Playtest Report
A short report on an actual playtest of your draft — what broke, what surprised you, and what you're changing because of it.
Due: 7 May 2027 · Weight: 20%
The brief#
Run a real slice of your scenario with a real player, then report what actually happened and what you’re changing because of it.
A read-through cannot substitute for this — the whole point of Assessment 3 is a player making choices you didn’t predict. If you don’t have a regular group, use the playtest-matching arrangement your tutor keeps; pairing with another student’s draft counts, and one player is enough for a meaningful test.
What you submit#
A short report (roughly one to two pages): what you ran and with whom, at least one stuck point, at least one pleasant surprise, and the specific changes you’re carrying into your Final Scenario. Honesty about what broke is worth more here than a polished account that avoids admitting anything did.
The spec
The brief poses the problem and leaves room for a response. The spec is the fixed part: what a marker checks. Some lines can be checked mechanically; the rest call for judgement.
- you ran an actual playtest slice, with at least one other real player, not a solo read-through
- you name at least one specific stuck point and one specific thing that surprised you
- you state concrete changes you're making to the scenario as a result
How it is marked
Graded on whether the report shows a genuine playtest happened and a genuine response to it — a specific stuck point, a specific surprise, and specific changes that follow from them — rather than on the scenario being flawless going in. A report that honestly documents a scenario breaking is a stronger submission than one that claims nothing went wrong.