Is variety the true spice of life or is it unpredictability? Asmadi Games’ 2007 card game “We Didn’t Playtest This at All” (WDPT) would argue that unpredictability is the answer since it is the main theme of the game. The game has very simple rules, stating that the objective of WDPT is to win. The fun of the game is discovering how one might go about accomplishing that goal.
The “We Didn’t Playtest This at All” game box and it’s sequel
A round of WDPT can last anywhere from 30 seconds to a full five minutes. Play begins with each player receiving two cards and a demand to determine who goes first “as randomly as possible.” This leaves the players with many creative options on how they will determine order of play. Order could be based on height, age, color of underwear and everything in between.
Once the first player is decided, he or she draws a single card from the deck and then plays one of the cards from his or her hand. What happens next depends on the instructions given by the played card. For example, there are a few cards which dictate that a player must ask the fellow participants if they would like presents.
The zany instructions of “We Didn’t Playtest This at All”
Depending on the responses of the other players and what the specific card says, several players could win, lose or remain unaffected. What makes the game even more unpredictable is that there are several different versions of the various cards. For instance one version of the “Presents” card could say that all players that accept a present lose while another version will say that those who refused presents lose. This can fool novice players into making the wrong choices.
Other cards impose rules on all the players of the game for the full duration of the round. For instance, one card reads, “Zombies! Play face up in front of you. If a player doesn’t say ‘AHH Zombies!’ before playing a card on their turn, zombies eat their brains and they lose. Unless they have a banana.”
Deciding a winner in WDPT can be difficult. Some combination of cards played can force all players in the game to lose or have all remaining players win. In general, however, the rules dictate that the last person standing is the winner. There can be exceptions such as the “Spite” card which says, “Play this card if another player just won, and you’re otherwise still in the game. They lose instead! But so do you.”
WDPT becomes even more unpredictable when the Chaos Pack expansion is included. These cards act as extra rules to make play even more interesting. The “Utensil” Chaos Pack card requires that players state a piece of cutlery before their turn can commence. There are also several blank cards included so players can come up with their own rule bending cards. Even more fun can be had with the inclusion of WDPT’s sequel “We Didn’t Playtest This Either.”
The game can be fun due to its simple and quick-fire nature. The game is ideal for college students since it can be purchased for only $15 online, played in a matter of minutes and can feature between two and 15 players.