Ways to make it easier to play test board games
Hello :)
I've been trying to think of ways to make play testing board games less time consuming and its a difficult thing to figure out.
Any suggestions? shapa
I've been trying to think of ways to make play testing board games less time consuming and its a difficult thing to figure out.
Any suggestions? shapa
Comments
Before your rules are easily grasped, try playtesting with groups that are up to speed with boardgames in general. It's much faster to be able to say "This is like Dominion, but with science and you're trying to claim research by patenting ideas first", rather than describe deckbuilders from the ground-up first.
I can't emphasise how important getting your rules easily explainable is. Mine are always terrible... One AMAZE students completely came up with a different game that totally obeyed the rules for En-Garde ;)
Then there's the tricky part of getting people to your game at all. That comes down to:
1. Selling it - that means getting people interested in it, not actually getting money for it (yet). It's the art of the pitch. A good theme and a good elevator pitch - something that gets people interested, is vital. This could be done by an exciting premise/theme, an innovative and immediately grabbing mechanic, current affairs, pretty pictures, great words... There are many ways, and none of it definite. Knowing how to sell your game will get you players much easier than not knowing.
2. Finding the right people - Selling your game kinda hinges on this too. If you're trying to get game designers to play your game, it'll be a different approach to getting gamers to play your game, and different yet from getting family to play your game. If you can, cast your net as wide as possible and try to consider all sources:
a. Other game designers you know.
b. Boardgamegeek.com! The game design forum there is an amazing testing ground. It's the perfect place to hone your pitch and see what works for other people and what doesn't. I've seen some really amazing games and not so amazing games really flourish there, so there's a wealth of playtesters there, if you know how to get them to it. There are other sites online with such a community too, but BGG's the motherlode. You should really be part of it.
c. Friends and family.
d. ???
3. Accessibility - to go with point 2, a good print and play prototype can achieve two things: It lets your game pitch itself, and it lets people who're not in front of you playtest it for you. The benefits of a good PNP can be felt with every stranger who tries your game and leaves comments. It's really awesome. Let your game be accessible. There's a whole pile of stuff I've learned about making PNPs, I'm not sure if I've written it anywhere... I've been meaning to.
This also speaks to @dislekcia's point. A good PNP delivers a pitch and is immediately easy to understand, because you won't be there to explain. This is important, as any game that needs you to be there to explain is intrinsically flawed anyway. Craft craft craft.
There are a couple of digital prototyping tools that are emerging now that tries to let people create online-playable version of their prototypes so people can just access it that way without printing and cutting and blah. That's a good idea, if the tools are good enough for what you need. TBH I haven't really found one that's mature enough.
Oh, this is worth looking out for, a cool prototyping tool for making card games. Not out yet, though:
If anyone has any ideas/points that's not in this outline, please share! :D