Testing is an important stage in the development of any educational tool. A game may look complete when the rules are written and the materials are prepared, but its real strengths and weaknesses become clearer when people try to use it. Testing allows the team to observe what happens during play instead of relying only on predictions.
YouthCoLab plans to test the game with young people and educators in Poland and Slovakia. The project plans two rounds of testing in each country. Involving different users can help the partners understand whether the game is clear for young participants and practical for the people who may facilitate it. It can also show whether the activity works in more than one setting.
During testing, the team can pay attention to several details. Do players understand the instructions? Are the rules easy to follow? Does the activity take a suitable amount of time? Are participants engaged and able to contribute? Does the game support discussion about sustainability and the competences it aims to develop? These observations can help identify what should be improved.
Testing is not an examination of the participants. It is a way to examine the game itself. If a rule causes confusion, that is useful information for the designers. If a task does not create the expected discussion, the team can consider a different approach. By using feedback from testing, YouthCoLab aims to strengthen the mechanics, difficulty level, rules and overall usability before the final version is completed.
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