I don't know what I'm doing
Hello world!
Last week, I came up with an idea to express something.. and I felt like a boardgame would be the perfect medium to express the ideas.. I thought of the basic mechanics and the challenges of the game, the competitive elements and discussed the idea with some boardgame lovers who love the idea.. I'd really like to see this through and publish this boardgame.. I have come up with some game mechanics, played a few rounds by myself with a very ugly prototype of handwritten cards, and invited 5 nerdy friends at the end of the month for my first playtest so I have a deadline..
But the problem is, I'm an absolute beginner.. I have played very few boardgames.. catan, wingspan, Dominion, Shasn, canvas, DnD, Scotland Yard, a little Magic, flame craft.. I'm looking for directions.. how do I learn about game level design? How do I get the mechanics right? What kind of feedback should I be looking for during playtesting sessions? How many iterations of playtesting will I need? How do I go about all this?
I don't know what I'm doing and I need a little guidance..
I'd be very grateful if someone could walk me through the process broadly and help me figure this out..