Even if you work alone, you *really* need blind playtesters who don’t care about your feelings. That’s how good games get made.
— Brandon Rollins
Instead of: ‘That question’s answered in the rules.’ Think – ‘Can I prevent anyone needing to ask the question?’
— John Brieger
As a designer, you go deep into the mechanisms and begin to form strong opinions as you work through the game in your mind’s eye. You begin to know all the details by heart. Nevertheless, it is extremely important to test every detail, and patiently make notes for improvements because conflicts arise when a change clashes with other existing rules.
— Max Wikström
Mediocre but not terrible games tend to generate less discussion – try prompting with specific moments from play.
— John Brieger
Record extra gamestate data at the end of tied games, so later, you can see how different tiebreakers would work.
— John Brieger
Not all prototype games are worth finishing – it’s OK to shelve a project after playtesting a few times.
— John Brieger