The idea of having boards that are under development available in beta mode is great in theory, but in practice I've noticed that hardly anybody bothers starting a game on them, and even fewer people will join such a game. I believe I recall that development games aren't even visible to most players, which seriously hampers any possibility of getting a game going. From a board designer perspective, it is always better to get more test games on a new board, but it sucks when I have to be in every single one of those games because I'm the one who has to create them.

Anyhow, I'm wondering if anyone has ideas about how to make beta boards more popular? Or maybe it's as simple as letting designers start a development game without having to actually be in the game?

my guess one of the factors is due to beta timing out...

>Or maybe it's as simple as letting designers start a development game without having to actually be in the game?

Seems like this might be the simplest thing.  (but maybe it's a difficult code change).  I too have found the beta flag not very useful as is.

Two incentives that I think could help would be to have Beta Testing as part of the Achievement system somehow and also if there were ever a Board Payment system then somehow getting credit towards that sort of structure.

Some Players may also get a kick if the Board Designer rewarded the testing somehow, ie by a Territory named after them or some visual shout out on the board to them, may be kind of cool.

It's been my experience that inviting people to play a game appeals to their sense of good nature. (most times, although I'm hesitant to just collect random opinions)

Perhaps an all call in the forums: "this is my new beta board, play some games on it"

I'll admit I am usually reluctant to play on a beta board game that doesn't have the designer as a player.  I like to play them for play-testing purposes but not just for the fun of it.  If the designer is not in it I am not sure what the purpose of the game is.

A little kick is all I would need to play beta boards someone else was designing - either a wall post/pm saying "Hey, I'm looking for feedback on X - mind starting a game or two?" or start a forum thread for the board "Post feedback here..."-type thing.