marshmallowpartygame

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Victory Point Cafe Playtest ~ April 2024

Went up to Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley today to get a playtest of Marshmallow Party in and met some other local designers who were working on some cool projects.

I was able to get a blind playtest for today's session, which was super helpful to see how players interpreted the rules without my guidance. While there was some confusion and missing information, nothing major broke during the game and I got a much better sense how to clean up the rules from the feedback I received.

I still need to compile all the feedback I've been receiving lately, but it's been nice to see patterns in what needs adjusting. Blind playtesting can be a little scary, but it's nice to know that most of the rules are working.

With another few iterations on them, I'm confidence players should be able to get through the game without me there at all. It's getting close!

Lessons Learned: Test Your Rulebook In a way, your rulebook is even more important than the game itself. A poorly written rulebook means that players might be playing a completely different game than you intended. Rulebooks are like translators. They make it easy for players to understand and connect with your game. Learn to be ok with letting your rulebook take the spotlight and observe when players misinterpret what to do. It's not about it being perfect right away. It takes time and repetition to shape a good rulebook by observing what players do and do not understand.

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Dogpatch Games Playtest ~ March 2024

Went out to a playtesting event at Dogpatch Games in San Francisco to get a round of Marshmallow Party in. The vibe was really friendly and the players had a good time figuring out the strategy.

After the playtest, I got some good feedback about what players were thinking during the experience.

I learned that some of the players were hesitant to play cards like Spaghetti, Guilt Trip, and Shooting Star because they felt it was always better to finish your own marshmallows over disrupting their opponents.

We agreed a potential solution was to give those cards more upside ( like drawing a card, being a free action, etc. ). I hadn't thought of adding "draw a card" to roasting cards before, but it's a nice lever to make a card slightly stronger if it's not being played very frequently.

Lessons Learned: Look at the Cards in a Player's Hand at the End of the Game While it depends on the type of game, seeing what cards / pieces a player hasn't used can be an interesting topic to discuss after a playtest session. Was there a card / piece that a player felt was weak / always a poor choice to use? Why did they feel this way and what's a way to make it feel stronger? Having these kinds of discussions can you better understand your players' perspectives and see how they differ from your intended level of strength for the card / piece in question. When it differs from how you thought it would be used, there's room to find how to bridge the gap between what the player interprets and what you want the experience to be.

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Kublacon 2023

Marshmallow Party made an appearance at a local game convention called Kublacon 2023 and got some playtests in the protospiel area for board game prototypes.

The buzz of the prototype room was exciting and players seemed to really enjoy the game and pick up the strategy quickly ( meaning recent changes to the game are helping it be easier to understand! ).

It was also cool to chat with other designers who were showing their games off there and find camaraderie in the tabletop game dev scene. I'm always impressed by how wide a range of themes and games pop at events like these. Great for finding inspiration and ideas!

Fun fact ( left ): I met the creator of Bop It ( Dan Klitsner )! I almost got a chance to play Marshmallow Party with him and his son, but I didn't run into them on the last day. Maybe next time!

Fun fact ( right ): I adopted a cute little Owl Bear cub while at the convention. They valiantly guard my computer at home and make sure my games are safe from rogues and bandits.

Lesson Learned: At Prototype Events, try to get a Table near the Entrance Kublacon was the first event I went to that had a dedicated space for showing off prototypes ( usually called Protospiel at conventions ) and it was difficult at times to find 3-4 players at a time for a playtest. I noticed that the tables near the entrance drew the most attention, as they were the first games people saw when entering the room. On my second day of playtesting, I managed to snag the table closes to the entrance and it was much easier to get enough players to test. One lady outside the room even came in to investigate the plushies on the table and later came back with a friend, which started a playtest on its own!

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Pocket Gamers Connect: Seattle

Last April, Marshmallow Party was selected to be part of the Pocket Gamers Connect: Seattle showcase and it was a blast showing the game off to so many new faces.

Playtesting went great and over the 2 day event, and over 50 people tried it for the first time. My favorite moment was when two middle school-aged kids schooled their dad and were constantly telling him how to play the game better. Before that moment, I hadn't had anyone younger play the game, so it was refreshing that they picked up the strategy so quickly.

Overall, it was fun watching people genuinely enjoy the game. Seeing so many games in a row gave me a good perspective on what to improve on the next iteration.

The venue was well-organized My friend Airie from the area was able to help out with my booth and they made some great additions ( including a portable campfire made with paper and a fan and gathering ingredients to make s'mores that we gave out for playing ).

Lessons Learned ~ Stand out from the Crowd! Being the only tabletop card game on display helped make Marshmallow Party memorable. People enjoyed the novel experience compared to the rest of the crowd and the social aspect of playing a tabletop game helped attendees connect with each other while they played.

Lessons Learned ~ Make the Atmosphere of your Booth Fun Marshmallow Party's booth was inviting with plushie marshmallows and a mini campfire ( portable fan blowing colored paper ). These features attracted people walking by to take a closer look, which led some of them to try the game or sign up for the email list. Something as simple as a random plushie or some artwork can go a long way in giving people an extra reason to drawn to your booth from afar. With that, make sure it's visible from far away, if possible!

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Kublacon 2023

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The Origins of Marshmallow Party

It all started on a family camping trip in 2015 🏕️

One late night, a few of my cousin's and I were roasting marshmallows around the campfire. Being the game designer in the family, I suggested that we should try to make a game together. We sat there trying to come up with ideas, but with no success.

It all felt so complicated to come up with anything interesting. We were about to give up for the evening, when it dawned on us that maybe the answer was right in front of us. We know marshmallows. We've been roasting them our entire lives. We have our inspiration right in front of us.

The following morning, we began drafting cards.

The cards in marshmallow are all inspired by.

Coals

Shovel

Water Bucket

Spaghetti

Weather Cards: Thunder Strike, Rainstorm