Race to Your Rocket is a game I’m co-creating with Little Spark Games for children aged 7–11, with one big goal: to encourage communication, build friendships, and spark meaningful connection.
Designing for this age group is incredibly rewarding — and also full of surprises. Kids are honest, playful, and wildly creative. But to really make something that resonates, play testing with the right audience is essential.
I’ve learned a lot, but here are a few top things I’ve learned (and relearned!) in the process:
1. Know Your Audience — Then Ask Them Anyway
By playtesting with kids and parents, I learned quickly that the game we were developing was going to fill an unmet need (building soft-skills), and that kids found it really fun!
Appealing to Teaching Assistants, SENCO, ELSAs, Teachers, and parents, we wanted this game to be a resource they could use quickly and easily that also taught those essential soft-skills like communication that tend to be forgotten about. In one of my playtesting sessions I asked the children where they could see this game being played and straight away they said “The ELSA to help *Child’s name* when he gets pulled out of class, rather than him just watching a video”. This validated one of our target audiences right away, meaning we were on the right track!
2. Test Early and Often
Don’t wait for a polished version. We ran initial play tests using cardboard, scissors, and a home printer. Kids aren’t expecting perfection — they want fun, fairness, and something they can get their hands on.
Play with friends and family first to iron out any glaring logic issues. Let them read the rules on their own — don’t explain them. Watching their confusion or clarity tells you everything about how intuitive your game really is (or isn’t!).
During play tests, it’s tempting to jump in. But I learned more by sitting back and observing.
What made them laugh?
Where did they hesitate?
What did they skip over entirely?
Taking notes, rather than taking part, helps you spot the friction points and adjust.
Also, set yourself a time frame or a limit on the number of play tests you’re going to run before you need to finalise the game and start production.
3. Collaborate With Local Schools and Libraries
These are both great resources for creating genuine play and feedback, it can also spark some innovative feature ideas that you can incorporate, knowing they will appeal to your target market.
We ran a game session with a local school for those who weren’t able to attend a school excursion and honestly, we could have stayed and played the whole day. The kids had a lot of fun and provided great ideas for improvements. Some we did incorporate! This has also created a meaningful connection to maintain where teachers and kids can see the effects of their work come to life in a big way.
We ran our final playtest at our local libraries and, because we’d made changes from the feedback from previous sessions, we did have to take an at-home printed version of the game board, but because we still had the prototype we could show the colour vibrancy and the final vision alongside the version they would be playing.
4. Don’t Pin Progression on Chance
Don’t let game progression hang on chance. Players should always progress in some way. Even if a spinner, die roll, or card affects how well they do in that move, they should always move forward. This helps maintain focus and energy and prevents frustration (especially important for younger players).
It sounds obvious, but it wasn’t until we played with external testers that we realised some of our earlier ideas created more barriers than they helped alleviate.
5. Build a Brand Around the Game
Kids love a world they can enter, so I’ve been working on animations, characters, posters, and little freebies to build up Race to Your Rocket into more than just a tabletop game. That immersive feel helps kids connect emotionally to the game — and each other.
What’s your approach?
Have you created a game or resource for children? Did you test it in schools, clubs, or just at home? I’d love to hear your stories, especially how your audience helped shape the final product.
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