I've been working a lot on playtesting for our current project, Z's Revenge over the last month. I've had several digital playtests accomplished through Tabletop Simulator on Steam as well as our very first physical beta playtest at our local game store this last Sunday. I've been pleasantly surprised by these sessions for they seem to be going quite well. 

These sessions have been the first time the game has been introduced and played by complete strangers to me. Of course, I've personally tested the game dozens of times and have had many hours of playtests with my personal friends and family, but that's different. When showing personal friends and family something you've created there's a level of dishonesty that sometimes comes with it. You're friends and family tend to not want to hurt your feelings because they like you and care for you. This means that they may not truly tell you how they feel about this thing that you've worked so hard on. 

This is one of the reasons that beta testing and blind playtesting are so important. You're more likely to get unbiased feedback from individuals who don't have anything invested in you or whatever it is your asking their opinion on. 

This is why I've been pleasantly surprised. The individuals within the sessions all seem to have enjoyed playing the game. This, and they've had incredible feedback for improvements that I hadn't thought of before. This means the world to me! It's a tremendous confidence booster and reinforcer for all my hard work. You might be able to imagine how hard it is to take something that you've poured so much time and energy into and reveal it to people, knowing that their impression and opinion on it are extremely important. 

I've had quite a bit of anxiety and doubt surrounding the game and my work on it. Is it actually any fun? Is the art absolute crap? What if no one likes it? What if all this time and energy is for nothing? These doubts I know are normal, but it doesn't make them go away. 

Apparently one way to help with these feelings of doubt is to ask strangers about the content that's causing them. Maybe they can lend a perspective you haven't seen by yourself. Maybe they have advice that can help you with the feelings. Maybe you're wrong. You never know.. 

Playtesting has been fun and I think It's going well. Every test is one step closer to completion of the game. Everyday it's getting more succinct and more fun. There's not much more we can ask for. Well, of course there is. Getting the game completed and to a place that we believe will be a great addition to the world is one thing. Getting a following of people to believe this with us and support us in the endeavor is another. If you're passionate about supporting this project and want to know how you can help, feel free to reach out. There's plenty of work to do and many things big and small that I could use help with.

Playtesting will continue and each day Z's Revenge is getting closer and closer to being something fantastic! We want to create the best version of Z's. That's why this process is so important and not to be rushed. Thanks for being a part of this!

​ - The Dead Lemon

Back to the line of questioning!
Depending on what game(s) they mention can really tell me a lot. For the sake of continuing the generic questions let's stick with Uno being their answer though. 
 
    5.   What are some of your favorite games?
    6.  Have you ever heard of or played...?
    7.  Would you ever want to play...?

You get the idea here. 
There definitely seems to be a number of responses regarding the games an individual has played that can tell me the most. One answer is actually kind of deceiving though. Can you guess what the number one game people mention if they know anything about the board game world is? Hint: It's that big photo over there.

Why is it deceiving when I people mention this game? Well, it's overall a great thing that they mention it or have played it. It's becoming a classic in the field and is a great gateway game into an ever-expanding hobby. However, I feel like Catan is sort of becoming this game that makes you "cool" if you've played it. It's like a pop icon for a certain segment of nerdom. On one hand it's a great gamer's game that exhibits some more in-depth mechanics and strategy, on the other hand, people will talk about it even if they've played it once and don't really have too much experience elsewhere. This really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. I'm stoked either way. 
Now, if the individual mentions D&D (Dungeons and Dragons), then that's a something that get's my gamer blood flowing.