Earlier this week, the newest version of the Prototype for Sidekick Saga arrived in the mail.  I am very excited because the art on all the Sidekicks and Secret Identities is done!   On my birthday, I went ahead and took the day off and solo played the first three scenarios.  It’s working real well!  Most of the changes now are fixing grammar issues, clarity issues, and some game annotations.  The main mechanics seem to be working.

Last night, I had a group of 4 people over to “blind” playtest Sidekick Saga.  The newest prototype arrived earlier in the week, and it was time to test out all the things the previous playgroup encountered!

Prototype

The current version of the prototype has all the main characters fleshed out.   Phil Cho really delivered some fantastic art!

 

Semi-Blind Playtest

Strictly speaking, a blind playtest of a game is where you give the rules and the game to someone AND WALK AWAY!  Can they figure the game out without you?   Last night, I did a semi-blind playtest.  I stayed in the room and took notes as they played, but tried very hard not to speak up.  And I got some great feedback!

Playtest Playtest Playtest

If there’s any advice I have to give any designer: playtest playtest playtest.   You want the game as good as you can, and playtesters can give you feedback, you can see what’s working, what’s not working, etc.

I still plan more and more playtests to check balance, accessibility, rules, etc.  But last night went very well.  I think Sidekick Saga is on track.  The core rules seem solid and fun.  The hope is that we do a January 2019 Kickstart!  We need to get some more art, clean up the rulebook and of course, playtest, playetest, playtest.  Watch this space for more info!