Plate … Playtesting

I teach philosophy, humanities, cinema studies, and game studies at the University of Colorado. And I often talk to my students about not assuming that the meaning an author or artist gives for their own work is the one and only, divine, perfect meaning of a piece. And while I go into the deconstructionist ideas of Barthes and DeMan, I almost always also try to explain it like this: the artist is too close to their own work at times to see it for what it is. And I promise this has to do with my topic today - playtesting. Playtesting is such an important aspect of Game Design. Like … I’m not sure there’s a more important one. You can have beautiful art; you can throw a bunch of money into manufacturing; you can hire lots of reviewers to check out the game, but if it’s not good - at its core, good - then you have a very expensive weight on one’s already overcrowded bookshelf. The designer is also far too close to the game to know what’s working and what’s not. In their head they not only have the rules of the game, they also have the intentions of the game (these do not always match), they also have all of the non-rules - the things that didn’t work, the rules that were unbalanced, the exceptions to the rules, the brave little aspects of the game that are not yet fully fleshed out. And all of this, swimming in one mind, is like a thick sweater you’ve pulled over your head and gotten stuck. You can no longer objectively see your own game.

That’s where my playtesters come in! We will list them all in the published game, but they have been invaluable. I trust their opinions and none of them are simply trying to say good things simply because they are afraid to say the bad. These are the type of people you want playtesting the game. I have one individual to thank more than others. Elyse! They have been so amazing in this process. Not only have they played the game nearly as much as I have, they understand the vision, are brilliant with rules and mechanics, and have been a sounding board for me to pitch ideas and thoughts and bounce inspirations off of - which is how I work best.

So, what have we found in our playtest iterations? We’ve found lots of ambiguous language on rules. And we’ve been clearing that up. We’ve found out the most fun aspects of the game and what has seemed too complicated thus detracting from that fun. But mostly (and anyone who tries to make an asymmetric game will vouch for this), balance. With about 12 (I’m also playtesting the first expansion which will add 8 more) factions to balance and four different general ways of getting points, it is a struggle. However, each side in the conflict has won, and each faction has been played. No one quite felt out of it for the whole game, and that’s almost more important than actual balance, is the feel of balance. Does everyone always feel like they have a shot? I hate games where I feel entirely out of the running (even if I still have a chance to come back). This doesn’t feel fun to me. Along with this, I’ve also understood that “perceived winning” during the game, is not the same as actually winning in an Asymmetric Euro Game. That is to say, just because “Order” is ahead in points, does not mean they are positioned well to win, and if players perceive a threat they may all pounce on Order while Myth is blatantly gaining ground quickly and building an excellent force of power. But I also know, that knowledge comes with playing the game.

Overall, I’m incredibly happy with how fun the game is (even in its current iteration). It feels balanced and like your choices matter. There is little “luck” in the game and so everything feels earned! And even if I lose (which as of this writing has been every single game so far) I still feel like I could do better next time. I love games that teach you how to be good at them over time. Our next steps with playtesting are to do more blind playtesting, and have our Lead Playtester play games without me present at all. We’re dedicated to making this game solid and balanced and fun! And we’ll keep playing and fixing until these are where we want them to be.