I've always loved playing board games and card games. All the work that goes into game design was so mysterious to me until I designed my own card game. I figured out the secret... I'll cut to the chase. It's testing. Testing... and yes you know I'm going to say it again. Testing.
ZQUALS educational math card game hero image

In late 2022, I launched ZQUALS, an educational card game. I never sought out to make a game. It just sorta happened. Here’s exactly how I did it.

Table Of Contents

flux capacitor

#1

Have your flux capacitor moment!

Ideas come from unexpected places.
Keep an open mind as to what’s possible.

I had cooked up a simpler version of my math game a couple of years ago just to help my youngest get better at mental math addition. One day in Feb 2022, while she was quarantining at home from school she asked to play that really old paper prototype game again. I thought to myself… Ok God I’m here playing a game with my kid and I’ve got time on my hands… what’s my next step? Inspiration hit. My old paper prototype was ok but the game could be more fun. Now that my youngest was older, her skills could be challenged by something more.

That’s when I decided to add an attack and defense element to the game for more strategy and fun. I ran into the office and made a whole new batch of cards with index cards and sharpies and the game started to grow from there. You could say that fateful day in Feb was my flux capacitor moment.

#2

Prototype.

Make a simple prototype to test with.
It doesn’t have to be pretty.
It just has to function.

The first two special cards I made were the minus 1 and the 7 ate 9 Mine! cards. It was a fun addition to the basic game... one test later, I realized.. uh... I need some sort of defense card. And what if I make a card that allows you to multiply your score?? Ooo. What about other attack cards like divide by 2 to attack an opponent’s space?

A few playtests at home with the family later... we realized we had a really fun game on our hands when we ended up playing late one night, way past the kids’ bedtime. Oops!
flux capacitor

#3

Test test TEST!

and then TEST some more

I called and texted all my board gaming friends. It was like I was back in school again. Hey friend... wanna play a game with me? Honestly, it’s a fun game. AND... you can bring your kids along, we can all play together. Whadya say? Some of my friends were available to play and I’m grateful to all who took the time to do so.

#4

Take LOTS of notes for each and every test.

Testing with friends and family is fun and brings out all sorts of feedback. Hey mom, she attacked me. Aw... I wanted to do that. I can’t believe you beat me.

Testing and receiving feedback is one thing. Remembering all that feedback is another. Don’t trust yourself to remember what people said. WRITE IT ALL DOWN. Our memories get tainted with our emotions. If we had fun, we remember some things. If somebody said they didn’t like something about the game, we remember that even more... It’s sad but true that we remember negative feedback more. Writing down all the feedback allows you to take your emotions out of it. Write it down. Leave it for a day. Review it the next day with a refreshed mind.

Here’s something hard for most creative folks: discerning feedback. Not all feedback is gold. Sometimes the feedback is skewed. Did you ask for feedback on the game mechanics and instead received criticism about how somebody doesn’t like the genre of the game? Well if they don’t even like the game genre they’re not going to like your game at all and they are not your target market. Take the time to review the feedback you received and separate the wheat from the chaff. Recognize who your target market is and what they are looking for in the game.

Take care to note what changes were made and WHY you decided to make those changes

An additional benet of writing all the feedback down is that you can refer to it at a much later date and make some decisions on the feedback you received. Game testing isn’t a static process. It’s an ever-evolving process. Testing is iterative. Test, receive feedback, change something, and test again. Lather, rinse, repeat. My game evolved a LOT in the initial few weeks. I had attack cards, then I had to add defense cards. Then I had to adjust the card count because there were TOO many attack cards. Then I had to adjust the way you could discard cards in the game because it could give someone an unfair advantage. Then I had to adjust how to end the attacks on a space. That was a tough one. Does the turn end when you say something? When you slap down a card? When you say something and slap down a card? When are you safe from attack?
flux capacitor
flux capacitor

#1

Have your flux capacitor moment!

