In his book The Game Inventor’s Handbook (published by Betterway Books, 1993), game designer and publisher Steve Peek, a folksy Southerner if there ever was one, tells it like it is on the board gaming side of the business. Steve’s thoughts and my comments about playtesting a board game have important ramifications for your future success as a game designer.
The sections in non-italic type are the words of Steve Peek. My commentary follows in italic type. –Alan Emrich
When your intention is to sell to a publisher, creating a game is only a tenth of the battle. Your next step is the playtest, and it’s a step you have to take before you even start to think about the submission process.
Games that appear to be a lot of fun in theory may crash completely when actually played. I recall investing a small fortune several years ago in an imported European game as a Christmas present for my son. You probably will not be startled to learn I buy games the way other fathers buy train sets, and for substantially the same reason. I get to play, too!
It Is More Expensive Not to Playtest
This particular offering grabbed me at once. The box art was superb. The game was a science-fiction board game and when the storekeeper let me take a peek in side, I saw that the box was full of gorgeous colorful pieces and cards. The whole package had a quality air and smelled like a real winner.
It wasn’t. To this day the game has never been played in my house, either by its proud new owner or anyone lese. This might have been the result of poor translation (the game originated in Spain), but I doubt it. The rules were clear enough, but putting them into practice was another matter. My guess is that despite the obvious talent and money that went into the finished package, somebody forgot about playtesting.
Playtesting lets you know where you have gone wrong in a game; where the weaknesses lie and, above all, where it lacks clarity. Clarity is critically important. When you develop a game, many of its aspects may be obvious to you, but not to someone who hasn’t lived with the project for months. A good playtester will let you know where and how the game tripped him up. A good designer will take out all the flaws before submission.
Remember this. If a publisher is interested, the very first thing he’s going to do is playtest. The effort invested in playtesting before submission will be worthwhile.
Three Levels of Playtesting
Like Prototypes, I dived playtesting into three levels: original, debugging, and final.
Original Playtesting (or "Gross Playtesting" - as in "Gross Anatomy")
Original testing should be done first by the inventor or inventors, then by friends or family (friendly and supportive, but typically unreliable). The inventor phase of the test may simply be the inventor sitting whole nights playing the game alone, trying to find loopholes in the rules or flaws in a component. The object is imply to make sure each component in the game performs its function.
Next, waylay a few friends or relatives and tie them to kitchen chairs. Tell them their lives, as well as yours, hang in the balance and invite them to have fun. Don’t put too much faith in how much they say they like the game. All you are looking for is proof the game’s components work so you can proceed to the real testing.
Debugging
Debugging, the second phase of testing, is hard on inventors. You want your product to be perfect and you believe it is perfect when you put it in front of strangers. But good testing results comes from strangers who have no vested interest in you, your product, or your feelings. It is difficult to remain objective and not become defensive when they start criticizing. Control yourself! Denying a problem is the worst possible position to take. Keep telling yourself this process is part of making your good game a great one.
Final Playtesting
Final playtesting is subdivided into two stages: final and really final. In final testing you should be using the last of your second stage prototypes. If possible, have someone other than the game’s inventor conduct the tests. In fact, it’s better if the inventor is not even present. The testers should have to learn and play the game with the rules alone, unaided by verbal prompting. And, while I would do it as quietly as possible, set up a video recorder in some unobtrusive corner and let is run without an operator. You don’t want the tester becoming self-conscious about being on camera.
These tests should be conduced and the game changed according until the texts are perfect. The really final tests are conducted using the final prototype that will be sued in the presentations. Those inventors who, deep down inside, know they did not address all the comments from previous tests dread really final playtests.
Where Do Playtesters Come From?
As mentioned earlier, Phase One playtesters include the inventor, his friends, and his family. Phase Two playtesters really should be strangers or, at worst, casual acquaintances.
One of my favorite recourses for Phase Two playtesters is a playtest party. Ask a friend or neighbor to invite a specific number of people to your home on a Friday or Saturday night (daytime for children’s games). Make sure the neighbor understands you prefer people you don’t know. In fact, your neighbor’s relatives will fill the bill nicely. When they show up, have plenty of refreshments, and maybe even some music. Create a genuine party atmosphere. Let everyone talk for a few minutes and get comfortable with one another. Remember that in real life, people who share a game usually know each other.
When you feel the time is right, bring out the game. Judge their reactions from the time they look at the box to the time they help you clear the game off the table. This should be work for you but don’t make it work for them [that’s true at a number of game design levels - the people making it should do all the work so that the players can have all the fun]. Even thought it might, don’t act as if your future depends on the outcome. Encourage comments, suggestions, and criticisms. Always ask each tester, “What would you change to make it better?”
Other sources for Phase Two testers are church clubs or social organizations (Catholic Women’s League, singles clubs, senior clubs, etc.) These groups often look for interesting things to do as part of their monthly meetings. You can help each other.
Final and Really Final testing need to be conducted with genuinely objective groups. Some inventors, especially game companies, go so far as to pay marketing firms several thousand dollars to conduct what they call ‘focus groups’ with people who answer ads in the newspapers, are screened for certain demographic qualities and are then paid to bring their children or play a game themselves.
