Quickly after beginning the game, players should understand the conditions of victory and how they can use the tools at their disposal to achieve victory.

They will have an idea of what they are going to do next turn, and how they will outmaneuver the other players to achieve victory.

Not all players are good at articulating their strategies, and not all players form strategies consciously. As a designer, it’s up to you to become good at identifying the strategies that appear in your play tests, and pulling strategies out of your playtester’s comments.

“What was your plan to win?” is a great playtesting question to see if strategies are forming.