FOR TESTERS · FREE TO PLAY

Play games that
don't exist yet.

Someone you know is designing a board game and wants your table to break it. You'll play a real game night, tap a button when something works or doesn't, and the designer gets what they need. It’s free for testers and adds no extra time to the evening.

I have a code

Free app, free account. Testers don’t need a paid plan.

Always free

There is no tester plan, no trial and no upsell. Testing is free, on every project, for everyone.

Nothing to pay for

Install the app, sign in with Google, Apple or a code sent to your email, enter the project code, play. The account is free. There is no tester tier and no NexTurn Pro required.

Never touches your record

Playtest games stay out of your stats, streaks, Rewind and BoardGameGeek. Completely separate.

At the table

Your job is to flag moments as they happen.

That is the whole ask, and it happens during the game, not afterwards. The app is already running the table: whose turn it is, which phase you're in, the scorepad. It's timing everything quietly in the background. When something stands out, good or bad, you tap the flag there and then, while the table still remembers what happened.

That worked

The auction was tense. The combo felt great. Designers hear about problems constantly and rarely hear this.

That didn't

Dead turn. Runaway leader. The bit where everyone checked their phone. Worth saying, and this is the place for it.

Rules issue

Two of you read the card differently and had to house-rule it. These are among the most useful flags a designer gets.

You don't stop playing to do it. The tap is stamped with the exact turn, round and phase automatically. The app asks what happened at the next round break, when the table has already paused, and you can skip that too.

Err on the side of tagging too much. A flag that turns out to be nothing costs nothing. Something everyone has forgotten by scoring can cost the designer weeks.

What we do with it

What the designer sees, and what they never see.

They see

How long everything tookTurn by turn, phase by phase, across every table testing their game.
Your flags and your notesAll of them, including the ones you would not say to their face. That is rather the point.
That several people hit the same wallWhen four testers independently flag the same thirty seconds, they're told to go and watch it.

They never see

Your real name, your location or your photoThey are choosing a collaborator rather than screening a person.
A rating of youDesigners cannot rate testers, and that is not something we plan to add. It would turn a favour into a gig and make honest feedback expensive.
Anything from your normal game nightsOnly the plays you record for their project. Nothing else crosses over.

And other testers never see your notes. Reading someone else's review before writing yours is the fastest way to lose an honest answer, so nobody gets to.

Joining a project

Free to join, full features.

Install NexTurn, sign in (Google, Apple on iPhone, or a code sent to your email), enter the project code. It’s free and NexTurn Pro is not required to test. Every playtesting feature is there from your first game: flagging moments, the questions the designer asks, your own notes and the record of what you helped shape.

What you get, from game one

Flag anything, any timeTag a moment mid-game, answer the designer's questions after, or say nothing at all. It's the same app you'd use for a normal game night.
Your notes stay yoursCome back, add detail, and see every project you've been part of.
Games you helped shapeThe list of prototypes you contributed to. Seeing your name on a game that later ships is the actual reward here.

What never happens

No leaderboardTesters are never ranked against each other publicly. Someone playing to climb a chart isn't playing honestly.
No obligationLeave any project whenever you like, and take nothing with you. Nobody is told you left.
No spam from designersInvitations are rate-limited, and declining one is silent; the designer is never told who said no.

Recognition · coming soon

Tier 1

Lab Assistant

1 play

Tier 2

Test Subject

5 plays

Tier 3

Control Group

15 plays

Tier 4

Peer Reviewer

40 plays

Tier 5

Principal Investigator

100 plays

A planned way to recognize prolific testers. Not live yet, and not a paywall; testing is free. When it ships, tiers will count plays that produced something usable (a tagged moment or an answered question), not raw volume.

Tester questions

The honest answers.

Does this cost me anything?

No. Testing is free on every project. There is no tester plan to buy and nothing to unlock.

What do I need to get started?

The app, a free account and the project's code. Install NexTurn, sign in with Google, Apple or an emailed code, then enter the project code. Signing in is how your flags find their way back to you. Testers are always free and NexTurn Pro is not required.

Will this mess up my stats?

No. Playtest games never appear in your stats, streaks, play history or Rewind, never sync to BoardGameGeek, and never enter any community data. That's built into how the data is stored, not a setting someone could forget.

Can the designer see who I am?

They see what you contributed: plays, flags, notes. Not your real name, your location beyond a coarse region, or a photo.

Do I have to write anything?

No. The tap is the whole ask. The app offers you a "what happened?" box at the next round break and you can skip it every single time.

Can I quit a playtest?

Any time, and you take nothing with you. Your existing flags stay with the designer; they were sent as they happened.

What if the game is bad?

Say so. That's the job. Testers see only their own notes precisely so nobody softens an answer to match the room.

Do I need special hardware?

No. It runs on the phone in your pocket. One phone in the middle of the table works; everyone on their own phone works better.

Got a code? That's everything you need.

Free app, four characters, and a game nobody outside the room has played.

Where do I enter it?

Play games thatdon't exist yet.