7th Granollers Board Game Design Competition

Here is a link to the 7th Granollers Board Game Design Competition:

www.firajugarxjugar.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/seventh-board-game-design-competition.html

The competition is for unpublished games and the rules can be found at the above link. The deadline for entries is the 3rd February 2014.

'Oracle Pathway' by Playtest UK member, Brett Gilbert won the overall prize at the 5th Granollers Competition.

The game went on to be published by Asmodee as 'Divinare' in 2012 and was placed on the SDJ recommendations list in 2013.

Playtest UK @ Toy Fair 2014

The London Toy Fair will be held at Olympia London from Tuesday 21st - Thursday 23rd January. Some members of Playtest UK are meeting up for a coffee and a chat at 12pm on Wednesday in the West Hall Café. Everyone is welcome to come along. 

Toy Fair isn't open to the general public, but if you have an interest or role in the games industry, it is possible to register in advance for a free ticket here: 

www.btha.co.uk/toy-fair/visitors/register-here/ 

You can find out more details for the Toy Fair here:

www.btha.co.uk/toy-fair/ 

You can sign up for the meetup at Toy Fair 2014 here:

http://www.meetup.com/Playtest/events/159234362/

London Meetup Sunday 19th January

The January Meetup will be on Sunday 19th January from 1pm to 8pm at the Jugged Hare pub, Victoria.

Let's kick off 2014 in style. With the New Year, it's time to take those game designs down off the shelf and get some playtesting feedback.

If you've designed a game, bring it along and give it a play or just enjoy playing other people's prototypes in a friendly and constructive atmosphere. Everyone is welcome.

If you would like to bring along a new design, contact Rob Harris (Organiser) and we will add your game to the list.

More details: www.meetup.com/Playtest/events/140933632/

We also have a guild at Boardgamegeek.com: www.boardgamegeek.com/guild/1398

Games to be playtested (TBC):

Newsy - current affairs party game, 30 mins, 3 teams of 2 players (Alunga) 

Smart Cards (working title) - 30 mins, 2-4 players (Ivan Allen) 

Distant Worlds -  space exploration, colony-building, trading and piracy game, 120-180 mins, 3-6 players (Chris Keating) 

~Heart of the Underworld~ - dungeon crawler, 90 mins, 4 players + Underworld Master (Selim Talat)

UFO Panic - flying saucers attacking our planet, 60 mins, 1-6 players (Phil Richardson)

The 12 Apostles - variant on Terry Pratchett's Unlikely Hero game, 10-15 mins, 3-5 players (Lawrence Davies)

Putt Putt Pirates - memory and matching card game, 30 mins, 4 players (Barry)

Thro' the Portal - dice game, 15-20 mins, 4 players (Gavin Birnbaum)

Slippery Slope - dice game, 15-20 mins, 4 players (Gavin Birnbaum)

Sumo - dice game, 15-20 mins, 4 players (Samuel Murray)

Hole of Doom - spinning tops,15-20 mins, 4 players (Samuel Murray) 

T'rain - hex based, track-laying, resource collection. 60-90 mins, 2-4 players (Dave Cousins)

Ewe.F.O. - game of sheep abducting aliens. 30 mins, 2-4 players (Dave Cousins)

Terrain - Tile placement game, 15-20 mins, 2-5 players (Dave Cousins)

Dolus - card game, 30 mins, 3-5 players (Jack Harrison)

Atlantis - light strategy game where players are seeking to uncover the ruins of Atlantis with their loyal submarine crew, 60-75 mins, 2-5 players (Matt Dunstan)

Pyramids - a card game where players enlist the help of the Egyptian Gods to build the best Pyramid, 30-40 mins, 2-5 players (Matt Dunstan & Brett Gilbert)

Trailblazers - a globe-trotting, light-strategy, map-based, card-driven, route-building family game! 45-60 mins, 2–5 players (Brett Gilbert)

Towers - a card game, 45-60 mins, 4 players (Andy Yiangou) 

Judtho - chess-based board game, 30-120 mins, 2-4 players or 2 x 2 (Rick)

Dexikon - deck-building spelling game, 60 mins, 2-5 players (Andrew Rowse)

Cursed Temple - secret roles and queue manipulation, 40 mins, 2-5 players (Andrew Rowse) 

Untitled - 3D abstract strategy game, 15-20 mins, 2 players (Gokce Balkan)

Hold the Front Page - newspaper game, 30-90 mins, 2- 6 players (Andrew Bond)

Art Dealer - art collection game, 90 mins, 2-5 players (Andrew Bond)

Life's a Beach - deckchair tile laying game, 60 mins, 2-4 players (Andrew Bond)

Venice: City of Trade - light-strategy family-euro, trading and building game, 60-75 mins, 2-4 players (Brett Gilbert & Matt Dunstan)

December London Meetup 2013 Debrief

Despite the rainy weather and lure of Christmas shopping, a dedicated group of playtesters came to enjoy a lovely afternoon playing games and getting feedback and comments on their designs at the December London meetup for Playtest UK. Prototypes included crazy party games, quick dice games and strategic wizard duels and many more. We welcomed 3 new attendees this month: Alex, Evie and Ivan.

Here are some photos of the event:

London Meetup Sunday 15th December

The December London Meetup will be on Sunday 15th December from 1pm to 8pm at the Jugged Hare pub, Victoria.


The last London Playtest meetup of the year and a chance for some Xmas drinks before the holiday season.

If you've designed a game, bring it along and give it a play or just enjoy playing other people's prototypes in a friendly and constructive atmosphere. Everyone is welcome.

If you would like to bring along a new design, contact Rob Harris (Organiser) and your game will be added to the provisional list. 

