Today I want to introduce you to both a playtesting principle, as well as a gameplay idea.

They’re called psychological profiles, and there are three important ones: Timmy, Johnny, and Spike. I can’t take credit for naming them, as this is a concept pulled from one of our peer games. This is actually super critical for evaluation of our card design. It gets to the core of why players choose to play Redemption – What are they seeking to get out of the game, what fulfils their sense of purpose while playing the game, why are they playing in the first place?

Timmy is playing to experience something, he enjoys playing, simply for the sake of playing. Examples of Timmy cards include Legion of Angels and The Generous Givers. Typically for Timmy, the bigger the numbers the better. Silver brigade in general appeals to Timmy’s gameplay, big numbers, cool artwork, nothing complicated. For Timmy, the entire reason to play is enjoying his time. If Timmy sits down at Nationals and only wins 1 of his 7 games, but he has fun during all 7, Timmy walks away happy.

Johnny tends to be the combo player. We’ve all sat across from a Johnny who starts doing something crazy around the 3^rd or 4^th turn of the game, and ends his turn 20 minutes later having set up something incredibly cool (or frustrating depending on which chair your sitting in). Perhaps the most famous Johnny card is A New Beginning. This is a card that just begs Johnny to manipulate it. Other Johnny cards include Created by Christ and Paul’s Books and Parchments. Johnny wants to show off his brain during his play – If he sits down and plays 7 games, pulling of his combo in 4-5 of them, he will probably walk away happy.

Spike is the easiest player to design cards for – If it has a powerful effect, Spike will play it. Spike cards include Angel Under the Oak and Revolt. Spike plays to win, to prove his skill, there are two main forms that Spike’s take – Builders and Players. Builders might not necessarily be the best players, but they usually have the best, or most innovative decks. They seek enjoyment by being recognized for their deckbuilding skill. Players tend to take the decks of builders and utilize their gameplay mechanics to maximize the potential. You’ll hear players say that the best players don’t make mistakes, this is the ultimate goal of the Spike. If he wins 9 of 10 games, but feels that he made a mistake that cost him the 10th game, he’ll walk away unhappy.

It’s important to note that these are not end all be all’s. And most people fall into more than one category of player. I personally am a Spike/Johnny. I play to win, but if I can do it with a cool combo, all the better. Other players are Spike/Timmy’s, they want to win, but with big bands and huge dudes. Johnny/Timmy want to find the coolest things they can do, with the coolest cards, if they win doing so, great!

What does this mean for us as playtesters? It’s important that we know our player base and create cards that appeal to all three categories of players – too many cards for one group, and the others feel discouraged. We strive to balance our card creation. We constantly say that not every card has to be good, as long as it appeals to one of the groups.

Where do you sit on the Timmy/Johnny/Spike spectrum? Chime in on the comments below!

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By JohnE

John Earley has had an unbridled love for Redemption since he started playing in 1997. From his days as a RLK (random little kid) to the present, John has always enjoyed finding cool card combinations, exploiting obscure rules, and building the most devastating decks possible. He has been a member of the playtest team since 2009, a Redemption Elder since 2010, and he still plays at a competitive level.