Why I Cringe When Players Give Feedback During the Playtest

I recently mentioned in the gear video I posted that one of the items I brought with me on this trip was a notebook, which I primarily use to take notes while playtesting other people’s games.  I do this for a few reasons, but mostly so I never feel compelled to interrupt a playtest to give some kind of feedback on the game - I have it all written down for later.

But some of you might be wondering, “what’s the harm in just giving some feedback while we’re playing?”

Well...

It Ruins the Experience

Designers often talk about wanting to create a certain experience with their games.  As a playtester, the best thing you can do is be honest about how you experienced the game.

Unfortunately, when someone stops the game in the middle of their turn to talk about some kind of feedback, the playtesters at the table are no longer experiencing the game.

 They are experiencing feedback.  

Tugging back and forth between play and feedback can make it very difficult to pinpoint where certain impressions and feelings are coming from.  Was the game long and frustrating because of actual flaws in the game, or was it long and frustrating because players spent half of the game giving feedback about it?

Further exacerbating this problem, is the sheer time that feedback can take up.  Lots of groups impose a time limit on playtesting, and it would be a shame for a designer to only get through 3 rounds of their game because people couldn’t hold their feedback until the end.

In groups without a limit, time is still an important game metric.  Did the game last 90 minutes because there’s a problem with the systems, or did it last that long because one or more playtesters took up game time talking about how much better the game would be if it was about dinosaurs?  Were players bored because the game wasn’t engaging, or were they bored because someone just had to explain why the dice in the game were too random?

“But I Don’t Want to Forget!”

I get it.  You have a thought early on in the game and you’re worried that you’ll forget to mention it during the feedback session at the end of the playtest.  That’s exactly why you need a handy dandy notebook! 

Handy dandy tasty snack!

Writing down how you felt, what you were experiencing, or other thoughts about the game is a great habit to develop.  Not only will it help you remember the parts of the game you want to talk about, but it can also help you identify how your experience changed throughout the course of play.  I will often find myself writing something like, “at first your explanation of X confused me, but by the end of round 3 X was my favorite part of the game,” or “I was really drawn into your pitch when you were talking about Y, but was disappointed when that never seemed like an attractive option.” 

There Are Always Exceptions

Naturally, there are times when it can be constructive to give certain types of feedback during the game.  In particular, if the designer is obviously nervous or new, quickly pointing out something that excites you can be helpful (and welcoming).  Right after the teach, but before starting to play is a good place to briefly say something kind if it looks like it’ll help a designer calm their nerves.   Literally something like: “I’m really excited to try out these multi-use cards,” and then right into the game.

Also, I am in no way implying that you need to play a game all the way through to completion during a playtest.  If anyone at the table feels like it’s time to stop the game and go to feedback, then it’s time to stop the game and go to feedback.  My main point here is that once you go into feedback, the game is over.  

So keep a notebook!  You might surprise yourself with how much smoother playtesting and feedback can be with one!