Playtest #1: First Steps Into the Forest

In March 2025, I ran the very first playtest of Mental Forest. It was a small but important moment in the life of the project. The participants were three of my fellow Liverpool John Moores Art in Science master’s students, along with Professor Mark Roughley, at the end of our transdisciplinary module. This was the first time my game was leaving my sketchbook and moving beyond my own studio table, which made the session both exciting and nerve-wracking.

At this stage, the game existed in a rough, handmade prototype form: a painted cardboard board, tokens, and a simple deck of cards. I wasn’t testing metaphors yet, nor looking for players to reflect on mental health themes. Because I didn’t have ethics approval, the session was strictly focused on mechanics — how the game moved, whether the rules made sense, and how the pacing felt. The goal was to see if the foundation of the game worked before adding more complexity.

What Happened

We set up in a classroom, with the board laid out on the table. After explaining the rules — roll the dice, move across the forest path, draw cards when instructed, and collect key fragments to eventually leave the forest — the group quickly started to play.

Almost immediately, it became clear that the design had limitations. There weren’t enough playable squares on the board, which slowed the pace down dramatically. Players spent too much time waiting for something to happen. The rhythm of the game was off — instead of an engaging back-and-forth, the session sometimes felt like it was dragging.

That said, I noticed a real spark of engagement when players interacted with the characters I had designed. The tokens and illustrations were playful, and even in this very early form, they seemed to resonate. Watching others move pieces I had painted by hand, and hearing them laugh at the designs, gave me reassurance that the game had personality and approachability built in.

Feedback

The feedback was detailed and encouraging.

“The overall design is really approachable and interesting.”

“There aren’t enough playable squares — the game drags and feels slow.”

“The character designs are fun and relevant to the topic.”

“You should think about adding an element of collaboration between players.”

This balance of praise and critique was incredibly useful. On the one hand, the group affirmed that the game’s look and feel were inviting. On the other, they pointed to very practical issues with pacing and interaction that needed fixing if the game was going to work.

My Reflection

Hearing this feedback was a mixture of relief and challenge. Relief, because people genuinely seemed to enjoy the aesthetic and atmosphere I had created. The approachable design mattered — I didn’t want a game about mental health to feel heavy, sterile, or clinical, and this early feedback confirmed I was on the right track.

The challenge was mechanical. It’s one thing to have a visually interesting game, but if the experience of playing it is boring or frustrating, the metaphors won’t land. This playtest reminded me that mechanics and meaning are inseparable: if the game doesn’t work as a game, players won’t stick around long enough to engage with deeper themes.

I also found myself reflecting on the collaborative suggestion. At first, I hadn’t thought much about interaction between players; I was focused on the individual journey through the forest. But hearing that players wanted to connect with each other shifted my perspective. Mental health is not just an individual experience — it is relational, shaped by the presence (or absence) of support. Building this into the game mechanics became an obvious next step.

What I Learned

• Aesthetic approachability is a strength — players enjoyed the visuals and characters.

  
  

• Pacing matters: not enough playable squares created drag and frustration.

  
  

• Collaboration is important, not just mechanically but metaphorically.

  
  

• Mechanics must support the themes — if the game isn’t engaging, the message won’t come through.

Changes Made

In response to this playtest, I made several adjustments:

• Added more playable squares to the board to increase flow and reduce downtime.

  
  

• Introduced Heart cards, designed to encourage interaction and collaboration between players.

  
  

• Cleaned up the design to create a more cohesive overall aesthetic.

Closing Thoughts

Looking back, Playtest 1 was the first time I realized just how iterative this project would need to be. It wasn’t enough to have a strong idea or a compelling visual style; the mechanics themselves had to carry meaning and engagement. I walked away reassured that the game had potential, but also aware that it needed significant refinement. Most importantly, I left with a new design direction: to embed collaboration directly into the game, so that Mental Forest could reflect not only the struggles of mental health but also the importance of support.