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Types of playtesters

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zaiga
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Joined: 12/31/1969

When playtesting games, you'll notice that different playtesters have a different approach to the whole thing. Here's an attempt to categorize those different types of playtesters (just for fun):

The ruleslawyer
This type of playtester delights in finding holes in your rules. During explanation they will ask a lot of "what if" questions and during gameplay they try to set up or spot situations that are not covered in the rules. Such playtesters can be annoying, especially when your design is still "rough", but the can also be very useful to make sure your rules become airtight.

The non-gamer
This type of playtester likes finding a strategy, preferably one that is simple to execute, that clearly breaks your game. It's very important to have at least one such playtester in your group, especially when you have a more complex game.

The player
This type of playtester just likes to play games, but is not particularly interested in the process of playtesting a game. These kind of playtesters can be very handy when you have a game that has already been playtested thoroughly and you are more interested in quantity of feedback, rather than quality, or when you just need an extra body to get the required number of players for a game.

The evaluator
This type of playtester will treat a playtest session as a normal gaming session, but will come up with a lot of feedback and suggestions when the game is done. Can be very useful, especially during the early stages of design.

The new kid on the block
These playtesters are often friends and family you roped into a playtest session because your simply desperate for playtesters. They might occasionally play games and perhaps they are even interested in gaming, but they won't provide you with the most in-depth feedback. Still, if casual gamers are your target audience their response to the game might be invaluable.

I'm sure you can define more type of playtesters!

- René Wiersma

fashun_diva
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Types of playtesters

heh... interesting thread...

Some other types I've come across...

Mr Nice Guy

This playtester is really positive about your game and says he loves it, and promptly declares he'll buy a copy if/when you get it published.

Then when you tell him 2 months later you've gone into production and the size of your production run, he clucks his tongue in pity and wishes you good luck in selling a single copy of your game. heh.

The Art Critique

This playtester is totally disinterested in the game itself and spends his time critiquing the artwork- DESPITE being told from the get-go that it's just a rough mock up and does not in any way reflect the final artwork.

Forget about getting any feedback on game development/tweaking from this fellow!

The Boardgame Genius

This playtester gives such amazing and rich feedback (and at a break-neck speed), you have enough material not only to tweak your prototype game- but also to develop another 10 new games!

This guy is amazing, if only he could slow down long enough for you to jot down all his input!

... by and large, I really can't complain about the group of playtesters I use though, they're a great bunch and they've helped SO much in the development of our games.

Without a good group of playtesters, it's impossible to judge how tight your game is, whether it's simply a total dud, etc. It's tough to be totally objective on something you've created.

eve

Anonymous
Types of playtesters

I think this one bears note:

The Boardgame Nongenius.

A friend invites him to your playtest session, you invite a video-gamer friend to try board games, or a family member joins in.
Very similar to the "New Kid on the Block", the nongenius loves the game, but can't follow some of the most fundamental rules. He insists on providing feedback, but the suggestions defy the very concept of your game.
Expect to meet him if you attempt playtesting on the internet, or if you run a complex/rules heavy game.

Anonymous
Types of playtesters

Great thread! This one was inspired by a playtesting session with Zzzzz:

The Maverick

The playtester that ignores the goals of the game and tries to find holes in the rules by pushing the limits of the rules. Example: A player picks up the shotgun and, instead of fighting the monsters, turns and fights all the players ("Hey, can he do that??").

zaiga
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Types of playtesters

I have another one...

The Complainer

This type of playtester will bemoan his poor, poor fate during the game, or afterwards. Especially likes to complain about how he drew all the bad cards, about the poor rolls, etc, and declares the game unbalanced or even broken as a result.

When someone complains after a playtest about the game being unbalanced, it can sometimes be tricky to tell whether the game really is unbalanced, or that the particular playtester is just a Complainer.

boardgamegeezer
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Beer

And the board game beer guzzler playtester who gets so drunk they forgot what they found out and fall asleep zzzz.

Anonymous
Types of playtesters

The Playtester Finder
The person who has infinite patience in trying to find playtesters for a game that he find interesting. Even if the original author lives half way across the world.

This is the best kind of playtester to have as a close friend. Although you might find it difficult to play any published games.

Anonymous
Types of playtesters

I've worked with 100's upon 100's of playtesters over the years and the one thing I can say universally is that there are a few keys:

a) get people whose feelings don't get hurt -- everyone will have ten opinions about everything and if you have dozens of people that means hundreds of opinions and if you have to spend (read: waste) time making sure no one's feelings get hurt, you'll get nothing done

b) get a good mix of all of the above types of people -- every group will catch some things and miss others and, just like life, variety is usually best

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