[#015] When to shelve games, playtesting awesomely, and more

Welcome to your weekly dose of board game design!

We're in that weird time where North America has sprung forward and Europe won't until next week... Twice a year for about two weeks each time, the two time zones are out of sync

Something I learned about game design this week

I'm beginning to get a bit more aggressive with shelving games. Part of this is because there's a TON of ideas just itching for their time to shine, and there's a lot of ideas / designs that have been hanging around for awhile now. Call it a digital detox or a bit of pre-spring cleaning, but these attitudes go for everything in life, not just physical things.

As mentioned back in issue #4, Shelved games can and should come back out once in awhile. One big question to ask here: what's the right time to shelve a game?

My usual questions:

• What is the current status of the game?

• When was the last time it was playtested?

• When was the last time you pitched it, playtested it, or touched it in some meaningful way?

• How do you feel about the game after opening the file / box / bag?

• Have you already tried changing the theme, the mechanics, etc.?

Totally OK to shelve it - when the time comes to shelve a game or five, I'll print out a list of the games, stick it in my calendar to re-explore six months or so from now, then feel a bit lighter...

This week's tip: playtesting awesomely

For the next several weeks, I'll be going back to some fundamentals. Today, it's all about playtesting - and not just playtesting acceptably, but playtesting awesomely.

As the designer: know what your goal is for this playtest. We're following the scientific method here: Hypothesize, Test, Analyze. Write down what question you're asking yourself (or playtesters).

Early-stage playtesting questions might be as simple as 'does it work?' and 'is it fun?'.

Late stage questions might ask playtesters to try out specific strategies ('what happens when you're aggressive?', 'what happens when you focus on this specific way to score points?', etc.). Remember you're a playtester too, and maybe the best person to try this thing out is you.

Beyond knowing your goal, drill down into feedback. Your goal with playtesting is to find actionable things to fix and improve for the next version. Things like 'the balance felt off' need drilling down. 'The balance on which cards?', you might ask, or 'which cards felt overpowered / underpowered?', or 'what did you want more of / less of?'.

Specific, open-ended questions produce specific answers. If there were unusual things that came up (like an odd string of luck or an issue with the order of operations), those are worth pondering to see how they affected things.

What I’ve been working on last week

• Some client work

• Iterated on Smite, Shell Company, and Dice Cream

• Appeared on the Meeple Syrup show with Sen Foong-Lim and Cat Drayer

What's coming up this week

• Client work (design a social deduction game for one client and learn more about another client's needs)

• Playtest Smite, Shell Company, and Dice Cream

• Make some sample puzzles for a new puzzle game

ICYMI

Boston FIG has announced a two-day event for the weekend of May 20-21. Pay-what-you-like tickets aren't on sale as of when I type this, but learn more here. There's also opportunities to get your game on display or to give a talk.

Random picture of the week

Love seeing new themes like this - I just wish it told me more about the game than just 'Get Subs' or a stereotyped set of personalities...

Thanks for reading!

Got a question about game design you'd like answered? Find an amazing new resource that would help fellow game designers? Reply to this email and share =)

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!