Requirement
6. Prototype and playtest: approval FIRST, then three test cycles
Required Often forgotten
An unlettered note at the top of this requirement makes the counselor's approval of the concept a condition of starting. Then 6(b) and 6(c) together are three full test cycles.
Notes and warnings
Warning. THE APPROVAL IS IN A NOTE, NOT IN A LETTERED PART. Requirement 6 opens: "You must have your counselor's approval of your concept before you begin creating the prototype." It has no letter of its own, which is exactly why it reads as a preamble, and it gates the entire second half of the badge. Take the requirement 5 design work to your counselor and get the concept agreed before you build anything.
What this is made of
Where this step comes from
- Game Design Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-09-19), Requirement 6 · Opens with a note requiring the counselor's approval of the concept before the prototype is begun. Part (a) names requirement 5, part (b) names requirement 5(b), and part (c) names requirement 6(b).