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Playtesting Wisdom

I just read this great article by Dungeon Fantastic on "Has that problem come up in actual play?", which looks at the difference in game design between rules that break in theory versus rules that break in play.  I've designed plenty of games in my time, most of them as a kid who wanted to play D&D but couldn't afford any of the books.  Even comparing my attempts as an adult to my successes as a kid, I can see the very obvious wisdom, that a game is designed best by playing it.

As a kid, this was very odd, because many of my test session were, in fact, me with my box of D6 dice taken out of every board game in the house, rolling merrily away by myself trying to kill the monsters I had created.  As GM and player and game writer, I knew the strengths and weaknesses and I could push and pull at every aspect.  The end product worked, though it wasn't nearly as elegant as systems I've seen since.

As an adult, I've written some RPG system stuff, extensions and rule sets.  When I tried them with other people they fell apart.  They fell apart because I tried to write them as a game designer and then test them.  Games are best written by a player and a GM, merged into one squishy being that only uses game design as a means to an end.  It seems the best advice ever is simple:  PLAY!
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