Designer Diary #2: How Playtesting Shaped Foréa

Designing a game may look simple, but once you write down your idea on paper (or on a computer), the tricky part is making it work.

At first, the idea seems like it will work by itself, but as soon as you start thinking about the little details, you realize there are plenty of things you hadn't considered.

Here, I'll share as much as I can about the story behind the first design and how the game evolved into what it is today.

What was the initial objective with Foréa?



As I mentioned in DD#1, Gaëlle had this project in mind for the end of her university design program. At first, her teachers weren't particularly focused on having a perfectly tuned game.

Gaëlle is a perfectionist, and she loves board games. She couldn't leave a project into which she had poured her heart and soul at the stage where it was simply "good enough."

She asked herself: What does this game want to say? and Who is it for?

She then built the story around the game and its core concept, but most importantly, she identified the target audience. The goal was to create a game for children that adults could also genuinely enjoy without feeling bored.

What did the game look like in its early stages?

The game has always looked beautiful. Gaëlle developed her ideas in her sketchbook, and once she was satisfied, she crafted the wooden pieces using a CNC machine at UQAM and painted them with natural dyes.



The biggest changes weren't visual—they were in the rules.

Even Gaëlle says that, at first, the game was boring and there wasn't a real objective to achieve. After playtesting with family and friends, she gradually developed the first version of the rules that would eventually become the game you know today.

She then brought the game to Salon du Jeu Montréal. Many people tried it, including the event jury, my friends, and me...

How did playtesting shape the game?

Once we decided to work together on the project, I knew I wanted to add another layer to the game. I wanted something even more appealing visually while also improving some of the rules.

I wanted the cards to be image-only (the early Challenge Cards contained very small text), and I wanted greater variety in the challenges.

At this stage, we also started working on a Family Mode and an Advanced Mode without adding extra components.

Family Mode and Advanced Mode (Peaceful Forest & Wild Forest)



This was very important to me. Gaëlle wasn't specifically targeting adults, but everyone around me who tried the prototype absolutely loved playing it. The only thing missing was a greater challenge.

We spent a lot of time brainstorming ways to increase the difficulty without adding components or pages of rules. We had to be clever because creating something better with less is often the hardest challenge.

During playtesting, we noticed that adults loved doing silly things—placing animals in positions where they seemed almost impossible to balance. We also noticed that adults naturally tended to place both the animals and the new trees on top of other pieces whenever possible.

So that became a rule.

We also discovered that the Change Cards were fun for children but a little too simple for adults. Combined with the new placement rule, we replaced the original challenge of moving a single piece with moving an entire section of the forest without knocking anything over.

Everything started to fall into place.


The moment we knew we had something special

From that point on, every playtest brought wonderful feedback.

Some children didn't even want to stop playing and sometimes simply enjoyed building their own forests without even following the rules. Adults, on the other hand, loved sharing laughs around a simple yet beautiful game.

That's when we realized we had found the sweet spot where everyone could enjoy Foréa.

Then... I wanted more animals and more challenges.

That's where some exciting new ideas came from!

We're creating expansion animals with new rules and new ways to place them in the forest (you'll see—they're incredibly cute and very original! I'm really excited about them!), along with exclusive Kickstarter goodies that can be used with the base game. But more on that in a later Designer Diary ^^!

I have to say that expanding the Foréa universe has been an incredibly creative and enjoyable experience, and Gaëlle has done an amazing job.

I promise we're not adding too much—the game won't become a Frankenstein. Everything we add is carefully playtested to make sure it genuinely makes the game more fun.

Speaking of Kickstarter, if you haven't followed the campaign yet, here's the link. Thank you so much for your support! 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/g1idgames/forea

Until next time, everyone!

Don't forget to give Foréa a thumbs up, follow the game on its BGG page, and come say hello if you're attending Essen!

Hugo
G1iDGames