It was a happy coincidence that as some friends and I were discussing how much we wanted to have deeper, more meaningful conversations that I could review How Do You See the World?, a new card game by Authentic Agility Games.
The goal of the game is to encourage the players to learn more about each other. I hesitate to call it a game at all (at least with the rules insert of the core box). I do not mean that pejoratively, rather that the concept feels more like more efficient conversation starters or prompts. I think what this vehicle does better than prompts by themselves, though, is provide a mechanic and structure to keep one person from dominating the conversation. Written into the rules is a level of equity and patience. Hence, I can see the game label.
The box contains one hundred cards, roughly hand sized, each with five questions. A foam six sided die is provided with five of those sides corresponding to categories on the cards: Reflections, Relationships, Aspirations, Life’s Purpose, and Beliefs. There is a sixth side, the Handstand, which is effectively a prompt to propose your own topic or choose one of the five on the card.
The rules from the box are simple and they fit on a cardboard insert the size of one of the cards. Choose a person to start. Roll the die. The key, then, becomes giving each person roughly a minute to reflect, think, and respond to the question. Continue around till everyone has had a chance to answer. Rinse and repeat. The depth of the game is in the questions on the cards. I was surprised how hard it was to answer a question about what your coworkers might think of you, or even what topics you don’t like to talk about. The question doesn’t ask the group to talk about those topics, just to find out what those topics are.
The creators have some additional rules available on their website for those who might want more of a traditional ‘game’ experience. As examples, they provide frameworks for guessing what answer belongs to who and a Pictionary style experience.
One of my friends said going through a couple of these cards should become a regular activity each time we get together. We got to learn a little bit more about each other and fairly quickly. To be fair, we were hungry for this kind of thing. We want conversations that are deeper than projects at work, or even about the games we like to play. I could see that for groups that are less comfortable it might take a few rounds to get the groove, or a little convincing that, yes, some vulnerability and honesty in the face of people you may not know well is actually the point. It’s how we can get past talking about the weather and talk more to each other. One note of caution we found from doing this. It was hard to keep from thinking of your own answer and concentrate on the answer another player is giving. Increasing the time between people may help mitigate that, but something to be aware of.
I can see this game being great for road trips. It’s portable, only one person has to hold the card, and really the die is optional. I’ll be bringing this with me to Thanksgiving with my family. My friend said he was wanting to get a copy to do the same. While playing I was reminded of, when in college, my RA colleagues and I would play a game we called Drop Knowledge. For us it was a way to get to know each other better, and also permission to be vulnerable. As a group of all male RAs at a midwestern college, that permission wasn’t always available or understood. We talked about what we were most afraid of, what we were most proud of, and one of our friends used the structure to come out to us. I see How Do You See the World? As a continuation of that idea with more structure and a wider variety of questions, something to help us think and listen with great clarity and patience.
Ross Blythe is a Chicago based gamer interested in all things tabletop. He enjoys reading history as well as fiction, and so has a soft spot for historical wargames like Pike & Shotte. For the campaigns he runs as a DM he often looks to history for inspiration, for the lessons of the past to challenge the players at his table.
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