Random Lessons in Prototype Shipping

If you don't read the rest of the post and are getting ready to mail out a prototype for blind playtesting remember these two lessons:

 

1. Include your contact information in many different places with your prototype.

 

2. Americans, ship your prototype using a U.S. Post Priority Mail Flat Rate box.

 

Of course, to find out why, you need to keep reading.

 

Last October my board game Post Position left the safety of my home to travel and visit others for a series of blind play tests.  To keep prototype costs low, I was circulating a single prototype between different playtesting groups.  For this to work it needed to be easy for the host play tester to receive the package and to forwarded it on to the next destination.

 

My solution was to package the game in a flat rate size medium #2 United States Postal System Priority Mail box.  In the box I included pre-print labels with paid postage for each destination.  That way the host play tester only had to tape the next label onto a new free U.S. Priority Mail flat rate box and drop it off at the local Post Office. 

 

With all the pre-printed labels and an instruction sheet packed together I was on top of the world.  I didn't even have to worry if the postage was off due to a random weight change.  I thought to myself I was prepared for anything that could go wrong.

 

That was until I received a frantic message from the first play tester.  Post Position apparently wanted to make a side trip to Georgia.  The game hypnotized the host into thinking it was a t-shirt and not a board game.  So under a hypnotic trance the host placed a pre-paid shipping label onto the Post Position box to a t-shirt company in Georgia.

 

At this point we convened a crisis committee.  The host quickly contacted the t-shirt company and arrange to get the prototype mailed back to him.  Weeks past and still no game had returned from Georgia. 

 

I was prepared to write the prototype off as permanently missing in action when a human resources manager at Alpha company sent me a message saying they had Post Position.  Something had gone wrong with mailing Post Position back to the host and the U.S. Postal Service returned it back to the t-shirt company.

 

That is how I discovered the best things I did putting together the prototype for blind play testing was to include a lot of documents with my e-mail on it.  The t-shirt company found my e-mail and reached out to me.  

 

After thanking them profusely for contacting me and promising to say lots of nice things about them (you should all buy one of the t-shirt brands from alphashirt.com) I learned the other benefit of mailing the prototype using flat rate U.S. Priority Mail boxes with pre-paid labels.  I was able to e-mail a pdf copy of the pre-paid USPS shipping label to the t-shirt company.  Since the rate was a flat rate from any destination I had no worry about the package having the wrong postage.  And, if the Post Office had trouble delivering the box to its next destination, I would get the prototype game back since the return address was to me.

 

Now I eagerly await to see what sort of hypnotizes it performs next.  If only I could train it to hypnotize publishers to pick the game up instantly.

Classics Lecture Series: Dexterity- Hungry Hungry Hippos, Pick up Sticks, and Jenga

The innocent marble takes a pleasant stroll not knowing a great herd of hungry hungry hippos are carefully stalking its movement.  As the marble thinks to itself, “boy the sun sure looks nice today,” it finds itself in the bottomless stomach of a very hungry, hungry, hippo.

Hungry Hungry Hippo teaches us that board games do not have to be limited to games of mental strategic interactions.  Board Games are also a place where we can hone our skills to achieve a physical feat.

Why expand beyond strategic games?  What do designers get out of adding competitions of physical dexterity?  

Not everyone wants to compete over who is the best thinker.  In Hungry Hungry Hippos there is no ambiguity to the goal of the game.  You see the marble, you eat the marble.  People can play it when their mind is not fresh enough to handle complex calculations or strategy without feeling the game is a fancy coin flipping game to see who wins.  Players get to compete over who has the best hand eye coordination.

Games based on achieving physical goals let designers build new games with limited parts.  Take the game of pick up sticks.  The game is literally just a collection of sticks.  Yet by dumping them on the floor you have created a large minefield for the players to defuse.  

Being a game of physical skill does not mean the game has no strategic mental skill.  Winning Jenga is not just about who can best identify which piece to take and having the hand motor skills to successfully take it.  The game is also involves strategizing over which piece to take to make your opponent's turn harder while still leaving you a block to grab in the future.  The same sort of thinking ahead that someone uses in a game of Chess or Checkers.   

All games are made up of mechanics that award one skill over another, be it your ability to do math in your head, read your opponents, or memorize what cards are still in the deck.  Games that combine mechanisms push board game players to embrace strategies that play to their strengths and compensate for their weakness.  

When I play Loopin’ Louie I compensate for my lack of hand eye coordination by just focusing on defending my chickens.  I let the other good players knock each other out and take my chances with the last remaining player.  The moment is tense, yet my fingers hunger to strike the lever for the crown just like a hungry hungry hippo yearns for one last delicious marble.

