Getting started
In Performance Review Poker, you work at Oddball Industries and sit down with your manager, Greg, for your annual performance review. The review lasts 6 rounds. Each round, you read Greg's face and decide whether to Push or Back off. The raise announced at the end ("Raise: +$… per year") is your score. A review takes about 90 seconds.
Controls
- 🗣 Push: Bring up your wins and ask for more. On a computer, press ←
- 🙇 Back off: Thank Greg or stay humble to put him in a better mood. On a computer, press →
- 💣 Trump card: A powerful move you can use only once per review: "Actually, another company reached out…" On a computer, press ↑
- Sound: The speaker button at the top right turns sound effects on and off
The buttons sit at the bottom of the screen so you can play with one hand.
How a round works
You have 6 seconds per round. Greg starts each round looking down at his papers, and then the clues appear in this order:
| Time | Clue |
|---|---|
| 0.25 s | His face (eyebrows, eyes, mouth, sweat) |
| 1.4 s | His remark (speech bubble) |
| 2.6 s | His desk (notes, coffee, pen, calculator and so on) |
The faster you decide, the fewer clues you get, but you earn a "Quick call" bonus (see "How your raise is calculated" below). If you haven't decided after 6 seconds, Greg says "So…?" and it counts as backing off. The timer bar turns yellow when 2 seconds are left.
Greg's mood and the clues
Greg has a hidden mood with four levels: great, good, neutral and grumpy. His remarks and his desk always match his mood, so this is a game of reading him, not luck.
| Mood | Face | Remark | Desk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great (time for the trump card) | At first, same as good. Around the time of the remark, he turns red and nods slowly | "…" (goes quiet) | Sips his coffee, circles something in his notes |
| Good (time to push) | Smiling eyes, corners of his mouth up | "Huh." "Fair point." | Sips his coffee, circles something in his notes |
| Neutral | Blank | "Hmm…" "Well…" | Spins his pen, taps his notes with it |
| Grumpy (time to back off) | Furrowed brow, frown, sweat | "Look…" "Budgets are tight…" | Crosses something out, checks the wall clock, bounces his leg |
| Grumpy (trap) | Smiling mouth, but his eyes stay wide open | "Wow. Great. (deadpan)" | Starts tapping on a calculator |
When Greg is grumpy, half the time he puts on the "trap" face. His face alone says he's smiling, so check it against his remark and his desk.
Poker face
Even when he's in a good or bad mood, Greg keeps a blank face 35% of the time. A blank face doesn't always mean neutral, so wait for his remark and his desk. Those stay honest even when he's wearing his poker face.
Greg's tell
The happier Greg really is, the quieter he gets: if his remark is just "…" and he nods, he's in a great mood. His face alone looks the same as a good mood, so if you're going to play your trump card, wait for the remark (1.4 s). You can check this afterward in "Behind the scenes".
How your raise and Greg's mood are calculated
Base mood plus the mood of the moment
Greg's mood in a round is his "base mood", which builds up over the review, plus a swing for that round only (−25 to +25). The swing doesn't carry over to the next round, so his face changes every round even if you keep backing off. His base mood starts at 45 to 60 (around neutral) and changes when you push or back off, as shown below.
When you push
| Greg's mood | Raise (per year) | Base mood |
|---|---|---|
| Great | +$800 | −6 |
| Good | +$500 | −8 |
| Neutral | +$160 | −12 |
| Grumpy | −$300 (marked down) | −10 |
| Grumpy (trap) | −$600 (marked down) | −16 |
If you push several rounds in a row, Greg thinks you're being pushy, and his base mood drops by an extra 4 on the second push, 8 on the third, and so on. Backing off or playing your trump card resets this.
When you back off or run out of time
Backing off doesn't change your raise, but it raises Greg's base mood by 10. If you run out of time and it counts as backing off, it only goes up by 4. When in doubt, backing off yourself beats waiting for the clock.
Quick call bonus
When a push or your trump card earns a raise, the faster you decided, the bigger the multiplier. Right at the start of the round it's ×1.3, and it shrinks gradually to ×1.0 at 3 seconds. Amounts are rounded to the nearest $20.
Example: Greg is in a good mood and you push at 1.5 seconds, right after his remark. The multiplier is ×1.15, so $500 × 1.15 = $575, which rounds to a raise of +$580.
The trump card
The trump card, "Actually, another company reached out to me…", can be used only once per review.
| Greg's mood | Result |
|---|---|
| Great | "W-wait, let's not be hasty!" and +$1,800 (the Quick call bonus applies) |
| Good | +$600 (the Quick call bonus applies), but his base mood drops by 20 |
| Neutral | "Huh. Good for you." No raise, and his base mood drops by 25 |
| Grumpy (including the trap) | "Then I won't keep you." The review ends (title: "Shown the Door") |
Your results and titles
After 6 rounds, a pay stub shows your "Merit increase" (raise per year) and your title. Even if your raise goes negative, it never drops below −$1,200.
| Condition | Title |
|---|---|
| Review ended by the trump card | Shown the Door |
| Below $0 | On a PIP |
| $0 to under $200 | Pay Freeze |
| $200 to under $1,000 | Cost-of-Living Bump |
| $1,000 to under $2,000 | Quiet Operator |
| $2,000 to under $3,200 | Comp Wizard |
| $3,200 or more | Negotiation Shark |
Open "Behind the scenes" on the results card to see Greg's real mood each round, the move you chose, and how it went (○, △ or ×). "Post on X" shares the symbols for your moves (🗣🙇💣⌛), your raise and your title.
All amounts in the game are made up and have nothing to do with real salaries or raises at any company.
Today's Review and Practice
- Today's Review: Each day (based on Japan time), everyone plays against the same Greg. His starting mood, his swings each round, when he sets a trap or wears a poker face, and the clues he shows are the same for everyone, so the same choices lead to the same result. Only your first try of the day is recorded
- Practice: A different review every time. Your best raise is saved
What gets saved
Your first result in Today's Review, your best raise in Practice, and whether sound is on or off are saved only in your browser. A review in progress is not saved, so if you close or reload the page, that review never happened. For details, see the Privacy policy.
Tips for haggling like a pro
- Blank face? Wait for the remark: It might be his poker face. His remark at 1.4 seconds usually tells you his mood
- Don't trust the face alone: A smile that doesn't reach his eyes is a trap. If his remark sounds flat or he starts tapping a calculator, back off
- Quiet nod? Play your trump card: If his remark is just "…", he's in a great mood. That's the only time the trump card pays +$1,800
- Don't push too hard: Every push lowers his base mood, and pushing in a row lowers it even more. Even when he's in a good mood, backing off now and then builds up his mood so a great mood is more likely later in the review
- Running out of time costs you: When in doubt, back off yourself. It lifts his mood more