Star Crossed - Michigan State Universitycunni268/writing/cunningham_playtesting.pdftesting these initial rules is still fun for the player. In observing Star-Crossed, this seemed to

Star-Crossed Playtest Report

Kristina Cunningham

Masters of Arts

Department of Telecommunications, Information Studies, and Media

College of Communication Arts and Sciences

Michigan State University

Cunningham! Star-Crossed Playtest Report

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Playtest Report" 3

Purpose! 3

Methods! 3

Sampling Methods, Recruitment, and Criteria! 3

Participants! 3

Playtesting and Observation Methods! 4

Risk! 4

Observations! 4

Rules! 4

Game Strategies! 6

Scoring ! 9

Player Engagement! 11

Design Decisions! 12

Appendix A: Star-Crossed 2.1 Playtest Rules" 14

Welcome to Star-crossed!! 14

Rules and Game Flow! 14


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Playtest ReportPurposeThe purpose of this research was to refine the audience for Star-Crossed and refine the design and development of the scoring and game mechanics the game experience. In addition, research helped to refine and iterate upon core mechanics, game features, and the serious goals.

MethodsSampling Methods, Recruitment, and CriteriaThe sampling methods were both convenience based as well as purposive. The sample needed to be conveniently located in order to access the facilities available for the observation. In addition, the sample needed to meet certain general audience criteria for the game identified above. As many individuals in the game development specialization fit this target, due to their interest in games and the cohort nature of the specialization, this was the primary group sampled for recruitment. Playtests were kept to four players due to limitations in number of potential participants available for a playtest.

ParticipantsThe playtest targeted friends ages 18-35 who.

!A) Enjoy board games.

!B) Enjoy team or partner based games.

C) Interested in competitive game play based on storytelling.

! D) Enjoy connecting with friends through games or storytelling ! ! (including scrapbooking, letter writing, fictional writing, etc).

As many individuals in the game development specialization fit this target, due to their interest in games and the cohort nature of the specialization, this was the primary group sampled for recruitment.

The first playtest included four Michigan State University students, three graduate and one undergraduate, who were interested in game design as well as social board games.


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Name Student Rank

Male/Female

Teammate

Rulemaster Rob Undegraduate Senior

Male Competitive Kate

Confused Cory Masters Student Male Fair Frank

Competitive Kate Masters Student Female Rulemaster Rob

Fair Frank Masters Student Male Fair Frank

Playtesting and Observation MethodsParticipants engaged in a playtesting session. The playtest, used a board game paper prototype (the first playtest included version 2.1 and the second version 2.2) as part of a 45 minute playtest. The playtest involved observation, as well as design questions and think-aloud prompts in order to understand player choices and possible solutions for design problems evident during the course of play.

RiskThe primary risk to participants was privacy of information and identity. As such, several precautions were taken to protect the identity of participants. First, only false names were used during the playtest. Second, identifying information (such as family member names) that might be gathered from game stories was not used for research purposes.

ObservationsRules

DetailsRulemaster Rob

! At the outset of the game one player, Rulemaster Rob, undertook the role of reading all rules of the game and guiding players that did not understand. During the course of reading the rules, he would associate them with other games he had played, most often Carcassonne, in order to help the other players understand. Most players felt comfortable with the rules, despite the number of them being presented at the beginning of the game. However, Confused Cory quickly became overwhelmed by the number of rules. Luckily, Rulemaster Rob was willing to clarify based on his understanding of what was written. Explainations were not given by the observer unless a player, most often Rulemaster Rob, asked for clarification. This happened infrequently, and often had to do with word choice,


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such as “outside stars”. The images provided within the instructions were found helpful by all players when beginning the game.

Missing minor steps

! With Rulemaster Rob’s reading of the rules, it quickly became apparent that no rules can be assumed and much like a how to, every step, even potentially obvious ones such as “shuffle the Star Tiles” or “draw one, play one” must be included in the rules for new players. This increases the comfort of all players, but especially those such as Confused Cory that desire to have every rule spelled out clearly during the game.

One giant constellation/self correction

! One rule missed early in the game was a team must continue the constellation that they begin. Fair Frank and Confused Cory started their constellations at opposite ends of the board, then realized this would have to be continued as one constellation. All players did not immediately remember that a partner’s tile should be placed adjacent to the next tile. Rather than interrupt, the observer allowed this pattern of play to continue in order to gather feedback on how the “one giant constellation” strategy might play out for this team. Very quickly the two regretted started the game at opposite corners, as it would take an incredible number of turns to close the constellation. However, they realized if they succeeded they would achieve a higher score than team Rob and Kate.

