Check in with your friends!

Check-In Cards is not a game. It is a tool that allows players to check in with each other and make sure that everyone is feeling good and ready to play the next game. It also features adorable art from Rachel Kremer of Semi-Coop!

Here’s how it works:

Everyone gets 4 cards. The top half of each card shows an Energy level from “empty” to “full”; the bottom half of each cared shows an Intensity level from 1 to 4.

Everyone rotates their cards to the Energy side and chooses a card that indicates how much energy they are feeling at this moment. Everyone reveals their cards simultaneously. If someone is low-energy, the table checks in on that person to see if they need a break.

If energy levels are okay, then everyone rotates their cards to the Intensity side and chooses a card that indicates how intensely they want to play the next game. A 1 indicates that a player doesn’t really care if they win, and/or they want to play a game with low emotional intensity. A 4 indicates that a player cares about winning exclusively, and/or they want to play a game with high emotional intensity. If players have a difference of 2 or more between the cards they played, they discuss what intensity they would like to adjust to.

Check-In Cards is designed to surface issues that may affect the next game you play. It alone will not solve these issues; it may provoke a discussion. But the end result should be that you will start a game with players who are in good shape to play a game, and are all in agreement on exactly how they should play.

Tool design: Gil Hova
Illustration: Rachel Kremer
Graphic design: Scott Hartman