The questions below come up most often from people deciding whether to build their workflow around Playtest Parlor. They group into three areas: what it costs over the life of a project, how you get your data out, and why a single playtesting-focused platform is the right tool for the job.
Pricing and credits
How does Playtest Parlor charge me?
There is no required subscription. Running a play session costs one credit, and you buy credits in packs whenever you need them. If you would rather not think about credits at all, there is also a monthly subscription that gives you unlimited sessions.
This means your cost tracks your actual usage. A month where you do not run any sessions costs you nothing.
What is a credit, exactly?
One credit starts one play session. A session can run as long as you like, with as many playtesters as you want, and only the host spends the credit. Everyone you invite to the table joins for free and never needs an account credit of their own.
Do I get any credits for free?
Yes. Every new account starts with 2 free credits, and you get 10 more for linking your Discord account, for 12 free sessions to start. That is enough to run a real playtest or two and see exactly how much you will actually use before you ever pay anything.
Most designers run only a handful of sessions in a given month. Use your free credits first to measure your real pace, then pick the option that matches it.
Do credits expire?
No. Credits never expire. Buy a pack now, use the last credit a year later if that is how your project goes.
A monthly price looks small, but my game could take a year or more to design. Won't that add up?
This is exactly why the default model is pay-as-you-go credit packs instead of a subscription. Over a long project you are not paying every month whether you use it or not. You pay only for the sessions you actually run, in the months you actually run them. A design that takes 18 months but only gets tested occasionally costs far less than 18 monthly charges.
The monthly unlimited subscription exists for people who playtest heavily and would rather not count credits. It is an option, not the entry point.
Which option fits me?
| You are... | Best fit |
|---|---|
| Trying it out or testing once in a while | Your 12 free credits, then credit packs as needed |
| A regular designer running sessions most weeks | Credit packs -- pay only for the sessions you run |
| Running sessions constantly, or you dislike tracking usage | Monthly subscription -- unlimited sessions, predictable bill |
See the pricing page for current pack sizes, the monthly rate, and any limited-time founding offers.
What if I start a session by mistake?
If you end a session within 5 minutes of starting it, the credit is automatically returned to your balance.
Your data, exports, and replays
Can I export my project data?
Yes. Project data is fully exportable. Open your game, go to the Export tab, and Playtest Parlor builds a downloadable archive of your game: its table configurations, pieces, import sources, and uploaded assets. Your work is yours to take with you.
Can I download the images and files I uploaded?
Yes. Every file you upload can be re-downloaded. Nothing you bring in gets locked away.
Can I download replays or recordings?
No, and here is why it would not help if you could. A replay is not a video file. It is a record of everything that happened at the table, played back through Playtest Parlor itself. There is no standalone file that would do anything useful outside the system, because the system is what reconstructs the table state at each moment. The replay lives where it can actually be replayed.
How long is my data stored?
Most of your data -- games, table configurations, uploaded assets, import history -- is kept indefinitely. It stays available as long as your account does. The one exception is session replays, which are kept for 30 days (see the next question).
How long are replays kept?
Replays are retained for 30 days. After that they age out. Everything else about the game and its assets remains; it is the moment-by-moment session playback specifically that has a 30-day window.
If a particular session matters to you long-term, review or capture the findings you care about within the 30-day window. The game, pieces, and assets persist, but the replay timeline does not.
Why one connected playtesting platform
Why use an all-in-one platform instead of separate tools?
Stitching together a tabletop tool, a rules doc, a survey form, a recorder, and an asset editor can work, but every seam is a place where context falls out: the survey does not know what happened at the table, the recording does not line up with the rules version, the asset edits do not flow back into play. Playtest Parlor keeps all of it connected so feedback, session history, and the actual game state stay in one place.
Is Playtest Parlor trying to be everything?
No, and that is deliberate. We are not a publishing platform, and we are not a universal sandbox trying to make every game ever designed run inside it. The word playtest is right in the name. Playtest Parlor is built to be the best place to test and iterate on a board game. An all-in-one tool that tries to do everything usually does each thing poorly -- you do not want a hammer when you need a screwdriver. By staying focused on the playtesting experience, the parts that matter for iteration are the parts we make excellent.
If you want a fuller comparison, see Why Playtest Parlor? and the side-by-side breakdowns of how it compares to other tools.