Playtest London open day for Tabletop Day - Saturday 5th April

To coincide with the 2nd International Tabletop Day organised by Geek & Sundry, Playtest UK are running a playtesting and gaming event on Saturday 5th April at the Crown Tavern pub, 43 Clerkenwell Green, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 0EG. (Link to Map).

We will be upstairs in the Apollo room from 12.00pm 'til closing time at 11pm. Please feel free to bring along any game prototypes you would like to have playtested. 

There will also be some popular gateway games available of the printed variety to encourage new gamers into our great hobby.

Just drop by on the day or check out our Meetup.com page for this event and other Playtest UK meetups.

January London Meetup 2014 Debrief

Braving the weather and rail disruptions, the London Playtest UK group kicked off 2014 with a packed weekend playtesting session, featuring 24 diverse prototypes from 17 different game designers. These ranged from storytelling card designs to physical party games, with economic euro games and dexterity games also in the mix.

We welcomed 8 new attendees this month: Andrei. Andrew L, Ben M, David, Jim, Phil, Rick & Stuart.

Here are some photos of the event:

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The competition is for unpublished games and the rules can be found at the above link.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)