Just before the uni break, I had time to play-test my game with some friends, and see if the game mechanics and cards played out how I imagined in my head. We played through the game twice with a total of 4 people,. and I found a few problems with the game so far;
- The timer needs to be enforced: I found some debates went for too long, so a 5min debate time needs to be implemented
- Scenarios: They need to be more specific, and less one-sided. For example, my “the floor is lava and you must survive for 24 hours” is too easy, because the argument was “I’ll just sit on the table for a day”
- More Cards: I need to create more scenario/advantage/disadvantage cards so there’s more variety
- Less bias strengths/weaknesses: I need to make these cards less biased, because some cards really outright determine whether you would win or lose without even a debate
So taking this all into account, i’m going to be updating my game to accommodate for these issues, and then play test them again sometime soon. I’ve hit a metaphorical wall when it comes to thinking of new creative scenarios for people to survive, it sounded easy when I first started the assignment, but actually sitting down and listing them off, I’ve found that it’s pretty difficult.
Another thing I need to invest some more time into, is the design of my game. I’m still yet to really think about or actually begin designing the aesthetics of my game, and I think i’ll leave that aspect of my game to last. I have some general ideas, but I don’t want to design parts of the game that i’ll later throw away or discard.
jakepascoe.com 
Your critical analysis on your game is something that I think strengthens the overall results at the end! You’ve addressed issues that are normally overlooked and I think this will assist when a larger variety of people play test and not just those in your peer group. Your research is evident in the previous blog posts, and I think if you look at their core aesthetics in the games it would help you to design one for your own. As yours is mostly verbal and interaction I think you could get away with a much simpler design in comparison to objects moving around a monopoly board for example. That’s just personal opinion but perhaps the issues you’ve identified in terms of mechanics with the time frame allocated could perhaps benefit. Perhaps even a simple hourglass type timer would speed up the problems you’ve noted, and add an extra component of panic which could then evolve the humour and change it up each play! Goodluck with it all.