! It is important to note that the board had no color cues as to where teams should start as the board was simply a grid for the purposes of this playtest. This exemplified how a well designed board cooperates with rules to improve player experience.

Repeating rules as gameplay starts

! Because of the number of modes during the game and all the rules were read at the outset of the game, players would often need to clarify what to do as a new round started (for example when players close a constellation and want to begin the bluffing/storytelling round of the game). The players would turn to Rulemaster Rob on these occasions and he would check the rules to be certain that the game was being played correctly or explain what should happen next. This kind of player leadership was considered as a primary benefit of a social game when the original concept was pitched.

! Many of the questions throughout the game were asked by Confused Corey, who seemed overwhelmed for the first round. However, questions became less frequent as he became comfortable, and he began to ask his partner, Fair Frank, more often than Rulemaster Rob.

! It is important to note that the issue of scoring caused a lot of questions, both those prompted from the observer and those asked by the playtesters of the observer or Rulemaster Rob. This will be discussed at length in its own section, as scoring was an area of design concern coming into the first playtest.


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Insights! Including even the most minor rules ensures that players don’t miss a beat. It will be important that the next iteration of Star-Crossed rules includes small rules, such as “shuffle the Star Tiles” that were neglected to be included in the previous ruleset.

! A player usually takes responsibility as the Rulemaster. This allows the rules to stay with one person, and allows them to make decisions about what a rule means if other players find it unclear. Rule should be articulated in a way that makes it easy for this player to explain to the rest how to play the game.

! Images clarify what words cannot. The images explaining how tiles were played were invaluable to players such as Confused Cory when they began the game. They provided an idea of strategies as well as demonstration actions that were unclear with words alone. Where appropriate, more images and examples should be included in the next iteration of Star-Crossed rules.

! Clear rules help players to self correct mistakes once the game has begun. Rules should be clear enough that players do not make mistakes, but should also help players to continue the game even if a mistake was made early in the game. It should be understood that players often modify rules of a social board game in order to fit the current game when rules are not enough.

! Rules will be read more than once as players become accustomed to the gameplay. As a game becomes more complex, such as Star-Crossed with its separate Tile and Storytelling Modes, players will need rules repeated. It should therefore be easy for a player to find a rule for the appropriate game mode.

! Because of learning the rules, the first turns take the longest. It is important that testing these initial rules is still fun for the player. In observing Star-Crossed, this seemed to be the case, as the very act of experimenting with drawing on a Star Tile was engaging for players, half of whom wondered if a “free play” set of rules could be created.

Game Strategies

DetailsOne big constellation

! The idea that teams would attempt to create the largest constellations possible in order to score the most points was a major design concern going into the playtest. Both Frank and Cory’s team and Rob and Kate’s team confessed that they were motivated by the “high score” nature of the game to make the biggest constellation possible, as not only did they achieve points for the number of center stars they intersect on a Star Tile, but they also received the Constellation of the number of tiles in a constellation once they had closed a constellation.


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! Frank and Cory gunned for a giant constellation from the beginning of play. The players had missed the rule about both team mates placing tiles adjacent to the last played tile in a constellation. Therefore, these two started two constellations at opposite corners of the board, and were attempting to unite them into one giant constellation to achieve the highest combination of Star Points and Constellation Points. Of course, this would limit the number of constellations made during the game, also limiting the number of stories told, which was counter to the serious goals of the game.

! Rulemaster Rob and Competitive Kate attempted to finish their constellation quickly, but when asked about this decision admitted that it was curiosity about the Storytelling mode that prompting them to stop making one Constellation. The Star-Crossed bonus alone was not enough incentive to make smaller constellations, as there was a high risk that they would lose the bluffing round and therefore give those points away.

Taking up as little board space as possible

! Since there was no incentive to engage in what Rulemaster Rob called “Starception” (creating a constellation within a constellation), his team attempted to use board space efficiently when continuing their constellation. As opposed the Fair Frank’s team, who left a lot of open space in the center of their giant constellation, Rulemaster Rob and Competitive Kate left no holes, using a lot of problem solving to create two columns of tiles that were making a complete constellation. To do this, one would place a tile on one side of the constellation and the other would place it on the opposite side, starting from the original corner. This strategy also seemed defensive and a way to help keep the other team from easily blocking by cutting their own constellation through the middle.

