My Favorite Playtesting Guidelines
I’ve playtested in a variety of in-person and virtual communities over the last few years. These are some of the top playtesting guidelines I’ve gleaned from them, each with a little bit about why they work so well.
1. Give feedback through the lens of your personal experience.
The best playtesters give their feedback in terms of how they felt about the experience - when they were having fun, what the highs and lows were, and where they were frustrated, confused, or otherwise not having a good time. This feedback is best presented through a series of “I” statements. Rather than say a game was boring, it’s better to say something like, “I wasn’t engaged during X.” Making it more about themselves and less about the game allows playtesters to find a professional balance of kind, yet critical.
2. Hold feedback until the end of the playtest.
Bouncing back and forth between playing and evaluating are two very different experiences, and it can be difficult for playtesters to separate how they felt about the game if it’s constantly being interrupted for critique. Best to take notes during the playtest so you can refer back to your thoughts during the feedback session at the end of the playtest.
3. Don’t offer design solutions.
As a playtester, your job is to tell the designer about the experience you had playing their game. It is NOT to design the game for them. “What if”-style solutions often derail feedback sessions, as people end up talking about the new idea, and not the experience that was in front of them. If a designer isn’t soliciting a brainstorm session, this can even be rude and condescending.
4. Take turns giving feedback.
This primarily comes from digital groups where it’s impossible to read body language and all too easy to interrupt someone, but it would make a good addition to in-person playtesting groups as well. Making sure everyone is heard in a group is valuable.
5. Anyone can end the playtest at any time.
Playtesting is a continual act of consent, not a democratic process. If a single person is done with the playtest, then the playtest is over and it’s time to go to feedback. Period.
6. Give more than you get.
You should expect (and be willing) to playtest other people’s games more often than you get your own games played. Remember, if you ask four people to play your 30-minute card game, that’s two hours you’ve taken from the group. Pay that time forward.
7. Designers should have a playtesting goal.
Is this game fun? Does the economy work? Are players incentivized to engage with the elaborate combat mechanics you’re so excited about? Having a question (or several) that you want answered by a playtest can help you push your game forward and avoid stagnation.
8. Have a time limit.
The most efficient playtesting groups have a time limit for their games. Time constraints force people to get things done and impose a sense of urgency on your meetings. In our 2.5-hour meetings, The Boston Game Makers Guild regularly playtests 10+ games. That’s a lot of opportunity to iterate.
9. Designers should feel free to change things on the fly.
If something isn’t working, there’s no sense pressing on with it if you have an immediate fix in mind. Sometimes it can be helpful to have a few ideas you want to try out and just run the beginning of the game a few times while implementing the different versions. The best groups are flexible and open to this kind of on-the-spot creativity.
10. Be a safe space for people and creativity.
Have a Code of Conduct, make it clear who people can report bad actions to, and emphasize that making games is a creative process that isn’t always perfect. The best playtesting groups are open, inclusive, and offer support.
