Submited By: Marlene Meyer on 07/01/2006
I recently purchased this card game and it "whacked" me on the head, in a good way. It is a game of real life, the purpose being to help you look differently at how to resolve problems (personal or business). How could a deck of cards do this for you? That is what I wondered.
Each card shows a fun drawing, a title and descriptions about problem-solving styles that people use:
• the explorer (gives ideas on where to find information)
• the artist (uses creative techniques to generate ideas)
• the judge (gives ideas on how to make a decision)
• the warrior (gets you moving towards the idea)
For example, one of the judge cards is “Solve the Right Problem,” which gives a fun example of fixing a broken piano by painting it rather than fine tuning it so it is playable.
The directions offer many creative exercises for helping you solve problems. I chose the time exercise, how often you use a certain problem-solving style: once a month, once a year, or never do.
Not seeing the excitement, yet? I was skeptical, too. Hold on; let me tell you how it whacked me in the head. I organized the cards into how often I used each problem-solving method. Then, I chose five cards from the “never do” pile. One card was, “Slay a Sacred Cow,” a method of taking a look at past rules to see if they are still useful for you.
I immediately received my first creative whack when I saw that most of the cards in my “never do” pile were in the judge category (how to make a decision). The directions say to try the methods on these five cards in the next two days. In two days, I was supposed to conquer methods that have made me nervous for years. How could I do it? What if I made a mistake?
Then I began to laugh. My most sacred cow is to be perfect, don’t make mistakes, people will laugh at you. I said, “This is only a deck of cards.” Use them and have fun. Just maybe you will learn something. In one day I was able to use three of my “never do” cards. The sacred cow got slain by simply sleeping during the day, a long-standing taboo of laziness from my childhood. I also made a decision about a family gathering. I feel great about my creative growth. This is only the beginning. The game part comes when you play these cards in a group for fun or a creative workshop.
By-the-way, my first whack on the head was the price of this game; the $15.00 for one deck of cards seemed a little steep.however, I think it is worth it. The cards are fun and useful. I highly recommend giving yourself a whack on the head, a whack of creativity.
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