Playtesting for All!

  This is a free service specifically designed to help out our fellow game publishers, game manufacturers, and game companies. We handle alpha, beta, and final testing for you.

  We have a permanent playtest group that we use for our own in-house projects as well, they are placed at the service of other companies. Through this program your company can use them in preparing your products for market and distribution.

  The members of our playtest group are all experienced gamers in a variety of kinds of games; ranging fro boardgames, card games, roleplaying games, wargames, tabletop games, even home-brew games that defy categorization. They each average between 10 and 30 years of game playing experience and each one is bound by an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreements) that has clauses added to it to cover the games that are being tested.

Here is an example of how we test a new game, game system, or new game supplement.

• Each playtester reads the material and then submits pre-test comments, these are kept unread until the final testing is completed.
• Each playtester then either designs and creates a scenario based on the rules if it is a wargame or roleplaying game and then runs it, or runs a submitted scenario (if that is being tested) to a group of players (ranging from 3 to 6 players). These players all have signed and are bound by the same NDAs we cover our playtesters with. In the case of a card game, tabletop games, or boardgame each playtester explains the rules to the other players and moderates the gameplay.
• These playtest sessions are run regularly on Saturday afternoons.
• During the playtest the GM takes notes of any comments made by the players or suggestions.
• At the end of the gaming session the players are each given a questionnaire for them to fill out (ratings are by numbered ranges and written comments). Once these are completed, they are given back to the GM, who then submits the results to us. These are kept unread until the full testing period is over.
• At the end of the testing cycle, 10 sessions have been run and the results collected. The results are then tabulated (compiled), gone over and analyzed, then a final report is provided to the client or client company.
• If we are doing playtesting on our own material then the modifications are made on the spot and the cycle restarts until we are satisfied.

Now the playtesting of a scenario, adventure (perhaps for one of our publications), or a boardgame is done differently from the method above, since there are shorter sessions and usually the material is not overly complex.

• Each playtester reads the material and then submits any pre-test comments that the playtester may have. These are kept unread until the final testing is completed.
• Two playtesters then volunteer to run the scenario (if that is what is being tested) to a group of players (ranging from 3 to 6 players). Again - these players have signed and are bound by the same NDAs we cover our playtesters with.
• On two successive Saturdays, a playtest session is run and during the playtest the GM takes note of all comments and suggestions made by the players.
• At the end of the gaming session the players are each given a questionnaire to fill out (ratings are by numbered ranges and written comments). Once completed these are given back to the GM, who then submits the results to us. These are kept unread until the full testing period is over.
• At the end of the testing cycle, a total of 2 sessions have been run and the results collected. The results are then tabulated (compiled), gone over and analyzed, then a final report is submitted to the client company.
• If we are doing playtesting on our own material then the modifications are made on the spot and the testing ends if it content for the magazine. This cycle is different from the previous one above when we are dealing with material that is part of the content for one of our magazines since publishing a regular monthly magazine makes all deadlines very tight.

  If you would like to schedule something for playtesting, then please use our Contact Us page to schedule this with us.