Board Game Developer’s Notes During the First Playtest of Jumanji

MCSWEENEY'S QUARTERLY SUBSCRIPTIONS

• Glad I went with ominous drumbeats as the beckoning call, all four players looking upon the game with wonder and dread. Woodwinds/sitars would have been a mistake.

• Game instructions clear enough to be understood by players, vaguely threatening enough to unnerve them. Struck a great balance there.

• Two youngest players mystified by the enchanted game tokens. An excellent sign, as I’ll be pitching Jumanji as a game for wayward youths looking to escape the tedium of their daily lives / learn a few things the hard way.

• Turn up sadism levels in monkeys. Antics are WAY too on the playful side. Don’t be afraid to go overboard here either. I’d rather have them throwing knives and stealing police cars than—Jesus—tickling each other.

• Giant flesh-eating plants went smoothly. Creeped into the room through the ceiling and power outlets, went straight for the weakest player, players fought back with fireplace tools / wept uncontrollably. THIS is the kind of fantastical violence and emotional distress I envisioned.

• Don’t love the lion’s spawn point or behavior. Sure, he showed up, gave a roar, started mauling Player 3. But it lacked… suspense. He should appear in a dark corner, slowly emerge from the shadows. Crawl along the keys of an old piano.

• Look into pacing. Player 4 has been sucked into the game just a few turns in, remaining players fainting / crying / accusing me of kidnapping. Save all jungle damnations for later in game to avoid these counterproductive reactions—or add a mechanic where players must roll a certain number to rescue doomed friend. May help increase immersion / facilitate teamwork.

• Psychotic hunter a bit cartoonish for my tastes, keeps calling everyone “Sonny Jim.” Don’t remember making him British either. It’s kind of working, though, sort of a Rudyard Kipling meets Teddy Roosevelt thing. Plus, players are too busy cowering behind makeshift barricades / hurling vases at him to nitpick aesthetics.

• Stampede added some nice variety. We’ve been getting a lot of close-quarter showdowns between man and beast during this playthrough, so it was fun to see players just scream and run for their lives here.

• ADD ANTI-CHEATING MECHANIC. Player 3 attempted to rig the dice roll and end game early. Give cheaters hives? Turn them into an ugly wolf-person with stupid-looking tail? Fungal rashes? Dysentery? Needs to be both humiliating and jungle-themed.

• Monsoon was incredible. Water nearly reached the ceiling, players had to climb atop a chandelier and fend off alligators with a dining chair. This is the beauty of playtesting: You spend so much time dreaming up these zoological horrors, but never know what kind of furniture players will try to beat them to death with.

• Remove malaria event. Had a fast-paced adventure story going, and now Player 2 is succumbing to fever while the others mournfully bring her water. Totally sucked the air out of the room. Not the right tone at all.

• Satisfying finish. Player 1 reached Jumanji just before my home collapsed in an earthquake and killed us all. All effects reversed, Players 1+2 got swept up in the moment and kissed, Player 4 returned from the jungle alive but feral.

• Great first playthrough! Just need to make a few tweaks, and Jumanji players of all ages should experience levels of mental and physical trauma that will leave them atoning for past wrongs/reflecting on the true meaning of strength.

• NEXT STEPS: Put on finishing touches. Bury game in the woods behind that elementary school. Start work on my next project: Thinking same concept, but outer space.

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