· Social Engineering · Fake reviews
Fake Review Factory: a free game about fake reviews
Write five stars for a restaurant that doesn't exist. It wins a prize. Then switch sides and catch the fakes.
What is Fake Review Factory?
Shift 1: write five-star reviews for The Velvet Spoon, a restaurant that doesn't exist, from a box of stock phrases. It wins “Best New Bistro”. Shift 2: switch sides. On a real listing, flag the fake reviews by their tells: vague praise, one-review accounts, everything posted the same day.
Fake Review Factory is a free satire game in two shifts. First you write gushing reviews for The Velvet Spoon, a restaurant that doesn't exist, and it wins a prize.
Then you switch sides: on a real listing, flag the fakes by their tells while leaving the honest diners alone.
At a glance
- Category
- Social Engineering
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Play time
- 3–5 min
- Price
- Free, in your browser, sign-up optional
How to play
- Write
- Build reviews from stock phrases and post them.
- Inspect
- Flag the fakes, then Check: +120 per fake, −60 per honest review flagged.
- Win
- Catch 70% of the fakes with at most one false alarm.
- Three levels
- Beginner, Intermediate or Expert, picked before you play: the content and the clock change, and each level keeps its own best score.
- Satire
- Satire with a lesson: every name, brand and platform is made up, and every run ends on how to spot the trick.
Scoring
+40 per review posted, +120 per fake caught, −60 per honest review flagged; win by catching 70% of the fakes with at most one false alarm.
Each level keeps its own best score in this browser.
What it trains
- Consumer awareness
- Judging reviews by detail.
- Attention to detail
- Reading accounts and dates.
Strategy and tips
- Look for detail
- Honest reviews name a dish, a price, a flaw.
- Check the account
- One review, posted today, generic name: a red flag.
- Expert
- Ten reviews to inspect in 30 seconds.
Why play Fake Review Factory?
Writing a fake from stock phrases shows exactly what fakes look like, so you can spot them before you book.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fake Review Factory free?
Yes. It is free and runs in your browser, with no download. Signing up is optional.
Are the restaurants real?
No. Every name, brand, platform and coin in the game is made up. The tricks, though, are real ones you'll meet online.
Does the game teach people to write fake reviews?
No. The writing shift is there to show the tells; the score comes from catching fakes.