Cooperating to place tiles

! Because partners were encouraged to discuss moves with each other in the rules, there was often discussion over placement of the Star Tiles. Fair Frank and Confused Cory engaged in frequent discussion of how to get the two ends of their massive constellation to meet without being blocked by Rulemaster Rob and Competitive Kate. Rulemaster Rob would frequently compliment Competitive Kate on a clever move or an interesting line that used all stars on a Star Tile.

! The players enjoyed the interaction, but confessed that some of the “team work” was hurt by sitting across the board from their partner. Fair Frank stated that because this aspect of the game was so motivating, he really would rather sit next to his partner and feel like he was genuinely “collaborating” to create his constellation. He felt the distance between them on the board took away from this sense of camaraderie.

Using all stars

! Using all stars on a given Star Tile was an important strategy used by all players, and one that Rulemaster Rob insisted really added to the feeling of player creativity within the game. In fact, when reading the rules, he laughed at the examples that showed a “player”


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that had not made use of all the stars in a tile in order to continue their Constellation. “I don’t know why this person decided not to use that star.” He stated that part of the challenge and the fun was creating an interesting line that zigzagged through all the stars in the tile.

! Competitive Kate concurred that this was fun, and many of her tiles were filled with lines that were not efficient, but interesting in how they used the stars.

! Fair Frank and Confused Cory took a couple of turns to get the hang of how best to snag all the stars on a tile, but would use this as a vehicle to discuss strategy.

Knowing the judge as well as his partner

! During the Storytelling/bluffing Mode, all players were attempting to convince Fair Frank that they were the real Confused Cory. Confused Cory and Rulemaster Rob employed the strategy of being the best Confused Cory that they could be in response to the prompt. However, Competitive Kate stumbled on a different and also interesting strategy. Because she knew both Fair Frank and Confused Cory, she based her constellation story around what Frank expected from Cory, not what Cory himself might write. By using a very sneaky, still very social strategy that would only work amongst friends, she won the first storytelling round.

Getting the partner to talk too much

! Rulemaster Rob tried a strategy during the Storytelling Round that was also different. Because he did not know the other players as well as the other three knew each other, he was often fishing for information that might give him an advantage in the storytelling round. Therefore, he was encouraging, for example, Confused Cory to talk about what he might write in response


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to a prompt or asking him questions, sometimes obvious, that might give him a hint how to respond. Of course, this strategy was only not stopped by Fair Frank because he had to leave the room during the Storytelling Round for a phone call. Despite the unusual circumstance prompting this strategy, it served a positive and icebreaking purpose, allowing Rulemaster Rob to know the other players better.

Insights! Because the game was high scored based and there was no immediate incentive to make smaller constellations, the primary strategy of both teams was to create one giant constellation. As this prevents players from achieving all of the serious goals of Star-Crossed scoring should be modified in order to discourage large constellations. One way to achieve this would be using an analysis of the game Scrabble to add multipliers for completed constellations.

! Because players wanted the highest score, they were very strategic about how tiles were placed on the board. This could be further pushed by creating strategic spots on the board that encourage desired player behaviors, such as smaller constellations.

! Players are part of a team and they want to work and feel like a team during all aspects of play. The playtesters cited this as one of the benefits of Star-Crossed and wanted all aspects of the game to make them feel like a team, including physical proximity.

! Players will use any means of creative problem solving and discussion to capture all stars on a Star Tile while making a move that benefits their team. This coupled with the act of drawing was observedly fun for players, and they focused a great deal of attention and discussion on it.

! Star-Crossed is at its best when players know each other well. Not only can they then pretend to be each other, but they can play to other players weaknesses. This kind of improvisational play encourages a great amount of creativity as players walk the line between being an impostor and impressing the judge.

! Emergent game play includes emergent and unexpected strategies, such as getting another player to talk too much so that a member of the opposing team can become a better impostor.

Scoring

DetailsStar-Crossed Bonus

! After trying both the full number of stars that were formally part of the constellation and all stars in the tiles that were part of the constellation as versions of the Star-Crossed bonus, Fair Frank declared the Star-Crossed Bonus that was part of the bluffing round was unfair for the losing party, as the Bonus was so large.


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! He suggested that using the Star-Crossed Bonus as an incentive to reach the Storytelling round was the likely problem, and that other incentives should be offered during the tile round to discourage large constellations. He felt that the bonus should be a bonus for the team that closed the constellation and an opportunity to steal a number of points for the other team. As the bonus stood in the playtest, a team could double their points achieved or another team could even the score too fast for a challenge.

! The other problem related to this was that his team closed the constellation through a block. Since Rulemaster Rob and Competitive Kate had the most tiles making up their team’s constellation, the rules were modified to specify that they would receive the Constellation Bonus. However, they were not considered the ones who closed the constellation. Therefore, Fair Frank and his team mate lost any opportunity for points, and essentially helped the other team get closer to winning the game. This illuminated a major struggle with scoring.

