playtesting
playtest early and often
your players aren’t stupid
don’t intervene
think aloud
“How would you describe this game?”
Players know their feelings, you know the solutions.
What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played?
What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played?
Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t?
If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be?
What were you doing in the experience?
How would you describe this game to your friends and family?
What could have been explained better or earlier when I was teaching the game?
What do you wish you knew when you first started playing?
Is there anything you feel like you still don’t understand, even after finishing the game?
What was missing from the player boards / reference cards?
What did you want to do, but couldn’t or was unable to do?
Were your decisions meaningful, or did they feel like they didn’t matter?
What were you asked to memorize / internalize / recall? Was this too much for a game like this?
How would you describe your strategy?
What other strategies did you see or think of?
Did you notice a first or last player advantage?
Did you notice a dominant strategy?
What kind of emotions or feelings did you feel / notice as you played?
What brought those emotions out, the game or another player?
Which elements helped you feel immersed in the theme of the game?
Which elements took you out of the game’s theme?
What moments were the most fun? What moments felt like work, or were boring?
What felt balanced or unbalanced? (Remember we’re focusing on feelings here, not the raw math of things.)
Did you notice any accessibility issues? (Examples: color-blindness, required cultural knowledge, high cognitive load, lots of memory elements, etc.)
How long did the game feel (too short, too long, just right)?
Did the mechanics work well with the theme?
Playtesting questions taken from here (https://schellgames.com/blog/the-definitive-guide-to-playtest-questions) and here (https://www.entrogames.com/2020/05/what-to-do-after-the-playtest-20-playtesting-questions-that-set-players-up-to-give-great-answers/)