The Perils of Playtesting
What could be perilous about playtesting? After all, you will hear it from everyone: playtest, playtest, playtest… you cannot do too much. But beware: the results obtained from playtesting are only as good as the way in which you conduct the tests. If you don’t set up fair and impartial tests, you will be making an enormous mistake if you rely on the results of those tests.
The cost of relying on invalid information is obvious; from the waste of time and money to bruised egos, to the embarrassment of a scathing rejection letter asking why you wasted the company’s time submitting a flawed product. Here are six specific pitfalls to avoid when conducting a playtest.
PITFALL #1: GIVING VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS INSTEAD OF WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS
It’s hard enough to find evaluators from a game without having to make them read rules. No one (at least not someone I would want at a playtest of mine) enjoys reading rules. But the way in which the rules are written is as important as the rules and the games themselves. You are not going to be standing beside players when they have a question about the game. [You’re in trouble if marketing thinks they need to include a copy of you in every box.] You won’t be there to answer any questions. If you don’t evaluate your written rules ruthlessly, and identify which parts are unclear or confusing (even though you explained it in three different areas), your game will fail in the market or at the game company’s test - even if it is great fun.
There’s a certain threshold of ‘investment’ a player will make in your game, both financially and mentally. If you make them work harder than they perceive the reward of learning and playing your game will be, they’ll never play it. It will sit on some shelf, languishing, a tribute to your failure. -AE
Also, if the rules are so long that no one wants to read them, your game (not just your rules) has a serious flaw. You cannot separate the written rules from the game.
PITFALL #2: PLAYTESTING WITH FRIENDS OR RELATIVES EXCLUSIVELY
How many of you have friends or relatives who truly would feel comfortable telling you your baby is ugly? Not just ugly, but awkward and boring as well. Do you think you can really hide the fact that it is your baby; the baby you created and toiled over, the one that you are so proud of and for which you have such hopes? Will you friends or relatives feel they can be totally honest without hurting your feelings? Then why would you rely on their opinions in a playtest?
One answer is because you are proud of your creation and believe they will enjoy it, which negates the reason for conducting a playtest in the first place. Another common reason to justify using friends and relatives is they are more easily gathered to playtest a game than strangers.
Don’t do what’s easy [if this was easy, everyone would be doing it], do what is reliable. Use your friends and relatives as very preliminary tester to see how the concept goes over. If they don’t like the game and want to play every time they see you, go back to the drawing board. But once you get serious, find testers at a day care center, church groups, retirement homes, motor home camps, newspaper ads, or whatever age/interest group fits your particular product.
Someone other than you should conduct the very last test. No question should be answered verbally and, if possible, make a homemade videotape of the event for you to evaluate later.
PITFALL #3: PROVIDE A ‘RECESS’ FROM WORK, SCHOOL, OR RESPONSIBILITY
As Larry Bernstein of Mattel said at the Game Inventors of America’s 1992 Inventor Conference, “You can’t take kids out of school, playtest a game, then ask them if they liked it. Compared to what they should have been doing, the game was a lot more fun. Digging for worms would be a lot more fun than school for many kids.” For adult games, set up your test sessions for after work, preferably at the same time the playtesters normally socialize.
PITFALL #4: COMMUNICATING YOUR HOPES FOR OR ATTACHMENT TO THE GAME
It is easy to cite obvious examples of this. Telling the playtesters they are testing your game. Phrasing questions with a positive spin such as “Isn’t it fun?” and [don’t laugh] telling playtesters how good the game is or why you think it will be successful. But there are more insidious ways of influencing playtesters that you should avoid, for example: defending any part of the game; getting excited if they get excited; handling or discussing your game with more care of pride than any other game that is being tested as a comparison. In short, your behavior and attitude toward your game can easily influence your playtesters’ opinions, virtually guaranteeing invalided results.
PITFALL #5: COMPARING YOUR GAME TO THE WRONG BASE LINE
Game professionals never cease to be amazed by the number of comparisons of a new game to Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit. “The playtesters liked it better than Trivial Pursuit,” read the never-ending flow of letters to pouring into product acquisition offices. The problem is consumers might not buy Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit if it were introduced today.
The game business is a fashion business; to a significant extent for new games, a fad business. Therefore, how your game compares to something that was introduced ten or fifty years ago is almost irrelevant. How does your game compare to things being valued by your target audience today? To the latest computer and video games, the latest DVD movie releases, other games currently on the market, or even hanging out at the mall? If your target audience won’t give up another form of currently popular entertainment to play your game, how will your game succeed?
PITFALL #6: NOT HEARING WHAT YOU HEAR, NOT SEEING WHAT YOU SEE
It may be difficult to imagine how anyone could invest their time, money and effort in conducting a series of valid tests, then deny or try to explain away the results. But it happens all the time, and that anyone could be you. How? Because even though you will invest in conducting your playtests properly, you will have invested even more in the idea of your game succeeding. Everybody has dreams and aspirations, and for many of us, our game is the way wee finally are going to realize our goals.
We know our game is different, unique. Success, money, and fame are just around the corner. Nothing will stop us, not even poor playtest results. In order to save yourself time, money and heartache, ask yourself before you begin each playtest if your game is going to succeed in the market. If your answer is anything other than “I don’t know” or, after a lot of positive playtesting, “maybe,” then postpone your test efforts until you are ready to hear the truth rather than what you want to hear.
You’re not Pharaoh; don’t be king of denial. -AE