! The observer suggested a couple of solutions, designed to encourage smaller constellations and allow for more sensible scoring of the Storytelling/Bluffing mode. One solution involved adding special score or instruction spaces to the game board, such as the double letter score and double word score spaces used in Scrabble. The second solution suggested adding to the rules a final score multiplier at the end of the game. At this point, the teams would multiply their entire score (including points for the bluffing rounds) by the number of constellations they were able to successfully close. Both solutions were well received. Competitive Kate responded very favorably to the idea of an end of game score multiplier based on the number of constellations a team was able to make.

Blocking

! The ability to block was cited by Fair Frank and Confused Cory as one of the major problems with scoring the game. By removing the incentives from blocking by not letting players score any points for that move, it was discouraging this part of the play. Again, he suggested using another method to keep players from creating never-ending constellations, such as the multiplier. Blocking could then still count for points, but not prevent players from reaching the bluffing round.

“The Hand of Tiles”

! Another problem with scoring was allowing the players to have a hand of tiles. Players always played the largest tiles in their hand, because there was no reason to play lower scoring tiles. Because they could draw one and then play one it was easy to get a new high numbered tile, such as a six star tile. Rulemaster Rob suggested making players use all tiles in their hand before allowing them to draw up to five new tiles. This would force them to choose when to use small and large number tiles, adding to the strategy and problem solving in the game.


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Insights! Scoring must encourage desired behaviors, such as smaller constellations with more frequent Storytelling Rounds, without providing an unfair advantage to the team that wins the different rounds. Use of small multipliers throughout the game may be more effective than a large bonus.

! Blocking works best in a game that is just about strategically placing tiles for a high score. It inhibits movement toward a second round of play, such as the Storytelling Round in Star-Crossed.

$ Players want to play the highest card in their hand. Therefore, if lower scoring Star Tiles are to be played at all, players must not be able to “draw one and play one” each round.

Player Engagement

DetailsSmack Talk

! From the moment players formed teams, they began smack talk with each other. The power of teams over the mood and competitiveness was evident from before the first move. Competitive Kate and Rulemaster Rob high-fived across the board, and there were discussions between all four players about how the other team was “going down.” This competitive, team driven taunting added a quick air of challenge to the game in a sports-like fashion.

Teamwork

! As mentioned in previous sections, all players were engaged with supporting their teammates and making team decisions. Fair Frank frequently offered suggestions to Confused Cory on how to play a piece. Rulemaster Rob often noted excellent Star Tile moves by his own team mate. This cooperative social game play balanced the competitiveness offered by “smack talk” between teams. Within teams, players were all supportive of each other.

Writer’s Block

! The biggest engagement challenge in Star-Crossed turned out to be prompts. Prompts were provided for the Storytelling Mode to help players name and create the mythology of constellations on the board. However, for this prototype, the Star-Crossed Bonus was so high stakes that Confused Cory had trouble starting to write a response to the prompt, even with the timer. The risk appeared to be inhibiting his ability to be creative, as he wanted to tell a story that his partner would guess. He also didn’t want to be accused of cheating and was afraid to use inside jokes that he felt might be cheating, even though these are the elements of storytelling that demonstrate how friends know each other within a circle.


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Insights! Teams create cooperation, but also smack talk between teams. This provides an environment of competitive and cooperative play that provides immediate challenge for players.

! Teams make decisions together and support each other in various ways, such as complimenting a partner on a well place or well draw tile. Team work should be encouraged in all aspects of the game play.

! Prompts can still be stifling for a player, and perhaps they should have a choice in which they will respond to, such as draw three, pick one, then shuffle the other two prompts back into the deck.

! Language should clarify that inside jokes are not cheating, as this is part of knowing one’s partner. Players concerned with fairness do not want to appear as though they are breaking the rules. Therefore, the rules must clarify what a player can write about. For example, there could be a rule that states: “players must respond in a way that can be connected to the prompt, though this can include inside jokes and other clues so long as they relate to the story being told.”

Design Decisions! As a result of the playtest, the following design decisions were made in regards to Star-Crossed:

• Include small rules, such as “shuffle the Star Tiles” that were neglected to be included in the previous ruleset.

• Encourage a player to take the role of Rulemaster. This allows the rules to stay with one person, and allows them to make decisions about what a rule means if other players find it unclear.

• Images clarify what words cannot. Make sure the rules are visual as well as verbal.