Faculty Lounge: David Palay of Random Access Podcast

Here in the faculty lounge I get together and talk to other board game interested podcasters and bloggers to learn a little bit more about what they do.

 

Today I talk to my friend David Palay who co-hosts Random Access Podcast with Andy Low.  I have known David and Andy since middle school and David was kind enough to be my first victim...cough…I mean first interviewee.

 

Dr. Wictz: So David could you give a quick breakdown about RA Podcasts in case someone is not familiar with your show?

 

David Palay: Hmm.  You'd think with 6 years behind us, this would be an easy question.  It's a weekly topical show that focuses on technology and games, but really it's whatever Andy and I have found interesting or want to talk about.

 

Dr. Wictz: Why did you guys start the podcast?

 

David Palay: We wanted to do something new and exciting, and have some way of telling other people about all the cool things we were seeing.  At least, that's what I recall.

 

Dr. Wictz: If you were to introduce someone to your show and you could only play for them one episode, which episode would you play?

 

David Palay: Wait.. which of the THREE HUNDRED PLUS episodes should someone listen to?

 

Dr. Wictz: Yes, you have to pick one. 

 

 David Palay:   Probably one of the early PAX10 episodes...  I think those were some of our best work.  http://www.rapodcast.net/postset/view?id=116

 

Dr. Wictz: What is your favorite type of board game and why?

 

David Palay: That's really hard to say.  I like a wide variety.  Particularly games that pit you against the board (Pandemic, Forbidden Island, etc.) or where there is a hidden traitor (Shadows over Camelot, Pandemic w/bio terrorist, Resistance).  Maybe the latter category, if we just expand it to "unknown alliances", then it could include things like Twilight Imperium and Diplomacy too.

 

Dr. Wictz: If I wanted you to review my board game on your podcast what should I do?

 

David Palay: Just ask.  You can e-mail us at mail@rapodcast.net .

 

Dr. Wictz: Do you ever have any guest board game designers?

 

David Palay: We had Dave Schrader on a few times from Shrader Heavy Industries.  (web: http://www.lightweightrpg.com/ twitter: @SchraderHeavy or @LightWeightRPG)  He came on to talk about the Light Weight RPG that he's been working on, which sounds really really cool and everyone should go check it out.. http://www.rapodcast.net/postset/view?id=250

 

Dr Wictz: How do you invite guest onto your show?  Is there anything I could do (as a board game designer) that could get me invited to by a guest on your show?

 

David Palay: Andy and I knew Dave from PAX, so he actually approached us.  Get your name out there, send email to press, and if possible go to conventions.

 

I know Andy mentioned to me there have been a handful of times when he has reached out to people to get them on the show, but most of the time we get an e-mailed about somebody willing to do an interview.

 

Again I want to thank David for taking the time to talk to me today.  Random Access Podcast comes out once a week every Monday.  You can find the podcast at www.rapodcast.net or by searching for Random Access Podcast on itunes.  You can also follow the Random Access Podcast on Twitter @RAPodcast .

Classics Lecture Series: Game Etiquette - Candy Land

If I come across a young person who wants to play Candy Land I will play it with them.  But Dr. Wictz you say, the players make  no choices.  The entire game is one really long fancy dice roll to see who wins.  There is no reason you should torture a kid by playing this game.

 

That, my friend, is where you are wrong.  Because Candy Land teaches important skills needed to build a “good game player.”   I know you are thinking I am crazy, but hear me out on why Candy Land builds a good board game player.

 

Do not change the rules…follow the rules.  Admit it, as a child you were tempted to change the rules mid game if you thought it would help you win.  This temptation is even worse for kids playing Candy Land today because the game now includes a series of optional rules.  Must a player send their piece back to the beginning by drawing the Plum Gingerbread Tree card or can we ignore it because it makes the piece move backward?  

 

Once we agree upon the rules of the game that is it.  Success and failure in the game is going to come from how well each player responds to the constraints placed in front of them.

 

Learn to wait for your turn.  “I want to go.”  I am sorry little Jack but you have to wait your turn.  Playing board games requires a certain level of patience.  Patience is not something everyone is inherently born with, it is something that is taught through practice and repetition.

 

Don’t be a sore loser. (don’t flip the table).  When you play a board game you do not always win.  This is particular true in Candy Land where there is no skill.  If everyone plays the game enough times they will eventually lose and they will have to deal the emotions of not being victorious.

