It occurred to me that the number of people posting about wanting people to playtest their games is far greater than the number posting about playtesting others' games. Why not turn a problem into a solution? I've explained further on BGG. Please follow the link if you'd like to participate, but any questions can be addressed here. I'll copy my original post to save virtual mileage.
Hi all. Please direct me to the thread if somebody's already implemented this. I've had trouble getting playtests going, especially since I haven't been able to get out to visit my local gaming groups due to scheduling conflicts. It strikes me that quite a few people may have this problem to greater or lesser extent. So here's the concept: send me a prototype and I'll send you mine. We each agree to playtest a set number of sessions, then return. I suggest the following format:
username, Country
Name of Game (or working title; BGG page if applicable)
Sessions: (number of sessions required to play/willing to play in exchange), # players (a range for what you'd like tested)
Additional Components: (components that will not be included in the prototype)
Brief Description: (...of the game; I put this last as the sections above may be enough for a person to see they will not be able to help; should include genre, similarities to familiar games, mechanics, hook; all under 100 words)
I'll do mine, which has a pretty big caveat.
rtwombly, USA
Shamus
Sessions: 2+, 2-6 players
Additional Components: cube tower and cubes from Queen Games' Shogun, Wallenstein, or Im Zeichen des Kreuzes; meeples in 6 colors (can use cubes, in a pinch); miscellaneous tokens (pennies, chips, whatever)
Brief Description: a path-finding/set-collection game using the cube tower to simulate events in a 1930s Private Eye's life, with Ameritrash sensibilities to the characters and special abilities; Ticket to Ride meets Android with scoring from Agricola
As you can see, my components are a big hang-up, but I can't see mailing my copy of Shogun around the world. Anybody think this would be of use? Even if you can't (or don't want to) playtest for me, feel free to post. If enough do, maybe we can take a math-trade approach.
Thanks!
