Board Game Arena

Hello, I am developing currently my own game which I have yet to find a publisher for.
The BGA here is also for playtesting the game balance with more people than I can organize offline.
Can I invite other player (friends) to the game (or game group) that is not yet in private alpha, or I need private alpha for this?

Private alpha is designed for that. Studio is only for game devs.

But i understand that game cannot be moved to alpha without a license, and without an official publisher there is no license yet?