Sunday, November 23, 2025

Your Class Rep: Refining the Pitch (Insights from an industry professional)

 

Your Class Rep: Refining the Pitch (Insights from an industry professional)

I’ve been refining how I talk about Your Class Rep lately, and a recent conversation in a game design community gave me some great perspective on pitching the game.


Last week I had a great chat on the Pam Walls Game Design Community Discord with Val Kruzhalov, a veteran playtester and producer who’s worked with publishers like Cosmodrome and Hobby World. Val has been playtesting prototypes for almost a decade, often consulting with designers and publishers, so his perspective on how to communicate a game’s hook and core loop really helped me rethink how I describe Your Class Rep.

Here's what I learned...

Finding the Hook

Val started by reminding me of something every designer should keep in mind when presenting their game:

“Take a look at a bunch of games of the same type on BGG.
Find something in your game that should convince people to play yours instead of the competitors (aka the Hook).”

He adds, “There are just a couple of ways to create a solid game. It is either better executed or provides something new”.

He said a strong description should clearly cover:

  • What type of game is it

  • The basic lore or goal

  • The core loop

  • The hook (what makes it stand out)

  • And where the fun and decisions come from

That was my cue to take another shot at how I describe Your Class Rep.

My First Attempt

Here’s what I originally wrote:

“Two players duke it out to earn their spot as head of the classroom in Your Class Rep!
Players will create a hand of 7 quirky middle school teachers, staff, and class pets, and compare their influence one by one to see who wins each round. The more influential card wins and remains face up, the weaker card goes face down; unless that weaker card has an ability that says otherwise!
Once both players have played all their cards, tally up your face-up cards’ votes. The winner is crowned Your Class Rep!”

I also mentioned the retro pixel art inspired by early Pokémon games, the quick one-to-two-minute rounds, and how easy it is for anyone to pick up.


Val’s Feedback

Val’s response was detailed and sharp. He said it captured the fun, but didn’t show what actually drives decisions or gives players agency. He asked questions like:

  • “How do you create a hand? Is it an open or closed draft?”

  • “Do you choose a card before each turn?”

  • “Do you know some info about your opponent’s hand?”

  • “Do you chain effects together?”

Those questions made me realize I was being too vague about what actually happens during play.

He also pointed out that terms like “duke it out” could be confusing for non-native English speakers and recommended keeping international readability in mind for things like press kits or publisher pitches.

On the art side, he noted that the pixel art style works best as a visual hook — something that grabs attention first — rather than a core part of the theme.

And the short playtime? He said that’s one of the game’s biggest strengths. A “potato chip game” that lasts only a minute or two is immediately appealing and answers a lot of questions before players even ask them.


The Revised Description

Here’s my updated pitch after the feedback session:

In Your Class Rep: The Card Game, two players compete to earn their spot as head of the classroom.
Each round only takes one to two minutes. Players pick a card in secret, reveal at the same time, and compare Influence. Higher Influence wins and stays face up; lower Influence flips face down unless an ability changes the result. Once all 7 cards are played, players total their Votes on their face-up cards. The player with the highest total earns the title of Your Class Rep.
One 14-card set is all you need for each player to have a prebuilt hand of seven quirky character cards, from middle school students to staff, to even class pets. And if you want to customize your hand, you can mix and match different sets to create brand-new combos!

Looking Back

Getting feedback like this is a reminder of how valuable clear communication is when sharing your game. Sometimes you’re too close to a project to see what isn’t being said.

Val’s notes helped me focus not just on what happens in the game, but why it’s interesting to play; and that shift made the description so much stronger.

It’s easy to talk about art, theme, or rules, but the real challenge is explaining why someone should want to play it. That’s what I’m focusing on next: refining the one-sheet and sharpening the pitch so it captures what makes Your Class Rep stand out.


This conversation reminded me how helpful it is to share your work with experienced designers. Feedback like Val’s doesn’t just improve your description; it helps you see the heart of your own game more clearly.

More updates on Your Class Rep soon.
— James

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