., extra lives, coins, continue), deliver the reward immediately and reliably after the ad completes.
• Ad placement should be clearly distinguishable from game content. Players should not accidentally tap on an ad because it looks like a game button.
• The game should function if ads fail to load. Avoid crashing or showing error messages when an ad is unavailable. Handle ad load failures gracefully.

• All purchases should be clearly described. Players should know exactly what they are buying before they confirm the purchase.
• Pricing should be visible before the player initiates the purchase flow.
• Purchased items or currency should be delivered immediately. Avoid making players wait or requiring additional steps after payment.
• Virtual currency systems should be clearly explained. If your game has a virtual currency, players should understand the exchange rate and what they can buy with it.
• Purchases should not be required to progress. While in-app purchases can offer advantages, the game should be playable and enjoyable without spending money. Hard paywalls that prevent progression without payment will negatively impact player experience.

• We recommend that your game include a volume button or audio settings that allow the player to mute or adjust the game’s audio.
• Audio should respect the device’s mute/vibrate setting. If the device is muted, the game should not play audio.

• The game should handle pausing gracefully. When a player backgrounds the app or navigates away, the game should pause automatically and resume when the player returns.
• There should be a way to exit or return to the menu. Players should not feel trapped in a gameplay session with no way to leave.

• The back button (on Android) and swipe-back gesture (on iOS) should work correctly. Pressing back should navigate the player to the previous screen or prompt them to exit. It should not do nothing, crash the game, or behave unexpectedly.
• If the player is in active gameplay, pressing back should pause the game or ask for confirmation before exiting. Avoid immediately exiting the game and losing the player’s progress.

• The game UI should be fully visible and usable on all supported screen sizes. No critical UI elements (buttons, text, score displays) should be cut off, overlapped, or unreachable.
• Safe area insets should be respected. On devices with notches, rounded corners, or home bars, your game’s UI should not extend into areas where it would be obscured.

• All loading states should show clear feedback to the player. Use progress indicators, loading animations, or informative messages. Avoid showing a blank screen while something is loading.

1. Play through the entire game as if you are a new player who has never seen it before. Is it clear what to do?
2. Complete the tutorial. Does it teach the core mechanics effectively?
3. Play for at least 10 minutes. Does the game remain engaging? Are there any bugs?
4. Test on three platforms: iPhone, Android phone, and desktop browser. Does the game work correctly on all three?
5. Test on a slow network connection. Does the game load within a reasonable time? Is there a loading indicator?
6. Test loss of connectivity. Does the game handle it gracefully?
7. Test backgrounding and resuming. Does the game pause and resume correctly?
8. Test the back button (Android) and swipe-back (iOS). Does navigation work correctly?
9. Check all UI elements. Are buttons functional? Is text readable? Is the layout correct on different screen sizes?
10. Check audio. Is there a volume control? Does audio stop when the device is muted?
11. Check ads (if applicable). Are they spaced appropriately? Do rewards deliver correctly?
12. Check purchases (if applicable). Are items delivered? Is pricing clear?
13. Review all metadata. Are the name, description, category, icon, and cover image accurate and high quality?
14. Have someone who has never played the game try it. Watch them play without giving instructions. If they struggle, your tutorial or UX needs work.

• Review the Notification Guidelines for App-to-User notification requirements.
• Review the Asset Design Guidelines for artwork-specific requirements.
• Read about App Review if you have not yet submitted for it.
• When all reviews pass, proceed to Game Launch.