In another thought on execution often being as important as your ideas, make sure that you are always in a position to make use of all of your resources, especially when playtesting a game.
When you are playtesting your game, make sure you either have spare copies, or can produce one quickly, so that any playtesters you get can have a chance to play the game. Also make sure to always have enough space for the playtesters you expect, plus some spare for the ones you didn’t think you’d see at that session.
Make sure you can take on their feedback quickly and easily, consider a technological way of doing it, either via a wiki, CMS, or even e-mail is better than a scribbled note (but notes are better than nothing).
If you find out your playtesters have a knack for rules writing, proofreading, art or whatever, then try to make use of this if they are willing, rather than just using them to play the game, get them involved earlier in the process, many hands making light work.
Plan to treat your playtesters well, get snacks and drinks in for the gaming session, and make sure it’s in a pleasant environment suited to games.
If you plan your playtesting sessions to cover the various scenarios and possibilities that may occur, then you are likely to have better sessions. Better sessions mean more playtesters are likely to return next time, meaning you get the most benefit, for a small additional outlay of work.
Tags: playtesting
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