Problem
During my internship with the Olfactory Design and Research group at Malmö University, I explored how smell can create social play, uncertainty, and strategy. The design question was how to make scent-based bluffing understandable enough to play, but ambiguous enough to stay funny and unpredictable.
My Role & Process
I prepared and ran multiple playtesting sessions, rewrote the rulebook for clarity, expanded descriptor cards, and adjusted the bluffing mechanic by giving Groucho a unique scent. I also acted as the game master, observing where players hesitated, laughed, guessed, copied others, or created their own strategies.
"Watching players link smells to memories, laugh, and strategize reminded me that great games grow through the people who play them, not just through design on paper."
Key Decisions & Learning
Early tests showed that bluffing was too easy to detect and descriptors were too restrictive. I introduced custom descriptors, practice rounds, flexible time limits, simultaneous voting, and randomized reveals to reduce groupthink. The biggest learning was that playtesting is not only about finding what is broken. It reveals how people understand rules, pressure, memory, and each other.
Playtesting Eat Your Words, Groucho Marx! showed me how vital it is to listen and adapt. Open questions and an energetic game-master role gave me insights I’d have missed otherwise and kept players engaged. It confirmed that player experience must sit at the center of any game design.