Playtest UK Games Meetup Group

Our Meetups are now twice monthly: on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of every month at The Petersfield on Sturton Street in Cambridge.

If you've never been to a Playtest Meetup in the past, have no fear. The Playtest UK community is here to bring together designers of all levels of expertise and experience who are keen to share their passion for games and game design.

To get involved, just bring along a game for playtesting (and it truly doesn't matter how rough-and-ready it is!), and — even more importantly — be ready to give your time to help playtest other people's and share your feedback.

You don't need to do anything other than RSVP. There's no need to book a slot or tell the group what you're bringing. But, do be aware that if you have a longer/bigger game (significantly more than an hour, say) then you shouldn't expect to play all the way through — and probably don't need to! Getting a game to the table, playing a few rounds and listening to feedback will often enough to give you what you need to take the next steps.

We are a welcoming community of board game designers and playtesters, please join us and bring your games in development for feedback, to play upcoming games, or just to chat about the hobby and industry! We range from first-time designers, hobby designers, published designers, and publishing companies.

We meet every Tuesday at The Ludoquist board game cafe in Croydon, from 6:30pm-10pm. We try to ensure that as many games can be played in an evening, and prioritise those that haven't been able to test their games recently, although we cannot guarantee that your game will be played in the first session you join.

The final meeting of each month is reserved for playing published games. We use this time to catch up on games that we want to try or discuss.

You can also join our Facebook Group community for feedback and discussion: https://www.facebook.com/groups/playtestuksouthlondon

We look forward to seeing you!

We playtest games of all kinds. Bring a prototype and we will be able to test it. Or come by just to meet people interested on game design and test new ideas :D

The group currently meets roughly every two weeks, based on people's availability. If you're coming for the first time, please RSVP beforehand, and leave your inbox open in case no-one else can make it that day (the organisers get added to every meetup so if only they are listed as attending there's a chance there won't be anyone there that week.)

We playtest all sorts of games - strategic, silly, creative, or whatever. Some games are almost done. Some are very early ideas. We test anything that will fit into 90 minutes.

You don't need to bring a game - we always love to have new playtesters!

Please let us know in the comments when you plan to arrive/leave and whether you are bringing a game or not. This helps us to plan the day better.

The schedule is:

10am onwards - gathering, chatting
11am sharp - playing for 90 min ('slot 1')
12:30ish - break for food/chat
1pm sharp - playing for 90 min ('slot 2')
2:30ish - break for food/chat
3pm sharp - playing for 90 min ('slot 3')
4:30ish - finish up
Often, we might hang around afterwards, to play some already-published games.

We are strict on timings, so please try to arrive a few minutes before the session to limit disruption.

You can just come for part of the day if you wish. The reason we have fixed timings for the 3 'slots' is to make it easier for folk to do so.

Designers of all levels of experience are welcome! But if it's your first time, we ask that you don't bring a game and just spend some time learning how the group works.

The group works based on reciprocation. If you expect to test your own game, make sure stay for long enough to play other games. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect to play one of your own games every third 90-minute session. So if you stay a whole day (3 sessions), you can expect to have one session to play your game(s).

Pre-covid, we were getting unmanageable. As a result, we may have to limit attendees. This is a free-to-use venue, and we have to be mindful that other folk want to use the same space.

We look forward to seeing you!