Blind playtests or guided playtests?
2 min read
By Eduardo Orellana ·
In a blind playtest, a player who has never seen the game gets it with no explanation, as a buyer would, and you watch what they do. In a guided playtest, you ask them to try specific things: reach a level, use a feature, fight a boss. Blind tests show the first-time experience and every place players get lost; guided tests check whether a particular part works. Use blind for onboarding and the first hour, guided for systems late in the game.
Only a blind tester can tell you what the first minute feels like
Once a tester has been told anything (the controls, the goal, the genre), they can never again show you what a new player experiences. That makes blind testers precious, and worth spending only on the questions only they can answer.
Blind
- What: new player, no instructions, play as long as they like.
- Shows: onboarding, readability, where players get lost or quit.
- When: the first hour of the game, the store page and trailer too.
- Cost: each tester can only do it once.
Guided
- What: specific tasks: "reach the third boss", "build a second base".
- Shows: whether one system works, balance, late-game content.
- When: features players would only reach after hours.
- Cost: tells you nothing about first impressions.
Where Flockbay fits
Flockbay's playtest links work for both: send a blind build to new testers, or a build with a save at the part you want checked. Reports, crashes and frame times come back to the chat. Free in beta until 1 December 2026.