The playtest programme
Play them first. Change them while it still matters.
Six of the eight games on this site are not on sale yet. The people in this programme are playing all of them right now, on their own phones, and the things they say end up in the build.
Why it exists
Two reasons, and both of them are honest
Small games need early eyes
One person cannot playtest their own game. You stop being able to see it after about the fortieth run — the tutorial that taught you nothing reads fine, the difficulty spike you learned to jump feels normal, and the button nobody else can find is exactly where you left it. Ten strangers on ten different phones find all of that in an afternoon.
The stores require it now
Google Play requires a genuine closed test — real testers, opted in, playing for a sustained period — before a small developer can go to production at all. Apple wants to see that an app is a real product with real players behind it. Building an actual community is the only version of that which is worth having, so that is what this is.
Nobody is paid, in either direction. No paid tester groups, no bought installs, no incentivised reviews, no swapping installs with other developers. Those break store rules, they get apps removed, and the feedback they produce is worthless anyway — a person paid to open an app for fourteen days does not tell you your third level is boring.
How it works
Three steps, and no form to fill in
- Join the group. One click with the Google account you use on your phone. Google Play takes that group as the tester list, so joining it is the signup — nobody types your address into anything and there is no form in the middle.
- Download and play. Once you are in the group the closed test opens for you. Install it from Play like any other app; it updates itself from then on.
- Say what you think. Whenever you have something to say, there is one long-answer box waiting for it, or the Discord if you would rather talk. No survey, no star rating, no ten-minute form. If it is a bug, a screenshot is worth a paragraph.
iOS builds go through TestFlight instead, which works off your Apple ID rather than the group. Say so in the Discord and you will get an invite.
Open now
What is currently being tested
Ledge Legion
In reviewMarch the legion down the ledge. Shed troops to fit the gate.
Mines & Booms
In reviewMinesweeper with somewhere to be. Five worlds, three board shapes.
Data Central
In developmentA character sheet, a gym, and a world that fights back while you are away.
Cave Commander
In developmentDig a dungeon. Fill it with things. Wait for someone to walk in.
The two live games do not need testers, but bug reports on them are always welcome — use the support page.
Join
Become a tester
Join the group and the builds open up. There is no form, no account to make on this site, and nothing to send anybody — Google Play reads the group directly as its tester list.
Use the Google account you actually play on — that is the one the test opens for. The Discord is optional and is where build announcements land first.
What you get
- Every unreleased game, as soon as there is something worth playing.
- A direct line to the person who wrote it, not a support queue.
- Credit in any game you meaningfully change, if you want it.
- Release-day notice when something you tested goes live.
What it costs
Nothing, ever, in either direction.
The small print
What you are actually agreeing to
- Builds are unfinished. There will be bugs, and progress may be wiped between versions.
- Do not redistribute a build. Store rules on closed testing forbid it and it puts the whole release at risk.
- Your feedback gets used. Acted on, quoted, built in. You keep the right to be credited — just say so.
- There is no NDA. Stream it, post about it, tell anyone you like.
- Leaving is one email. Same-day, no questions, nothing kept afterwards.
- Your address is used for two things: adding you to the tester list, and telling you there is a new build. Nothing else, ever.
The full version is in the terms of service, and what happens to your email address is in the privacy policy.
Questions
Asked often enough to answer here
Do I have to send anyone my email address?
No. Google Play accepts a Google Group as the tester list, so the group membership is the list — you join it yourself and Google matches you to the build. We never see or store your address, and there is no form collecting one. Apple’s TestFlight works off your Apple ID instead, so an iOS invite does need one; ask and it will be sent.
Which Google account should I use?
The one you actually use on the phone you will play on. The closed test opens for that account specifically, so joining with a different address than the one signed into Play is the usual reason someone cannot find the download.
Do I have to play every day?
No. Google’s rules want a test to run over a sustained period with real testers opted in, not a daily attendance register. Play when you feel like it. If you lose interest in a game, that is itself the most useful thing you can tell us.
Will you pay me?
No, and it is important that we do not. Paying testers breaks the store rules this programme exists to satisfy, and it corrupts the feedback: paid testers say the game is good.
Can I test on a computer?
These are phone games and the feel is different on a desktop. If a PC build is the only way you can help, say so and we will sort something out — but a real phone in a real hand is worth far more.
What if I find something serious?
Email it directly rather than waiting for the form. A crash on launch or anything involving money gets looked at the same day.
Can I bring a friend?
Please do. More devices and more habits is exactly what the programme is short of, and the number of testers is what unblocks a release.