Game design is an iterative process. You have an idea, you build a prototype, you test it, and repeat. Usually many times. Through this process it’s easy to forget to remove pieces that no longer belong. A rule that was a fix for a mechanism that is no longer there or a clever idea of how to distribute resources when you no longer need resources. It becomes an artifact of the game design. You forget why the piece is there. It’s become part of the design and that’s just how it is.
Several times with my designs I have gotten feedback from testers that starts with some variation of “What if you don’t…”. It’s usually in reference to one of these artifacts of game design. You had become so accustomed to it being there, but a new perspective can easily see that it doesn’t fit.
This has been some of the most revolutionary feedback I have received. It’s a moment of clarity when a player says “What if you don’t have credits? They just add a step to exchanges.” Credits made sense before. But the thing that made them matter had already been removed. The game had always had credits though, I couldn’t fathom a world in which it didn’t have credits. But as soon as someone mentioned it, it all made sense.
Make sure you look critically at every aspect of your game, and have new players look at your game with fresh eyes. They may notice something you’ve missed.