Atheris Games to host board game testing at Reitz Union

Local board game developers will invite students and residents to test play their creations Thursday evening.

Atheris Games, located on the ground floor of the Reitz Union, will showcase a handful of local games and some of its own, said Andrew Birkett, the CEO of Atheris Games, which moved into the Reitz on Aug. 22 through the UF Big Idea competition.

The testing will run from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., the UF marketing junior said.

The goal of the event, he said, is for testers to give feedback to developers about how to improve the games’ designs.

“Other designers can bring their games, have them play tested and maybe see them to development one day,” he said.

One of the games slated for testing Thursday, “Cul-De-Sac,” was created by Birkett and a team of developers in 2015 after raising money through a Kickstarter fund.

The game prompts users to annoy their neighbors by making as much commotion as possible, he said.

Birkett said Gainesville Playtesters has played an integral role in soliciting game enthusiasts to test his designs. On the group’s Facebook page, designers can organize test meetings and post their own game ideas.

Chuck Call, Atheris’ CFO, said Thursday’s meeting should help designers see their games through a different set of eyes.

“Playtesting helps us better understand different scenarios that the game will go through when it is on the market,” he said.