NuGEMS in Blind Playtesting
Well, it's that time again! Back to blind playtesting. What is blind playtesting you may ask? Playtesting without assistance. People without knowledge of the game are given a copy to try with no one else knowledgeable about the game to assist. After reading the rules, do the players still have questions? Is the wording too vague causing the players to have to make house rules? Did a necessary explanation get missed?
After spending hours and hours working on artwork, layout, rule writing and the myriad of other aspects of a game, it becomes easy to assume players will immediately understand a concept or forget to include a definition of something. The blind playtest shows us these things and anything else that was missed as the players are on their own to figure out the game.
Since the last round of playtesting we changed a LOT about how NuGEMS plays. Much of the original game left players hoping for the cards they need without much ability to change their position if they don't get dealt a good hand. This new design gives the players much more freedom to create varying strategies using tools and impacting the playspace. We've even built in a tool to junk a player's win condition and gain new ways to win. These changes have given the game a depth it didn't have before but also expanded it enough that those that had played the older version will need to go through the rules as much as a new player. We also think that comparing notes from previous players to the new ones will help us determine if other changes from the original should be made.
We'll be spending the next few months playtesting this new version of NuGEMS before we complete the final artwork for the cards. It was the feature game at our last Demo Day and will be at the next few months' Demo Days along with our other games in progress. We are also sending tons copies out so if you are interested in joining our playtesters, let us know! Click HERE to sign up!
In the meantime, don't forget to Bring Fun to the Table! Or in the case of NuGEMS and the rest of our Travel Line, Bring the Fun anywhere you want to!
