Interview: Playtest UK’s Rob Harris

At the UK Games Expo last month I interviewed Rob Harris from Playtest UK! He very generously shared his very brief free time away from the playtest zone to chat to me about Playtest UK, the importance of the UK Games Expo to them, and share some handy tips for how to be a better playtester!

Listen here:

Or Download here:

Download Link

 

You can find Rob Harris on Twitter @playtestuk or meet him or other playtesters at one of the many Playtest UK meetups. Check out the

Playtest UK website

or the Playtest UK meetup group.

Some Lessons

Rob shares some great tips in this interview, the key ones I could pick out I’ve summarised (with some interpretive license taken) below!

Tips for Designers

Playtest playtest playtest! – An obvious tip but one that can never be said enough. This is the only way to learn enough about your game for you to improve it.

Seek out other designers – creating a board game is as much a technical challenge as it is an art, and other board game designers are the best people to help you fine tune the technical aspects of your game. After all, we’re all spend an unhealthy amount of time thinking about board game mechanics as it is!

Don’t forget your market – as useful as other designers are, it’s the player base you hope will want to buy your game that really counts. Your game could be technically perfect but if your audience isn’t excited about your game, something is wrong. Better to find this out before you try and release it, not after!

Iterate, and playtest again – No board game is built in a day. After your playtest sessions you’ll need to go back to the design, tweak what needs tweaking, or try out new ideas that have come with you. Then playtest again. No game is ever truely finished, only due.

Tips for Playtesters

Leave feedback till the end – too many disruptions to discuss the nitty-gritty break up the flow of the game which, with the exception of very developed prototypes, is the often the more important thing for a designer to get from the playtest. Tip: take notes on things that occur to you during the game, and always leave time at the end for discussion!

Be constructive but be honest – having your design criticised is a difficult thing to face so try to take some of the sting out of your comments if you can, but ultimately no one benefits if you’re not honest. The worst feedback you can give is “it’s fine”, as that gives the designer nothing to work with.

Be aware of the games you like – it’s quite possible that you are not the game’s target audience and that is fine, you can still provide useful feedback, but make sure the designer knows the kinds of games you like so they can put your comments in context.

 

If you have any tips for either designers looking to playtest or for playtesters looking to help designers, leave a comment and let everyone know!