EFFWORDS: Scrabble meets Apples to Apples

So, it's more like reverse Balderdash or Apples to Apples. Making up a word and assigning a preset definition just doesn't seem very entertaining though. Part of what makes Balderdash enjoyable is the novelty of discovering abstruse words while deceiving one another with the fabricated definitions. I could see this working out with the Apples to Apples crowd, but the set definitions limit replay value far more than single word bids.

Don't forget to include the Sarah Palin quote somewhere in the instructions: "'Refudiate,' 'misunderestimate,' 'wee-wee'd up.' English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!'"

Also, for reference, "but delicious" in #1 is an interjection. You are missing the commas. Periods are not necessary for incomplete sentences.

Not really. I suspect that this is because it just isn't my kind of game. However, I can tell you who your target demographics are. You'll want to playtest this with:

-- High school kids
-- Women aged 18-35
-- Pentacostals

Hold your playtest sessions at a Starbucks, approach some youth ministers to see if you can get some youth groups involved. Pentacostals are ideal, because this seems like an all audiences game, and they are generally more sensitive about subject matter. Then again, I don't think all charismatic churches have youth outreach programs, so you may have to go Mormon or 7th Day Adventist depending on what's in your area. They are your litmus test for objectionable material, but also a prime market for family games.

Will female, college-aged casual gamers find it interesting? Would young mothers play it with their children? Is it something that a young woman would break out while hosting a party for coworkers? Games like this tend to have a higher proportion of female players. If you tap that market then you are set.

There are plenty of people on this site who are far more experienced than I am at running playtests, but I do believe that your game is similar enough to Apples to Apples to use it as a guideline for finding your market. One thing I look at with that game is how it was rebranded once a major publisher picked it up, what expansions they issued, and what demographic expansions were issued. Keep in mind that major companies spend large amounts of money researching their audiences.

-- Mattel rebranded it as a "Party Box" game, which synchs with what I've seen. No prep time, innocuous presentation, not a lot of thinking at face value, and a level playing field that equalizes outcomes regardless of player skill or background. You could play it at church or at work, unlike Arkham Horror.
-- Next are Junior and Kids editions for 9+ and 7+, which is why I recommend testing with mothers, youth ministers, etc. Kids that young aren't physically buying games with a disposable income like teens do, so you want to see if parents/educators would. If I recall, the stat was something like 87% of parents are involved in their kid's game choices.
-- Then you have demographic editions. The British Isles edition is obvious in that they couldn't tap that market with a game using terms like french fries or apartments. Bible edition indicates that there is a Christian specialty market, which offers an extra revenue stream through Christian bookstores, etc. I was surprised to see not just a Jewish edition but also a Yiddish one (which even a goy like me would want to play). That is targeting 1.4% of the US population -- far less with the Yiddish edition -- so Mattel must have noted a sizable following emerging there.

Overall, you are looking for diversity in your groups, as the merit of a game like this is that a disparate group who'd have a hard time holding a conversation could still enjoy playing this together. Test with women, because they hold a larger share of the market now in no small part due to games like this, and they are sort of the gatekeepers into traditional family market subsets.

Keep in mind that your family and friends don't constitute a "wide range of people." My wife had to remind me of this in the past. She pointed out that my friends and family all share the same socioeconomic background, same general level of education, and that I was taking for granted an above average level of intelligence and problem solving when using them to test something. I should have been recruiting players from the city bus. People gravitate toward like, so it requires a conscious effort on the part of a designer to find playtesters with different life experiences, outlooks, and class standing than their own. I'm sure that Fantasy Flight could release the new X-COM game confident in it selling just based on the 18-35 white male, white collar crowd, but a game like yours casts a far wider net. A party game can really take off, but it needs far more work when it comes to marketing and design to find traction and staying power.

It would also be good to include a discussion of how you'll be handling overseas shipping for people who don't get in on the free international shipping gravy train. (Also, have you priced that carefully? It seems to be a major stumbling block for many companies.)