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Circus Train - Playtesting
The 7 Stages of Playtester Feedback
A First Time Boardgame Designer’s Point of View
It’s been about 6 days now since I’ve received my first playtester feedback for Circus Train. In this article, I will share with you my journey through The 7 Stages of Grief and twist them around to conform to the world of boardgame design as I chronicle my experiences going through the process of having my first game published.1. Despair – “Oh no! They hate my game!”
It really feels like this at first, but deep down I know these testers have signed up because they like something about my game; in fact, there are probably many things they like about it. However, their job is to point out the rough spots and, unfortunately, this often means focusing on the negative. I have learned quickly that you need to have thick skin, take many deep breaths before replying to anything, and not take things personally even as “your baby” is being nit-picked. It is all being done with the best of intentions.
A designer has to learn to relax, move on and remember that the playtesters are just trying to help.
2. Depression – “Oh, for goodness’ sake! Why don’t I just trash the whole game and start all over?”
I would love to say this is a terrible idea, since most of the time it is. But I have designed games that simply do not pass the “Fun Test,” and that’s okay. Sometimes it’s better to put that game out of its/your misery and simply start anew, or at the very least to move onto another project all together and ruminate about that unacceptable design effort in the meantime.
For example, I once had this wonderful game spinning around in my head for months about The Silk Road. I had it all worked out, bought some nice playtest components, spent some time and effort making it look all nice and pretty, and then played it. It was awful. It now resides in my “needs serious revisions” pile of game ideas.
I know this will not always be the case, though, especially since I’ve had some good playtest experiences already with Circus Train. I can’t give up, and neither should you!
Work through your game designs. As Tim Gunn from Project Runway would tell us, “Make it work!”
3. Anger and Denial – “What do they know anyway?”
This sounds like it might have been the worst, most negative of all the stages, but it is actually the one that started me down the road to redemption. As I answered the above question seriously, I was already starting the process of game designer enlightenment.
I began to take notes on all the problems the playtesters brought forth in their observations and then I organized them. Like any list of ideas, some may truly be without merit, but many more will need addressing. Seeing it all on paper and in one place helped give me the “Big Picture” perspective needed to sort and categorize problems so that solutions would be equally organized and thoughtful. It was a great approach.
Still, I had to remind myself that these testers are there for me, sharing their considered judgments and trying to help make this a better game. I came to accept that, as the person responsible for developing this game, I must help guide them to provide me with the feedback and results required to make the best game possible.
In the case of Circus Train, I realized that the playtesters only know what I tell them, so I must continue to communicate and tell them as much as possible, sharing with them as they are sharing with me. And even at this early juncture in the playtesting process, I have already begun to see the changes, and thanks to these playtesters and the changes they’ve inspired, Circus Train is getting better.