I started playtesting by creating a version of the game on playingcards.io and inviting two close friends to play a few rounds with me, we played the new simplified version of the game, and tried some minor rule variations to test what format would be the most fun and would create the game feel I wanted to achieve.
The rules that we had to add as we played due to my oversight were:
- Selecting the starting player, and the order of play
- Revealing cards during the round
- Revealing roles
Results and Evaluation
The first playtest was promising as the game was simple to learn and had no real difficult actions that players could take that would complicate the learning process. There were some aspects of the game that I had overlooked and had to come up with on the fly, and we tested a few variants of these rules to find the best options. These minor rules were:
Turn Order
The turn order I settled on after 3 rounds of the game was:
- Use a spinner to determine the starting player, that player selects to take a card from the player on the left or right, and that player takes in the same direction for that round.
- Subsequent rounds start with the next player in the clockwise direction and similarly the player selects which direction they will take from after the cards are down
These changes introduced a simple to follow turn order for players and aim to add a small layer of strategy at the start of each round.
Role Selection
At the start of the game, players select their roles by separating 4 role specific cards, and each player selecting one. We tested two variants, one where the players did not reveal their roles, and one where the players did, and found that it was more fun to bluff other players when the roles were revealed as you could use role specific cards to tempt other players with lower risk to yourself.
Revealing Cards
As we were playing online, it was difficult to “reveal” cards in a satisfying way, but for future playtests, determining when the best time to reveal cards during the round would be necessary. For now I settled with revealing both cards as they enter the player’s score stack.
Next Step
As I would be travelling for the holidays, I printed the cards out and brought a set with me to play in person with my family. I’d use these playtests to determine the game’s appeal to more casual and less game savvy audiences, and to test physical aspects of the game like card placement and design.