 

Don’t be a sore winner. (Don’t rub it in their faces) Winning brings good feelings, and expressing one's’  joy over a hard fought match is warranted. But  just as in losing, winning is only for that game session. So celebrate, but extended victory dances are frowned upon.

 

Finish the game.  Just because you are not doing well does not mean you should quit.  Not finishing the game when you are going to lose is unfair to the other players who in the past have finished the game when they themselves face a long shot of coming back in the game.  

These qualities are not easily taught, and any chance I have to pass them on playing Candy Land to the next generation of gamers is time well spent.

A Dr. Wictz List: 11 Similarities Between Board Game Designers and Economists

1. It takes two to four years to find a publisher for your latest paper or board game.

2. You can never find enough people to read your draft or play test your prototype.

3. Your significant other gets a glazed look over their face when you talk about your latest project.

4. Same male-female ratios at conferences and conventions.

5. There is only a small alpha audience interested in your work unless you hit the jackpot and stumble onto something that appeals to the mass market.

6. You are thrilled after years of work over what you have made till one guy figures out a single little thing that completely breaks your economic model or board game.

7. You can only count on your family ever reading you work or playing your game.

8. No one recognizes you on the street, but after one good publication you are mobbed by fans at conferences and conventions.

9. You are constantly worrying if your theme fits your paper or board game and if anyone else finds it interesting.

10. You have studied game theory.

11. You would be living in a cardboard box if you had to rely on living off the royalties from your published work.

 

Classics Lecture Series: Introduction - Learning to Think Ahead - Tic Tac Toe, Checkers, and Connect Four

We are alpha board gamers.  Alpha gamers have grown beyond old standards with inferior mechanics.  We decry them as being poorly designed and loath the uninformed for still insisting we play these mass market "classics."

 

Well stop your loathing!  Today I kick off a new series called Classics Lecture Series where we look at the positives of classic games.  Classic games are "classic" because the designers did enough things right that people want to play these games even today.  Whether we like to admit or not, a number of us got into board gaming by playing these games.  Nor should we forget that classic games have inspired the mechanisms and qualities we cherish in today’s modern board games.

 

By breaking down the good parts of classic games I will be identifying the qualities and mechanics that we should be utilizing as modern board designers.  Where shall we start, well with the first game I ever learned...Tic Tac Toe.

 

I cannot estimate the countless hours my parents were spared trying to find a way to entertain my sister and me while we played with a simple piece of paper and a pen.  The classic knock against Tic Tac Toe is that if everyone plays the correct strategy then no one should ever win.  Well go try and tell that to a five year old.  Go ahead...I can wait...the article will still be here after you get back.

 

Don't believe you do they?  As a kid, predicting your opponents next move is like predicting what the stock market will do tomorrow.  Only through many...and I mean many...games of Tic Tac Toe we learn no one should ever win the game.

 

Why does it take many games for little kids to realize the futility of playing Tic Tac Toe?  Because little kids are learning the skill of thinking ahead.  When kids first start playing Tic Tac Toe the game feels more like flipping a coin to see if the person who called heads wins.  I put an X in the left corner, my sister puts an O in the middle, neither of us are initially thinking about the next strategic move.  All we know is that sometimes something magical happens and one of us magically wins the game.

 

Instincts driven by sibling rivalry pushes us to start looking further ahead in game play to increase one's likelihood to win or at least prevent the other sibling form winning the game.  Trial and error will teach us that certain combinations of X's and 0's will ensure a victory over the inferior sibling.  But as soon as the other sibling learns to recognize our tactical secrete our competitive edge will be lost and every game will end in a tie.

 

By playing Tic Tac Toe and competing we learned our decisions have consequences and we need to think ahead in the game to ensure the game ends in a tie.  We are now ready for bigger and better games.

 

Depending on your household that game is either Checkers or Connect Four.  The drawback to both games is that the conclusion is pre-determined for perfect players.  The great thing for young board game players is that no matter what our parents may think, we are not yet perfect.

 

Like Tic Tac Toe, good Checker and Connect Four players look to set up traps that guarantees their victory no matter what move their opponent makes.  Achieving this requires thinking ahead and anticipating your opponent's moves.   Checker and Connect Four provide a whole new universe of traps to be sprung onto your opponent.

 

Traps that are discovered partly through trial and error, but partly through the lessons learned in Tic Tac Toe.  Once a player masters the concept of looking ahead, then players can start looking ahead in new surroundings like Checker and Connect Four without even playing their first game.  They start asking themselves before their turn what their opponent will do if they make a particular move.