We have pre-registration to make the sessions run more smoothly. Designers are encouraged to pre-register their games to be playtested before the meetup by leaving a message on the meetup page or contacting Rob Harris (Organiser).

You are still welcome to bring along other designs on the day, but time slots will first of all be allocated to pre-registered games.

More details: www.meetup.com/Playtest/events/140933502

We also have a guild at Boardgamegeek.com: www.boardgamegeek.com/guild/1398

Some of the games to be playtested (TBC):

Newsy - current affairs party game, 30 mins, 3 teams of 2 players (Alunga)

Aliens Invade the Earth - flying saucers attacking our planet, 60 mins, 1-6 players (Phil Richardson)

Dragon Races - light-to-medium-weight dragon racing game, 60-90 mins, 3-6 players (Chris Keating)

Chocolate Factory - confectionery-themed economic strategy game, 90 mins, 4 players (Lawrence Davies)

Sage - abstract strategy game, 45 mins, 2 players (Selim Talat)

Hole of DOOM - spinning tops, 15 mins, 4 players (Samuel Murray-Birnbaum)

Blockbusters - dexterity, flicking/ blocking game, 10 mins, 2 players (Samuel Murray-Birnbaum)

Thirteen - abstract area control game, 20 mins, 4 players (Gavin Birnbaum)

Dice Prototype - quick dice rolling duel, 5-10 mins, 2 players (Rob Harris)

Can You Do This? - a party game, 15 mins, 2-4-6 players, blind playtest (Behrooz Shahriari)

New Prototype - Re-design competition entry, 60 mins, ? players (Behrooz Shahriari)

Monumentum - a card and board game where players control powerful summoners, 60 mins, 2 players x 2? (Harvey Patchett-Joyce)

3D Reversi - abstract strategy game, small 15-20 mins / large 35-50 mins, 2 players (Gokce Balkan)

Doomsday - evil genius card game, 30 mins, 2-4 players (Chris Leigh)

Playtest UK @ Dragonmeet 2013

This will be our fourth successive year at Dragonmeet 2013 to run the Playtest Zone. 

Check out the www.dragonmeet.co.uk website for more details and to buy tickets, which can also be purchased on the day. We will be playtesting all day on Saturday.

This will be a public playtesting event for card and board games prototypes. If you are a games designer this is a perfect opportunity to play your game with the great gaming public and receive more feedback in a day than you usually would in a month.

f you've designed a game, bring it along and give it a play. If you sit down to play a game and leave some feedback then you will entered into a prize draw to win a £20 gift voucher from www.boardgameguru.co.uk 

If you would like to bring along a game design, or just help out on the stand, please contact Rob Harris or leave a message below.

More details to follow.........

You can join the Playtest @ Dragonmeet event here: www.meetup.com/Playtest 

London Meetup Sunday 15th September

The September London Meetup will be on Sunday 15th September from 1pm to 8pm at the Jugged Hare pub, Victoria.


September signals the end of Summer. Its time to get back to staying indoors working feverishly on the latest prototype as the rain lashes down outside. For designers seeking a publisher, there is just over a month to perfect your game before meetings at Essen Spiel in October.

If you've designed a game, bring it along and give it a play or just enjoy playing other people's prototypes in a friendly and constructive atmosphere. Everyone is welcome.

If you would like to bring along a new design, contact Rob Harris (Organiser) and your game will be added to the provisional list. 

We have pre-registration to make the sessions run more smoothly. Designers are encouraged to pre-register their games to be playtested before the meetup by leaving a message on the meetup page or contacting Rob Harris (Organiser).

You are still welcome to bring along other designs on the day, but time slots will first of all be allocated to pre-registered games.

More details: www.meetup.com/Playtest/events/115482832/

We also have a guild at Boardgamegeek.com: www.boardgamegeek.com/guild/1398

Some of the games to be playtested (TBC):

Zambezi - a light, fun family game, (15mins x players), 2-5-8 players (Peter Burley)

Crowdfunder - light economic game about kickstarter, 60ish mins, 2-4 players (Behrooz Shahriari)

Not Fluxx - random chaotic game, 10-15 mins, 2-6 players (Behrooz Shahriari)

Barbarians! Run! - Roman-bashing wargame, 90 mins, 2+ players (Dave Turner)

King's Favour - social card game, 45mins, 4-10 players (Paul Pressley)

Civili-'zee'-ation - cooperative game, 90 mins, 4 players (Ben Neumann)

Fishy Business - light euro game about sea fishing, 60 mins, 2-4players (Mo Holkar)

Eternal Gateway - fantasy/ medieval game, 60-120 mins, 2-4 players (Andy Yiangou)

Trinity - Roman-themed card & dice game, 60-75 minutes, 2 -5 players (Brett Gilbert & Matt Dunstan)

Artisans - "cube machine" game, 60-75 minutes, 2-4 players (Brett Gilbert & Matt Dunstan)

Angkor Thom - city building game, 45-60 minutes, 2-5 players (Brett Gilbert)

Divinare Dice - super-quick dice game inspired by Divinare, 20-30 minutes, 2-4 players (Brett Gilbert)

Corportocracy - cyberpunk world domination game, 90 mins, ? players, (Jonathan Casterton)

Five Wickets Down - deckbuilding cricket game, 60 mins, 2-4 players (Chris Taylor-Davies)

Adapt or Die: Cro-Magnons coming - pre-historic survival game, 90 mins, 3-4 players (Dave Mortimer)

The Joust - bluffing card game, 30 mins, 2 players (Dave Mortimer)

Newsy (WT) - card game about the news, 30 mins, 2-3 players (Alunga)