Designing Your Game

Req 7bc — Blind Test and Reflect

7.
Blind test your game. Do the following:

This requirement covers two final design tests that matter a lot:

Blind testing is one of the most honest tools in game design. When you stop explaining and just watch, your design has to stand on its own.

Req 7b — Let New Players Try It Without Help

7b.
Share your prototype from requirement 6 with a group of players that has not played it or witnessed a previous playtest. Provide them with your instruction sheet(s) and any physical components. Watch them play the game, but do not provide them with instruction. Record their feedback in your game design notebook.

A blind test shows whether your rules, layout, and components really communicate the game. Players who already know your design are often too forgiving. Fresh players reveal the truth quickly.

As you observe, resist the urge to help. If players misread a rule, skip a setup step, or interpret a card the wrong way, that is data. It does not mean the players failed. It means the design or the instructions need work.

What to observe during a blind test

These moments are especially valuable
  • Setup confusion: Do players know how to begin?
  • Rule misunderstandings: Which instructions get misread or ignored?
  • Component confusion: Are cards, zones, or markers hard to interpret?
  • Natural strategies: What do players try without being coached?
  • Emotional response: Do they seem curious, frustrated, engaged, amused?

Req 7c — Share the Notebook and Reflect

Blind playtest scene showing new players using a prototype and written instructions while the designer watches silently and takes notes.
7c.
Share your game design notebook with your counselor. Discuss the player reactions to your project and what you learned about the game design process. Based on your testing, determine what you like most about your game and suggest one or more changes.

This final conversation is about growth. Your notebook should show the journey from concept to prototype to revised design. Your counselor is not only looking at the finished game. They are also looking at how you learned from the process.

What You Learned About Design

Strong reflections often include lessons like these:

Those lessons connect directly back to Req 4d, where you practiced analyzing how changes affect player experience.

What You Like Most — and What Still Needs Work

Be specific. Maybe you like the teamwork, the pace, the theme, or the way the scoring creates tension. Maybe the part you like most is the one players reacted to most strongly.

Then suggest at least one more change. A thoughtful improvement idea shows that you see design as a process instead of a finished product.

NPR — How Game Designers Use Playtesting General reporting on game design often highlights the role of testing, feedback, and revision in making games better.

You have now completed the full design cycle. The last requirement lets you explore real people who teach or work in the field.