Clear Volume

All checklists, in printable form

Every checklist from the five steps, gathered here in order. The page is laid out so that it prints onto a few sheets of paper with the boxes intact and the navigation removed.

How to use these

The checklists are meant to be worked through with a pen, not read. That sounds like a small distinction and it is not: the value of each list is in the written answers it produces, which become a record you can compare against later. Step 5 asks you to compare what actually happened against what you wrote in Step 1, and that only works if Step 1 was written down.

Nothing on this page stores anything. The boxes are printed shapes, not controls — ticking them on screen is not possible, and the site has no memory of what you have done. That is a deliberate choice rather than a limitation: it means Clear Volume holds no record of you at all, which the Privacy Policy describes in detail.

If you would rather not print, copying the lists into a notes application or a plain text file works equally well. Keep whatever you produce in one place, because the point is that it survives the month.

Work the checklists in order the first time. They build: the six system numbers from Step 2 are what the storage comparison in Step 5 is measured against, and the monthly ceiling from Step 1 is what the spending review in Step 5 checks. Skipping ahead is possible, but you will find yourself going back.

Afterwards, the lists separate usefully. Step 2 becomes a one-page record of your computer that you can reuse for any software for years. Step 4 becomes a general installation routine that applies well beyond games. Step 5 becomes a monthly three-minute review. Steps 1 and 3 are the ones you repeat whenever a new title is being considered.

If a line on a list does not apply to you, strike it out rather than leaving it blank, so that later you can tell the difference between "not relevant" and "not done yet". And if you reach a line you cannot answer, that is the most valuable result the list can give you — it is pointing at the thing to find out before going further. Each checklist links back to the step that explains it.

From Step 1 · read the step

Step 1 — What a desktop game asks of you

  • Name the computer you would actually use, and confirm it runs Windows, macOS or Linux.
  • Note whether that computer is shared with anyone else.
  • Write down how many evenings a week you could realistically play, and for how long.
  • Answer honestly: if you could only play once a week, would this still be worth it?
  • Write down a monthly spending ceiling in Australian dollars. Zero is a valid answer.
  • Check whether your internet plan has a data allowance, and roughly how much of it is spare.
  • Decide which email address an account would use, and whether it should be one nobody else in the house reads.
  • Read nothing about any specific game until these seven lines exist.

From Step 2 · read the step

Step 2 — What your computer can run

  • Open your system information panel and write down the operating system name and version.
  • Write down the processor name exactly as it appears, including the model number.
  • Write down the installed memory in gigabytes.
  • Write down the graphics entry, and note whether it shares a name with the processor.
  • Write down the free space on the drive you would install to.
  • Write down your screen resolution.
  • If more than one computer is available, repeat the six for each and mark the stronger one.
  • Check whether your operating system has pending updates, and apply them before you install anything new.
  • Confirm you have roughly double the stated storage requirement free, not just the exact figure.
  • Store the list where you will find it again — you will reuse it for years.

From Step 3 · read the step

Step 3 — Classification, cost and terms

  • Search the Australian Classification Board database for the exact title and read both the rating and the consumer advice.
  • If anyone under 18 lives in the household, check specifically for randomised purchases or simulated gambling features before going further.
  • Find the price shown for Australia, and note the currency it is shown in.
  • Search the page for "purchase", "subscription", "currency", "pass", "bundle" and "pack".
  • Open the terms and read only the licence, billing, termination and privacy sections.
  • Write down what you pay today, what might renew, and what optional extras cost.
  • Compare that against the monthly ceiling you wrote in Step 1.
  • Agree with anyone else who uses the computer who may play and who may spend.
  • Confirm the download address belongs to the vendor or an established platform.
  • Decide, before you download, what would make you stop — and write that down too.

From Step 4 · read the step

Step 4 — Installing and the first session

  • Apply pending operating system updates and restart before installing anything.
  • Close other programs, especially browsers with many tabs open.
  • Confirm the address in the address bar belongs to the vendor before downloading.
  • Let the download finish completely before opening the installer.
  • Choose the install location deliberately rather than accepting the default without looking.
  • Decline bundled extras, toolbars and search changes.
  • Decide whether the launcher may start with your computer, and set it either way on purpose.
  • Register with the email address you chose in Step 1 and a password used nowhere else.
  • Switch on two-factor authentication if it is offered.
  • Set the resolution to match your screen and start at a medium or low graphics preset.
  • Confirm four things: it starts, the picture is steady, sound plays, the controls respond.
  • Stop after the introduction. Note on your sheet how it ran.

From Step 5 · read the step

Step 5 — Updates, spending and stopping

  • Pick a fixed day each month for the three-minute review below.
  • Check free space on the drive and compare it to your Step 2 figure.
  • Check your internet data usage if your plan has an allowance.
  • Add up what was spent this month in Australian dollars and compare it to your Step 1 ceiling.
  • Confirm no stored payment details are saved in the account that you did not intend to save.
  • Confirm no subscription is renewing that you did not intend to renew.
  • Turn off launcher notifications if they are reaching you outside the times you play.
  • Take one day a week off the game and notice how that feels.
  • Keep your operating system and graphics driver updated.
  • If any of the warning signs in Step 5 are familiar, talk to someone rather than manage it alone.
  • If you are finishing with the game: remove payment details, cancel subscriptions, uninstall through the system list, remove the launcher, clear startup items, close the account.
  • Note the final free-space figure on your sheet and keep the sheet for next time.