What Makes a Good Playtest?

This week, we talk about the unpredictable mechanical swings that can happen between different versions of a game. Small tweaks to mechanics can trigger a cascade of unintended effects, causing the game design pendulum to swing from too many choices to too few and back again. We talk through examples of how we've managed these swings in Escape from Wonderland, and discuss our ongoing efforts to find the right balance. Links: Join the Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz Support our work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun  Buy our games: https://turtlebun.com/  Credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com

We’re introducing a new dynamic to our latest roleplaying game! You all came to this amusement park as friends, but one of you started serving the park’s demonic forces. And things are about to get mean. How can characters become enemies while players remain friends? When the rules ask you to clash with you peers, care and consideration needs to be given to keeping the antagonism fun. Links: Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz Support Design Doc monthly on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun  Where to buy our games: https://turtlebun.com/  Credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com

Hannah had to get a full time office job. Since then, finding the time and energy for creative work has been an uphill battle. In this episode, Hannah sits down with close friend and fellow game designer Joshua A.C. Newman to talk about life, art, and staying true to your values in trying times. Support Joshua’s work! https://www.patreon.com/joshua https://www.patreon.com/PunkPedagogy Links: Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun  Website: https://turtlebun.com/  Credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com

Hannah and Evan discuss Wonderland's first four-player playtest. When a playtest goes wrong, it can be tricky to diagnose the cause. How much is due to the rules, and what's connected to the more subtle influence of mood and flow? Links: Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Website: turtlebun.com Credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com

Slow and steady wins the race... but does it work in a one-session RPG? From what we've seen in Escape from Wonderland, not quite. In this episode, we discuss pacing in roleplaying games: from the moment players arrive at the table to leaving everyone feeling satisfied with the story's twists and turns. We dig into the challenge of building uncanny horror—where a slow burn creates the best dread—and whether it's possible to communicate that in a single sitting. Mentioned in this episode: Visioneers (2008 film) Links/Credits: Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Website: turtlebun.com Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com

Sometimes a secret is worth more than gold. But how do you make concrete rules for something intangible? Hannah and Evan talk about the secrets of Wonderland and what to do when the rules are out of step with the story. Links/Credits: Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Website: turtlebun.com Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Support Design Doc with a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun We're now on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com

Even when things are going wrong for your characters, you as a player might feel rewarded by narrative twists and turns. In this episode, Hannah and Evan discuss the ways that games can reward both players and characters, and do some live game design about claw machine prizes... Links/Credits: Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Website: turtlebun.com Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Support Design Doc with a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz instagram.com/turtleandbun

When people decide what art is worth looking at, they look for the very best. In a world that demands creative endeavors be perfect, how do we find the confidence to make and share our own art? Episode mentions: Olga Smirnova / Dutch National Ballet: https://www.operaballet.nl/en/dancers/olga-smirnova Toki Pona: https://tokipona.org/ A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart (essay): https://worrydream.com/refs/Lockhart_2002_-_A_Mathematician's_Lament.pdf The Jewish Wedding by Jovan Obican (lithograph): https://rogallery.com/artists/jovan-obican/jewish-wedding-2/ Links/Credits: Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Website: turtlebun.com Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Support Design Doc with a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz instagram.com/turtleandbun

Is playtesting more of a science, or more art? How prepared should you be for a playtest if you're testing rules that might change on the fly, never to be seen again? In this episode we talk about playtesting our newest game, Escape from Wonderland, and how that went! Links/Credits: Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Website: turtlebun.com Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Support Design Doc with a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz instagram.com/turtleandbun

Our newest game, Escape from Wonderland, began as a hack of Questlandia. But what happens when the mechanics of an old game don't work with the story you want to tell? In this episode we talk about hacking games to do what we want them to do. Links: Support Design Doc on Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Find our games at: turtlebun.com Credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz instagram.com/turtleandbun Support Design Doc with a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc