Five Tips To Rock Playtesting Events as a Playtester

Playtesting is integral to good game design. But there are responsibilities on both sides of the table. The Designer needs to take lots of notes and collect data to improve their game. But what should the playtesters be doing? Let’s talk about that.

Answer Designer’s Questions

The designer should let you know what stage of playtesting they are on and what they want you to consider when playtesting. It is extremely important to provide feedback only in these area(s). This helps create a smoother and more focused process for the designer. However, if you have any thoughts beyond the specified questions, ask the designer whether they are open to hearing feedback on other topics.

An important thing to remember is that these are game prototypes. Most of the time, they don’t have finalized art, colors, design, etc. Thus, giving feedback that you don’t like a color or art style isn’t very helpful. This can come into play as the game progresses through the design process, but most designers will focus on mechanics, balance, feel, and enjoyment first.

Come With An Open Mind

It can be hard to show up without expectations about how amazing a game will be. Most of the time, we are used to playing a completed game. Games that have already gone through the process of being broken, rebuilt, and put together in a way that feels good and complete to players.

Playtesters around a table with a prototype game.

When it comes to playtesting, you’re generally not playing a completed game. This means it won't feel as good as a game you buy off the shelf. There will be many things that are overpowered, don’t work right, or aren’t fun to do. Expect to encounter a wide variety of enjoyment, experiences, and feelings when it comes to playtesting. Playtesting aims to help the designers adjust and build their game to be ready for game shelves.

Be Aware of Game Type

When reviewing feedback from playtesters, I've noticed they often want to turn the game into something it’s not. Everyone has a preference for the types of games they enjoy, whether they are party, strategy, push-your-luck, or something else. However, your preference doesn’t matter when you’re playtesting unless it is specific to the type of game the designers are creating. It can be difficult to remember this because you want to help them create a game you want to play, so it's best not to playtest games you know you don’t enjoy.

For instance, if you really love strategy games with lots of depth, you may not enjoy playtesting a party game. And you can tell the designer that, please do not start giving feedback that would turn that party game into a strategy game. Unless, of course, the designer specifically asks for feedback on how you would make the game more strategic. Remember that the type of game is likely already determined by the designer; don’t try to change it unless they have asked for some input towards that goal.

Board Game Aficionado Unnecessary

Designers often have difficulty finding playtesters, but getting outside input is vital to the design process. Players have different perspectives, and those perspectives allow them to see issues with the game that the designer may not notice. Regardless of your skill level or understanding of the board game industry, you can still provide valuable feedback.

Playtesters around the table of an early prototype of Winter Rabbit.

If you feel a bit nervous about giving a designer feedback, you might want to focus on Unguided Playtesting. The game is basically ready at this stage, but the designers are still testing the rulebook. The only requirement is that you have not played the game before. You can focus solely on playing the game and making notes of anything confusing in the rules.

The only time I’d say you wouldn’t be a good playtester is if you happen to be one of those folks who just hates board games.

All Suggestions Are Valid

The most challenging aspect of playtesting is often knowing when to offer a suggestion and what to suggest. You may find yourself with tons of ideas or thoughts, but you aren’t sure whether they're worth sharing. Many designers will have worksheets to allow you to provide feedback anonymously, which can be a good time to write down these ideas, but even when just talking to the designer, feel free to share any ideas you have.

It’s vital to share everything that you think could improve the game in some way. The designer will sort through all feedback and see which ones make sense to move forward with and which ones don’t. Something you thought was too silly or might not make sense might not be the right solution, but it sparks an idea for the designer, that is. You never know what the designer needed to hear to get there, so share everything you can.

General Questions

While the designer may ask you specific questions, here are a few things to keep in mind as you play. Feel free to make your own notes to share with the designer about these things, as well as anything they specifically ask.

What aspect of the game do you enjoy using the most?
What aspect of the game do you actively avoid?
What aspect of the game feels too strong or too weak?
Does anything seem really fun but doesn’t seem to make sense with the game itself?
What do you feel is missing in the game?
What do you feel isn’t right in the game?
Would you want to play this game again?
- If yes: why? What is it that is pulling you back?
- If no: what is stopping you from coming back?

Make sure you consider these questions in relation to theme, mechanics, overall enjoyment, how you feel when you play the game, and overall vibe. If you really enjoy the theme and 2 of the mechanics, let them know. If you are not a fan of one of the mechanics, let them know, but also elaborate a bit and share what felt off. Do you think it makes the game slow down? Do you feel like it is tedious or distracts from the gameplay?

If you are going to be doing an Unguided Playtest, the best things to consider will be focused more on the rulebook.

Where did you have to re-read the rules multiple times to understand them?
What sections didn’t make sense no matter how many times you read them?
Where do you wish there was a diagram or another visual to explain the text?
What parts of the game do you think you might have played wrong?
In what way(s) did the rulebook exceed your expectations, if any?
Was there any part of the layout or design of the rulebook that made it hard to read or follow?

Find Playtesting Events

Perhaps you’ve read this blog and thought to yourself that you really want to playtest some games, but you aren’t sure exactly how to go about doing so. The biggest thing is simply finding a space, group, or company that is looking for playtesters. Here are a few things you can try to do so:

Check out local board game shops and see if they host board game designer/playtesting events.
Join board game communities on Facebook, Meetup, or other similar platforms and see if there are any locally hosted playtesting events.
Reach out to your favorite board game companies and see if they have any playtesting options you can participate in.
If you’re a designer, connect with other designers to see if they’d be interested in swapping prototypes for playtesting.
Ask your game group if they are interested in playtesting games, then contact various board game companies or shops to see if you can help them out. Organizing a playtesting event would help so many designers and take that burden off their shoulders.
Subscribe to various board game companies’ newsletters to be the first to know if they need any playtesters, like ours!