Out with the New, In with the Old: Meaningful Card Games To Re-Connect with Anyone

PUBLISHED May 14th, 2021 06:00 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 12:35 pm

If you’re looking to spark some deeper, more meaningful conversation and simply skip the small talk, there’s honestly no better way than some good old-fashioned card games. You’d be surprised at what emotional connections can emerge from a purposeful deck of cards. Here’s some of our favourites to spice up your dinner table, picnic spread, or bar counter-top conversations.

SmolTok

Homegrown start-up SmolTok‘s flagship product was born out of the desire to take conversations offline, and finding meaning in interactions again. The Smol Tok Basic Deck (S$32.90) is comprised of three thought-inciting categories: Personality, Community, and Intimacy. Each of these spark insights about yourself, your “tribe”, and that “special someone” to you. It’s meant to be dead simple to play, with a facilitator in the group posing the question on the card to everyone at the table and letting the conversation run its course before moving onto the next.

They also make digital decks, including COVID-friendly New Normal deck, which can be accessed on their website. Check out their other creations, like the Singaporean-oriented Dun Tok Cok, and Beyond The Label, designed to initiate meaningful conversations around mental health.

Smol Tok Basic Deck and other SmolTok card games are available for purchase on their website.

So…

So… explicitly warns you that it “requires vulnerability”, and even “might hurt”, so this deck might be perfect for friends looking for deeper conversations. They’ve released So Cards – Volume Two (S$24.15) since the successful launch of their first deck, and is made even more portable to fit in pockets. A sample question? “What’s one apology you wish you had gotten but you never did?” This promises introspective questions that dig deep, and promise to transform your “how are you”s to “who are you”s. This might be the perfect catalyst to those heart-to-heart conversations with your friends over some drinks till the wee hours of the night.

So Cards – Volume Two is available on their website.

We’re Not Really Strangers

We’re Not Really Strangers (S$33.35) is a delicate card game with 150 questions guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings of two to six players. There are stages to this card game, making it progressive in terms of how “deep” it gets, starting from perception, to connection, and then reflection. This poetic card game peaks at the second stage where probing questions really unveil all, before calling for a retrospective view on the insights drawn throughout the game. Wildcards sprinkled in the deck keep you on your toes, but the game ends on a heartfelt note, literally. Players are required to write a handwritten note to each other, and only open it once they’ve parted. Tears might flow with this one.

Their other products include a Healing Edition, and a Breakup Edition, designed to encourage positive reflection through tough periods in our life.

We’re Not Really Strangers is available for purchase online.

Fluster

If you’re not for the nuanced questions, and just want to go in for the kill, Fluster (S$46.65) is the one for you. With a great balance of eccentric and insightful questions, you’d be surprise what discussions can arise. The 10 FLUSTER cards in the deck allow you to turn the question back at the asker, while the eight Around The Horn cards force an answer from everyone to the posed question. Beyond meaningful discussions, this card game promises a more humourous and laughter-filled path to knowing your fellow players better.

For a dusting of dirt to your conversations, consider adding on the SEXpansion Pack (S$16) to spice things up a lil’.

Fluster is available for purchase online.

Icebreaker

BestSelf‘s Icebreaker Deck (S$33.30) is more than its name implies. More conversation prompts than a card game, these 150 questions prod way beneath the tip of the iceberg. The questions cover six categories: Life, Random, Deep, Experience, If you could…, and Would you rather… Deeper Talk (S$33.30) is an extension of this starter pack, with another 150 prompts covering another six categories: Courage, Beliefs, Life Lessons, Self-Awareness, Dreams, and Exposed. This one definitely prompts more questions along the what-is-the-meaning-of-life type of beat.

BestSelf’s other card decks encourage self-care in many other areas, including decision-making, innovation, intimacy, and even having big conversations with your little ones through the Little Talk (S$33.30) deck.

BestSelf‘s card decks are available for purchase online.

Connect

This one’s for the lovebirds. Connect (S$41.20) seeks to rekindle the spark between you and your significant other. These 100 questions over five categories (Appreciation, Aspiration, Desire, Forgiveness, and Growth) will rediscover what is precious between you two. Sample questions include “How would you like to come back together again at the end of every day?” or “The trick to understanding why I can sometimes be difficult is to remember that…” Bluntly put, this is a “deceptively simple game with life-changing consequences.” Time to fall in love all over again.

Connect is available for purchase online.

Uncurated

Candid yet thought-provoking is the best way to describe unCURATED (S$33.30). Three rounds of 16 questions get progressively deeper, with the first round warming things up with questions like “Which emoji do you use most frequently?” This deck is great for those who want to start their night off on a light note, before slowly easing into the juicy stuff, oozing with self-growth and self-realisation potential. Though seemingly benign with its colourful cards and scribble-like text, be warned that emotions might unknowingly arise and relationships will grow stronger.

unCURATED is available for purchase online.

In an age where an increasingly connected world has paradoxically disconnected us from each other, these simple card games offer an almost astoundingly simple way to forge stronger interpersonal connections. Step aside Cards Against Humanity, these are cards to rediscover the humanity in us.

Top image: We’re Not Really Strangers