 

Looking ahead is a key part of what makes any modern game fun.  Having a strategy to win a game of Agricola means that you are anticipating which resources your opponents are going to take before you make your move.  You, as well as your opponents are looking ahead.  In repeated play you are competing by seeing which one of you does the best job of reading the board and looking ahead.   Without looking ahead there is no strategy.  There is just a random dice roll to see who wins the game.  That is the lesson of Tic Tac Toe, Checkers, and Connect Four.

What To Ask On a Blind Play Tester Feedback Form?

My game Post Position is traveling across the country so playtesters can test the written rules for the game.  Players will be participating in a blind playtest - learning and playing the game with just the rulebook.  Usually after a game I get feedback on that specific game through conversation with other players, and some written reviews.  Without being present to observe, I need a feedback form that lets me know how well the group understood and implemented the rules. 

To help construct a good feedback form I am breaking down some of the questions on my form and explaining why I think I should ask them.  The word think is underlined because I do not know yet how well my form will work. I will write a follow-up blog later this year on how well each question worked.

There are many good feedback forms other folks have already put together.  UNPUB has a very good standard form they use at all of their game testing events.  The challenge is the UNPUB form is used at UNPUB events where the designer is personally teaching the rules to the player...aka not a blind play test. 

Also, the UNPUB form is used in situations where you can watch the play testers play the game.  So I need a feedback form that really tries to capture what actually took place within the game. These are the questions I think will tell me if the rules are working. 

Feedback From Questions

Were you able to play the game?

Silly? I think not.  The whole purpose of sending the game out to people who have never played the game before is to learn if they can play the game using just the rule book.  You pray the answer to the first question is some sort of yes, otherwise you can stop reading the survey at this point and start burning your current rule book so you can start over.

How long did it take you to learn the game?

Just because someone learned the game did not mean they learned it in a fast enough time for other people to enjoy it.  For example, I love the game Diplomacy, but I spent over 4 hours learning how to play the game with my high school friends.  If we were not dedicated board gamers then there was no way we would have the patience to spend so much time to learn to play the game.  (I know, you are rolling your eyes because only dedicated board gamers know of the game, yet alone consider playing it).

In your own words summarize how to play Post Position?

"Wait," you say, "didn't you already ask them if they learned to play the game?  Why do you need to ask them to summarize how to play the game?"  Just because they think they learned to play the game does not mean they actually learned to play the game I designed.  I am not there to see them play it, so I need to find questions that will reveal to me how they actually played the game.

What was your mood before learning the rules?  What was your mood after learning the rules?

Yes, I am asking questions about emotional stuff.  Why, because I want to gauge how emotional wearing it was to learn the rules.  Rules not only exist to make sure everyone keeps in line when they play the game, rules exist to entice people to want to play the game.  If my rules drains the fun out of the room there is a decent chance that the game goes back into the box before a single horse moves along the race track. 

What was the hardest rule to learn and why?

Notice I assume that a rule was hard to learn.  This will bias their answer to find a rule that was hard.  I am ok with this because no matter what they will identify the most frustrating rule explanation in the rule set.  Odds are improving that one rule will by itself make people much happier with your rule set.

Did the graphics make it easier to learn the rules?  Please explain why or why not.

Post Position includes some graphics to help explain the game.  That said, we need to know if the graphic made it easier to learn to play or just created more confusion.  I ask why or why not because it creates another opportunity to let me know if they created their own house variant of the game or if they actually learn to play the game I intended to teach them with the parchment in the game box.

Did you understand the rules better after finishing your first game?

Some people learn by doing versus reading.  Everyone has a friend who never reads the rules and relies on someone who knows the game to teach them.  I want to find out if those who could read the rules were able to teach the other players how to play by playing the game with them.

How comfortable would you feel teaching someone else the game, why?

Confidence in your ability to teach the game is a measurement in how much you think you know about the game.  I ask why because it tells me which part of the game they are the least comfortable with.

Describe what strategies worked or didn't work for you in the game?

I find it a good idea to ask the same question in a different form.  Details may come out that helps clarify players answers on previous questions.  By describing in this question what strategy did or did not work for the player they are also describing the rules of the game they used when they played.

 Conclusion

So are these the only set of questions that you should be asking?  No, you should also include a number of the standard questions found on the UNPUB game review form.  Do you like the game?  What was your least favorite part of this game? etc.

And now we wait.  You wait to see if my forms succeeded to illicit useful feedback. I wait to see if Post Position's rulebook needs minor tweaks or a trip to my fireplace.