• Clarify rules to avoid confusion and allow players to easily make leaps of faith based on their understanding of the rules.

• Encourage players to return to the rules and repeat them as necessary.

• Since the first turn will be the longest, be sure that all players are engaged with the game during that turn, be it learning to play or watching and thinking about their turn.

• Add multipliers like those used in the board game Scrabble in order to encourage players to strategically create small, rather than large constellations to achieve the highest score in the game.

• Instead of a bonus score for the Story-Telling round, offer players a way to accumulate additional score multipliers to be used at the end of the game.


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• Allow teammates to sit next to each other, so that the proximity encourages more teamwork.

• Drawing and trying to use all stars on a Star Tile is fun. Keep this mechanic and find ways to make it even more challenging and fun.

• Encourage socialization, as social connection between players is key to success in the Story Telling rounds of Star-Crossed.

• Remove the blocking component of the game as it inhibits movement toward a second round of play, such as the Storytelling Round in Star-Crossed.

• Players should play all cards in their hand before drawing new cards. Otherwise, low scoring cards will not be played.

• Offer players a choice between Story Starters to help reduce anxiety about how to respond.


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Appendix A: Star-Crossed 2.1 Playtest Rules

Welcome to Star-crossed!! Grab your best friends and be ready for a deviously creative game where you partner up to take over the sky with your stars and stories.

Rules and Game Flow

Starting the Game1. Set up the Star-Crossed board. Players should have Star-Crossed Story Starters and

Star Tiles. Put these in separate piles within reach of all players.

2. Partner up into teams of two and pick a color marker for your team. Partners should sit across the Star-Crossed board from each other. However, make that each team gets a turn in order (for example, Red then Blue then Green). Use the image below as your guide to get started.

3. Everyone draw a Star Tile from the center pile. The team who draws the tile with the highest number of stars gets to start the game! Tied teams redraw until one team achieves the highest card.


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4. Choose a dealer. The dealer gives 5 tiles to each player. The rest of the tiles, including the original drawn, are shuffled and placed in a central pile. Now you’re ready to start the game!

Taking Over the Sky1. The starting Team begins by choosing a player to place a Star Tile from their hand in

their starting corner. They can rotate the tile in any direction, so long as it fits in a board square.

2. The player draws a single line connecting as many Center Stars as they can in the Star Tile, choosing a Side Star for the line to exit the tile.

! Right Ways

! Wrong Ways

3. The first Star Tile in a new Constellation (group of stars) is special. Players get to choose two Side Stars to complete their line, an entrance and an exit. Just be sure not to double back on another Star Tile, as Constellations cannot overlap.

4. Count the number of Center Stars (1-6) the player was able to use and add these Star Points to their Team Score Sheet.

5. Continue with the next player. Any Star Tiles placed by a team that has started a Constellation must continue the Constellation or block another team until their Constellation is a closed shape.


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6. Players may block another team by placing a tile and drawing a line so that it takes longer for the team to finish a Constellation. However, the team will receive no Star Points during that turn.

7. Teammates may discuss ways to play the Star Tile with their partner.

8. Once a team successfully makes a complete Constellation, they receive a bonus for their score based on the number of Star Tiles in their Constellation.

Making MythsHere’s where things get devious! There’s a Star-Crossed Bonus up for grabs, which is the total number of stars in the Constellation. The question is, can the player who finished the Constellation guess who their partner is if everyone tells the Constellation’s story?

9. Were you the lucky player who finished the Constellation? That’s great news, as you’ve just scored some points for your team. Now you can earn even more, so long as you know your partner well enough.

10. Every other player is going to tell the story of the Constellation, and you, the player who finished the Constellation have to guess which story was written by your team mate.

11. Draw a Story Starter from the pile and read it to the other players.

12. Each player has 1 minute (60 seconds) to use this story starter to create the myth of the Constellation. However, this is tricky, as they are trying to fool you by being impostors!

13. When time is up, a player from the next left opposing team will be the Reader of the stories.

14. The reader reads each story.

15. You must guess which story was created by your partner. If you guess right you earn the Star-Crossed Bonus, the sum of ALL of the Stars in the Constellation.

16. However, guess wrong and the team you mistook for your partner gets those bonus points!

Return to Taking Over the Sky!

Ending and Winning the Game The game is over when the board is full of constellations or there are no more moves left.

! At this time, whichever team has the MOST points wins the game!


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Documents

Star Crossed - Michigan State Universitycunni268/writing/cunningham_playtesting.pdftesting these initial rules is still fun for the player. In observing Star-Crossed, this seemed to