This is Not Your Average Game.
Originally published in the Denver Business Journal on December 2, 2005
This is not your average game.
Street Talk compiled by Bruce Goldberg
This is intrusive.
OK, let’s say that nosy kid is all grown up and still asking questions, such as “What’s the meaning of life?” and “Why can’t I hold onto a job?”
Perhaps Shift, a new self-help board game produced by Boulder’s Exponential Growth LLC, will help them discover their inner motivator.
But be forewarned: It’s not for the fainthearted. “The game is based on your willingness to answer truthfully,” owner Nicole Casanova says. “This is not your average game. It incorporates universal principles from every self-help book out there.”
The game, for two to six players, includes quotes from Buddha, Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Lao Tzu, Albert Einstein, Marianne Williamson and “A Course in Miracles,” among others.
It has four types of cards:
“Step-into-their-shoes” cards, in which you decide if someone is coming from a position of love or fear.
The “Shift” card, which pushes you beyond your comfort zone. For example, “For the pleaser, we ask, when’s the last time you said no?” Casanova says.
“Choose” cards, which have two opposing statements. “You choose which one can improve your life, then apply it to something in your life,” she says.
And “drop a defense” cards.
Does all this sound a little bit out there? Remember, this is Boulder, where they’re playing the game at the Boulder Co-Op the second Tuesday of every month and at the Unity Church.
Is this game really going to raise one’s consciousness?
Yes, Casanova says. “For example, in sales, whatever you feel internally is what’s going to show externally. If I can be completely positive about what I’m selling, it’s going to be a completely different experience.”
You can buy the game for $39.95 at www.shiftthegame.com or at the Tattered Cover Book Store, as well as at some Boulder stores. You also can run a game demo on the Web site.
“The object of the game is to move from fear to love and drop all your defenses,” the demo says. So if you’re blocking, stay away.
But you may not have a choice. Casanova says life coaches, human resources professionals and corporate trainers all have expressed interest in bringing the game into the workplace.
So if you thought that ropes course was tough …
Next up: editions for teens, families and in Spanish.