I went back and forth on whether to use the phrase ‘demo’ or ‘playtest’ in this blog’s title, and I eventually went with demoing because, as far as I’m concerned, the game part of Monster Wasteland is done. I’ll always find things that could change – that’s just the kind of person I am – but my takeaways from each session playing the game have become much simpler. No longer am I writing down things like “try putting Items in categories, it’s easier to understand and can play into specific Objectives/powers/etc.” It’s more like “put a bag in the digital version for easy cleanup” or “the Fearless Leader token should be higher resolution.” At some point (maybe a few cons down the line) I might stop taking notes entirely and just leave each session with a lightness in my heart, knowing I’ve spread the gospel of Monster Wasteland to a few more people.

jk lol. If I ever do that, I’ve been replaced with an imposter and need to be taken out.

But demoing has really put into perspective how many types of board gamers are out there. Obviously every person is unique and has unique tastes, but the granularity I’ve seen in preferences has been eye-opening. Monster Wasteland isn’t a game for everybody – this is something I was extremely aware of when I set out. Some people don’t like co-op games. Some people don’t like games where you’re moving units around a map. Some people won’t like how I’ve tried to mash the resource management, unit placement strategy, and minimal metaphorical dice-rolling of a euro game with the forked victory paths, PvE interaction, and massive amount of flavor of an ameritrash game (and before you come at me, I love ‘ameritrash,’ I’m quite endeared to both the term and the games, and you can pry it from my cold dead hands). But that’s fine. I’ll wait until my next game to make something that everyone on earth thinks is a fun time.

Demoing with strangers also brings into stark contrast the different playstyles people have. This most recent demo was done with a longtime tester and some new folks. It had been a while, so I froze for a second when I realized I was playing with an “I don’t need an intro spiel, let’s just mess some stuff up” player and another who would have probably preferred to read the rulebook in its entirety two weeks in advance. This is a pretty big disparity in a heavier game, and I’ll admit I was sweating in my chair a bit as we launched into it earlier than I’d expected and I had to ad-lib what we were doing and explain rules on the fly. I was worried it felt like I was making it up as I went along, as I was introducing concepts as we ran into them instead of preparing my players for the intricacies of gameplay beforehand, but I think I managed to pull off an experience where my narrating the actions of the learn-by-doing types helped keep the learn-by-reading types both engaged and up to speed.

Ultimately it was a chaotic yet fun demo (spread out in two sessions due to scheduling difficulties and the nuances of playing on Tabletop Simulator which, while an incredible resource for games like this, can be clunky and artificially bloat playtime). It helped grease the rusty wheels of running one of these and made me excited to demo some more online and in person before I head to TokenCon in three weeks. I also got valuable and validating feedback that reminded me both why I’m making this game and why it desperately needs a graphic designer (if you happen to be a designer who’s reading this and likes what you’ve seen, email me at sevenmanacleric@gmail.com). To toot my own horn, I was told that players felt like they had always decisions that involved the entire team, so it felt like ‘quarterbacking’ would be incredibly difficult, as each player has their hands full with their own resources and abilities that required constant communication. The demo-ers also noted that the game started quietly and eased them into the mechanics so that by turn 3 or 4 (the typical point where things can start looking grim) they were prepared to deal with what would probably be a loss, but ultimately wasn’t!

The big gripe, and one that I’ve been struggling with for a minute now (again, because I need a designer), is the map being a bit too convoluted. It looks absolutely gorgeous, but the high contrast and small size combined with Tabletop Simulator’s making things a bit harder to parse all around makes for some confusing first impressions. I haven’t had this problem (vocalized to me, at least) during in-person playtesting, but I think either way I’m going to take the Spirit Island approach of having a simplified map design on one side for new players and the stylized map on the other.

Next week I’m probably going to talk more about the flavor of Monster Wasteland – specifically, the Factions and their Heroes. In the meantime, enjoy some shots from the playtest!