The test-playing of my game went surprisingly well. I was concerned it had gotten too complex, but I noticed that most players were able to catch on to the rules pretty quick, with only a few questions, mostly regarding trial questions. Most people seemed to have a lot of fun accusing their friends of witchcraft and participating in the mini games, so I consider the core mechanics of the game a success. While I wish I had a bit more creativity in the lingo of the game (role names, trail descriptions, etc.) it is rather hard to embed it into every aspect of a complex game while still maintaining the desired effect of the mechanics.
Ideally, this game would be played in a more intimate setting than a classroom, like a coffee table in a living room, which would eliminate the problem of the GM having to walk around and talk simultaneously. However, to further resolve any potential issues, since it does have such a large player requirement, I have decided to make the passing out of test prompts a feature of the night, so no one can see the GM passing out different prompts to players. Additionally, this will allow for the witch to cast curses involving the trials (like the Switcheroo curse) in the secrecy of night. Because of this change, I have also decided to change the Judge mechanic to a night-time happening, so that the Judge can tell the GM who to pass the prompts to, and so that they can see which test will be administered before choosing who to test. Another problem we considered through gameplay is the power of the Sheriff. It was too difficult to reveal a role card, and we did not think it was necessary to allow him to see which role the accused person was, so long as he knew whether or not they were the witch. To remedy, we decided the Sheriff will simply point to a suspect, and the GM will nod yes or no to signify whether his suspicions were correct. Finally, I thought that the witch hunters had far too much time and freedom to carry out as many burnings as they pleased every single day, so I decided to limit the burnings on the fifth day to only one, to prevent them from simply burning all the suspects just in the knick of time. With these simple rule changes, and a more friend-group based demographic of players, I believe this game will run smoothly and be a lot of fun!
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