Microscope Playtest Update #1

External playtesting of Microscope has been going on for just over a month now. There were a few simple questions that kept coming up, so I put together a one-page faq and sent it out to all the groups.

There are no actual rule changes, just a few clarifications, along with a few tips for play, including the now infamous “do not play Microscope when you’re tired” (aka drink coffee not beer). Sounds kind of like an after school public service announcement: “Jimmy wanted to play Microscope like the cool kids. He didn’t worry that he was too sleepy to creatively contribute, and now he’s dead! Don’t be like Jimmy!”

There are also questions that have come up in playtesting that I’m not answering (yet), because I want to see how the playtesters handle it on their own. When players say “hmm, I don’t see why this bit is important…” I don’t want to jump in and lecture them. I want to see how they play from the text. Seeing how different groups interpret and react to the rules is an essential part of a blind playtest — it’s actually kind of the whole point.

I also have to say, I love the feedback I’ve been getting. Every time I get a playtest report about the history some group came up with, I am literally blown away. Folks come up with so much cool stuff.