Found a company that Play-Test Board Games.

Not sure I trust someone to proofread my game and rule book when their website hasn't been given the company's own treatment.

The website is littered with grammatical issues and it is unfinished. My favorite part of it is the "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip." that seems to repeat on a few of the articles that I assume meant to be taken down off the blog but weren't. Also, the LinkedIn link takes you to the website. So I am saying that if this company wants to proof-read and polish other people's work, they should spend the same time and effort on their own website. If I want to contact the website and fill out the contact form, there is a field that says "Comapany Name." For $49.99/hr I am willing to do website consulting for this consulting company.

Best,
-Jonathan Flike

I agree with all that quest said. I would also think there is a lot of value in testing your game in the market you will eventually be selling the majority of your games to, which probably isn't India. There is quite a cultural difference between India and North America or Europe and you might get quite different feedback due to those differences.

Jonathan makes a very valid point as well regarding the English on the site. If this is a serious endeavor, the website content should reflect that to it's potential clients.

I would also want to see what kind of games they have already playtested to know what kind of service I would be getting. I"m in the process of playtesting my game and I would definitely not take a chance with this company especially when there are other options.

But isn't that the IMPORTANT part??? Knowing that the NDA does guarantee that your prototype game is protected from copying?! If not, I may feel good but my Indian counterparts are going to feel a whole lot better when they can produce or copy my game.

It's kind of a service for "ignorant" people. Only kids think like this: "Okay they say they will sign an NDA - okay so that means I'm protected."

Nothing in International Law and signing TWO (2) NDAs one using American legislation and another one using Indian legislation. I didn't dig deep into the matter... But from what I glanced upon, you need two (2) NDAs, an NDA for each "market".

Anyway this is all legal-ese ... A lawyer could inform you of your rights given a sample of their NDA that they agree to sign and uphold.

Assuming protection (again) is kids thinking they are safe "because they signed an NDA." If you want to USE this service, I would speak to a lawyer FIRST and ask if you are at all protected. IF you are and there are no loop-holes ... Well then maybe you could be "stup..", I mean send a prototype from the USA all the way to India to have your game playtested.

I personally would not. But that's my opinion.

This is for publishers, not designers, obviously, to finalise a game before sending it to the printers. Probably not self-publishers either. $199 is way over what I would expect (not hope) to make in profits on a new game, considering that most games we all design end up not being published at all (not accepted by publishers or failed kickstaters). Many fantastic free playtesters out there that want to test your game if it is interesting enough.

(If you find it difficult to find several groups of testers enthusiastic enough about your game to playtest it for free that might be useful feedback in itself.)

I worry that there is a trend with companies profiting from designers being increasingly desperate to publish games on a crowded market and believing throwing their personal savings at various services to make way too polished prototypes etc that is not really what they need anyway. The same game with a few minor rules fixed is not going to be what makes a publisher (or kickstart backers) suddenly go crazy about a game they previously thought would not be any fun to play.

Plus how do you even know what genres of games they are truly experts in compared to some people you can find here or on the bgg forums?

Have any of you tried recruiting playtesters online (i.e.: Board Game Geek) and providing them with printable prototypes? I believe Gloomhaven did this with success, no? Seems like a good way to involve people while receiving free playtesting. Though, part of me wonders who would be willing to spend so much time to go about mocking up a printable prototype to play the game.

Coalition Games looks great for my needs. I've read through nearly their entire website and it seems to provide data far beyond playtesting, with input from numerous game designers as well. Good to have objective feedback from game professionals who spends [relatively] ample time with your game. Thank you for the suggestion.

I'm nearabouts Toronto. I know BoardGameBliss in Scarborough has monthly designer days. Any other recommendations?

Hello @Let-Off I spoke with @Tyson when he was just starting his services and we "talked" (messaged) a bit concerning payment for re-shipping prototypes and not being required to print & cut PNP productions...

Do you mind PM-ing the pricing??? Could not find anything related to it on the FB page. If it's confidential well then just say so... And I'll contact @Tyson myself.

Many thanks.

You'll want to contact him directly. I was informed that they do not normally return prototypes, and that if it's requested they will charge a fee (unspecified, from what I know) for that service.

I wouldn't anticipate anything other than a realistic figure. In my experience their team seems on-point, communicative, and reasonable in all other areas.