A self-therapy game for inner peace of mind
The idea was to develop a card game that approaches the topic of feelings and emotions in a humorous way. I know from first-hand experience that it is important, especially in the case of psychological stress, not to lose one‘s sense of humour and to use it to approach certain subjects or to distract oneself from some things.
The initial situation of the game is that you participate in a self-help group as one of four different characters. You can choose between Nokoela the carnivorous cow, who struggles with a somewhat unusual eating disorder; Phteven the basilisk with a speech impediment; the small, very marked by life, Jasper or Eddie, who only has the necessary stature for his dream job as a bouncer thanks to his thick green wool sweater. Each character, as just mentioned, has his or her own peculiarities that are important to the course of the game.
Your personal therapy problem…
Each player receives a “Therapy Card”, on which is written “your personal therapy problem” and why you came into the group. The problems are based on real life situations that almost everyone knows, but they are presented in a very exaggerated and humorous way to defuse and lighten up the whole thing. Each player reads his individual therapy problem to his fellow players, because after all it is very important to talk about your problems in a self-help group. To solve the therapy problem, the goal of the game is to collect a total of 20 so-called “soul points“.
Bonus Cards
These points are obtained by collecting various item cards. These are divided into three point areas. +1 bonus is given for food like meat, salad or even drinks like water and milk. For example, the carnivorous cow in the meat card gets an extra “BSE” bonus point, while the card cannot be used by vegan basilisks. +2 bonus brings cards like roller skates, sleeping mask, dumbbells or even a good book. The dumbbells add an extra bouncer bonus point for Eddie in the process, while being too heavy for the diminutive petite Jasper. Thus, most items cannot be created by all characters in the same way. However, there are also items, such as “Happy Pills” or the “University Degree“, which can be used by all characters equally. +3 bonuses are given for Eddie‘s green wool sweater and the braces, which can correct jaw misalignments and speech impediments, giving an extra bonus for the lisping Phteven. So every player has to try to get the best items in order to get as many soul points as possible.
Skull Cards
But it would be boring if there weren‘t some obstacles along the way. For example, lousy cards can also be drawn, such as “Dr. Pidgeon‘s Advice“, “Basilisk Poison“, “Broken Heater” or “Skin Rash“. These cards are marked by a skull and crossbones and can disable players for a few rounds or even require them to pay item cards or soul points.
That goddamn Gilbert…
Probably the worst card of all here is “Gilbert“. Should you commit Gilbert three times, you are beyond saving and lose the game. Unless, of course, you have a playing card in your hand, such as “Piss off, Gilbert!” or “Secret Hideout,” that you can use to successfully get Gilbert to back off one time.
Playing Cards
These “Playing Cards“, which are marked with a card symbol, are also some that you can push into your opponent. For example, the card “Ruminate“, where the opponent must give up all his food cards. With the help of these playing cards you try to trip up your teammates or ally with them.
Star Cards
Take a look inside the rulebook for more details.
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