Ideas come from unexpected places.
Keep an open mind as to what’s possible.

I had cooked up a simpler version of my math game a couple of years ago just to help my youngest get better at mental math addition. One day in Feb 2022, while she was quarantining at home from school she asked to play that really old paper prototype game again. I thought to myself… Ok God I’m here playing a game with my kid and I’ve got time on my hands… what’s my next step? Inspiration hit. My old paper prototype was ok but the game could be more fun. Now that my youngest was older, her skills could be challenged by something more.

That’s when I decided to add an attack and defense element to the game for more strategy and fun. I ran into the office and made a whole new batch of cards with index cards and sharpies and the game started to grow from there. You could say that fateful day in Feb was my flux capacitor moment.

#2

Prototype.

Make a simple prototype to test with.
It doesn’t have to be pretty.
It just has to function.

The first two special cards I made were the minus 1 and the 7 ate 9 Mine! cards. It was a fun addition to the basic game... one test later, I realized.. uh... I need some sort of defense card. And what if I make a card that allows you to multiply your score?? Ooo. What about other attack cards like divide by 2 to attack an opponent’s space?

A few playtests at home with the family later... we realized we had a really fun game on our hands when we ended up playing late one night, way past the kids’ bedtime. Oops!
flux capacitor
flux capacitor

#1

Have your flux capacitor moment!

Ideas come from unexpected places.
Keep an open mind as to what’s possible.

I had cooked up a simpler version of my math game a couple of years ago just to help my youngest get better at mental math addition. One day in Feb 2022, while she was quarantining at home from school she asked to play that really old paper prototype game again. I thought to myself… Ok God I’m here playing a game with my kid and I’ve got time on my hands… what’s my next step? Inspiration hit. My old paper prototype was ok but the game could be more fun. Now that my youngest was older, her skills could be challenged by something more.

That’s when I decided to add an attack and defense element to the game for more strategy and fun. I ran into the office and made a whole new batch of cards with index cards and sharpies and the game started to grow from there. You could say that fateful day in Feb was my flux capacitor moment.

#2

Prototype.

Make a simple prototype to test with.
It doesn’t have to be pretty.
It just has to function.

The first two special cards I made were the minus 1 and the 7 ate 9 Mine! cards. It was a fun addition to the basic game... one test later, I realized.. uh... I need some sort of defense card. And what if I make a card that allows you to multiply your score?? Ooo. What about other attack cards like divide by 2 to attack an opponent’s space?

A few playtests at home with the family later... we realized we had a really fun game on our hands when we ended up playing late one night, way past the kids’ bedtime. Oops!
flux capacitor
flux capacitor

#1

Have your flux capacitor moment!

Ideas come from unexpected places.
Keep an open mind as to what’s possible.

I had cooked up a simpler version of my math game a couple of years ago just to help my youngest get better at mental math addition. One day in Feb 2022, while she was quarantining at home from school she asked to play that really old paper prototype game again. I thought to myself… Ok God I’m here playing a game with my kid and I’ve got time on my hands… what’s my next step? Inspiration hit. My old paper prototype was ok but the game could be more fun. Now that my youngest was older, her skills could be challenged by something more.

That’s when I decided to add an attack and defense element to the game for more strategy and fun. I ran into the office and made a whole new batch of cards with index cards and sharpies and the game started to grow from there. You could say that fateful day in Feb was my flux capacitor moment.

#2

Prototype.

Make a simple prototype to test with.
It doesn’t have to be pretty.
It just has to function.

The first two special cards I made were the minus 1 and the 7 ate 9 Mine! cards. It was a fun addition to the basic game... one test later, I realized.. uh... I need some sort of defense card. And what if I make a card that allows you to multiply your score?? Ooo. What about other attack cards like divide by 2 to attack an opponent’s space?

A few playtests at home with the family later... we realized we had a really fun game on our hands when we ended up playing late one night, way past the kids’ bedtime. Oops!
flux capacitor
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