Beta testing for new General Quarters game

Beta test packages are the blind test packages sent to playtesters to see their reactions to your product before you send it out to a paying public.  It is always hard to send them, since they are invariably unpolished versions of what you are going to publish.  They have known rough spots that will be criticized, and that is just the beginning.  Stuff you never thought of will turn up, and surprise you in very dramatic ways.  This is as it should be, since when the game is released to the teeming masses, it will be subjected to even closer scrutiny.  Better to get these humiliating moments out of the way before publication than after.

An author I know was once asked if publishing a book was like having a baby.  He replied that publishing was more like having a teenager.  It takes off in unexpected directions, rarely listens, is argumentative, gets into trouble, and frequently embarrasses you.