I have been admiring these cards for a while now and finally obtained a deck. They are beautiful and perfect to use at work for creating connections among AmeriCorps Members. The questions are profound and engaging.
As Seen In
Great for people who…
- love game night, but want more conversation
- looking for an easy way to help strangers connect at a party
- want a warm start for mixed groups: friends of friends, coworkers, roommates
Is this just for adults, or can teens use it too?
Teens can absolutely use it, especially older teens. The prompts are about interests and perspective, so it tends to feel natural.
If you’re using it in a youth group or classroom, you can always curate the questions.
Can I use this with coworkers or teams?
Yes. It works really well for casual team hangs, offsites, and new groups. It’s a simple way to learn what people are into without making it feel like a work exercise.
If you’re using it at work, start with the easiest prompts and let people share as much or as little as they want.
Is this a game or just questions?
It’s a conversation deck, not a traditional game—no rules you have to memorize. You pull a card, ask the question, and see where it goes.
That said, it’s a great addition to game night if you want a different twist. Bring it out between rounds, use it as a warm-up, or end the night with a few cards when everyone’s settled in.
Customer Reviews
Overall rating: 4.8 / 5 from 369 reviews.
I am delighted with ActuallyCurious's books and Decks! It's time to focus on empathy and care rather than assumptions and blame. Great job! So appreciate being in community with you!
Purchased these cards for my teenage son. He’s struggling to make connections with others, so I told him about these types of conversation starters.
I'm an avid collector of all types of cards - oracle, tarot, affirmation, etc., and when I saw a sampling of the questions in this deck, I knew I had to see what it was about for myself. As you can see, it's not one deck, but two - their original Actually Curious Deck coupled with the Happy Hour Edition of that same deck. The OG deck is made up of 52 cards in four colors - blue, green, yellow, and pink. I believe you're supposed to go through the questions in that order (according to the instructions), but I barely paid the instructions any attention, to be honest, because these are the kinds of cards that don't really lend themselves to a game aesthetic, if that makes sense. These questions are compelling, as well as introspective. Some are even a bit hot button, depending on who you ask. The Happy Hour edition is comprised of 52 more conversation starting cards, which gives you 104 opportunities to engage in deep conversation with your friends or family. The cards are lightly coated with a semi-gloss finish (not too shiny, not too matte), and are printed using a decent card stock - basically, about the same as a regular deck of playing cards, just a bit smaller. As a collector of cards, I fully intend to use these as journaling prompts as well as additions to my tarot/oracle reads. These cards may be marketed as a game, but I find them to also have therapeutic implications, which I absolutely LOVE.
These cards are not only beautiful, but fun! The quality of the cards are top notch, but I did have a lot of trouble opening up the decks. I had to use tweezers in order to avoid ripping the boxes, so now I won't close them in order to avoid going through that again. The Happy Hour cards have questions that are fun without going too deep. The game is fun with a relaxed crowd, and even fun just taking a moment to read a card daily and find out more about yourself. The Curiosity Edition cards have deeper questions, which definitely require some mental preparedness within the group before playing this version of the game. Considering that these two decks would be over $40 (current price of this starter bundle), it's not a bad price for two decks. I find the Happy Hour more fun for sure, and I'll be using that deck more, but that's just me. Curiosity Edition is definitely for deeper conversations.
I’m a deep conversation type person, so this game immediately piqued my interest. I love that the game has two different sets. The questions are meant to really get a sense of someone. They range from very deep, like something that you probably only tell your closest of confidants to something more simple, like describing your ideal Sunday. Definitely a great game to play with friends, family, or as a couple; these can definitely open up lots of conversations, where you hopefully gain more insight to people. The only issue, for me, is that, as great as this set is, $40 is pricy. Comparing prices, this game is almost double or triple the price of a lot of card games that have the same amount or even more cards in the game. A lot of these games seem to hit around $15-$25, so while it is nice, you probably can find other card games that will start similar conversations for cheaper.
Being in a LDR or long distance relationship requires good communication. This card game has various levels from easy to really deep q’s. It is great for diving into deeper more thought provoking convos with my partner. I wish I would have ordered this soon. I wouldn’t use this in a big crowd or with more than 4 people since you want everyone to feel heard and give everyone enough time to articulate their answer! Fun game for date night or a small mixer!
The cards are a good quality glossy stock. The starter set comes with two packs of cards, their original set plus a happy hour set. There is actually an instruction card and a way for it to be played as a game, wherein one person reads the question, everyone answers, then the person who read the questions awards the card to the best answer in his/her opinion. The person that was awarded the card gets to read the next question. And so on. The original set also has four colors, each has slightly more in depth questions. They say start with blue, as it's the simplest. I definitely plan to have these cards out on a table during parties, but doubt we will play as a group game unless it's a pretty small group. What I think these cards will work best for is for two or three people to get to know each other better. There really isn't a winner or loser in the game version, I just think if you have 7 people it would get really long having everyone answer every card. I read through several dozen of the questions and they are good conversation starters.
This book is so very insightful, hit’s right home with answers I’m searching for in this area. The self-righteousness, chip on a shoulder I’ve carried with me gets smacked right off with the words written in this book. That’s my quick take, I’m impressed with the author and the journey he took me through to the end. If you’re on a similar brainwave as I am, this will do you some good.
I need help with my professional development. This is a book that guided me with easy steps and also addressed my past in order to move forward in my present.
The media could not be loaded. This book has been a good and easy read so far. It is a “30 day path to personal growth and social change” that can be done at whatever pace you need. I like that it is broken up into sections that you are prompted to reflect on.
I am nearly half way through the 30 day path to personal growth and social change. I enjoy the book because it gives you a little to read each day and it’s easy to follow. My job requires me to be empathetic and this book is very helpful.
This is a really lovely book with lots of great design elements to accompany to lessons on empathy. The focus on empathetic exercises is timely in today's world, and this can be read over time or in a rush. I think this would be a great gift because of the neat design and excellent content. Highly recommend!
Great book
I'm not very talkative so I really liked the idea of this card game being a interesting conversation starter. I can't wait to pull this out during my house warming party!
I ordered these to use at the start of group work activities in my high school classroom. I like to use visual random grouping so that learners get comfortable working with people whom they may not know. These cards have been great for using as a quick getting to know you activity before moving into content with the groups. So far all of the questions have been school appropriate and my high schoolers have been willing to chat about the topics for a few minutes.
Got this for an upcoming family vacation to entertain my 9 year old nephew and hopefully start some fun conversations among all. Item came as expected and I especially like that it’s the size of a deck of playing cards so it will be super easy to bring along.
I received this deck of cards specifically to write a review. That said, I try to be honest and open in all my reviews. (Please see the enclosed pictures.) This is a lovely set of cards with some good, all ages kinds of questions for starting dialogue and learning more about each other. Example questions include: choose one night at the museum or night at the zoo? Would you rather be able to read the minds of animals or humans? It's game night! What is your favorite game? The questions are not deeply intimate or personal, but they are fun and interesting. I highly recommend this ice-breaker card set for mixed generational settings.
The first thing I noticed about this deck was the backs of the cards. They are color-coded, not just all one shade! One black and one white, when viewed from above, those are the instructional and meta-commentary notes. The majority of the deck is dark or light green. The darker green cards have the design of Eyes Open, indicating those are the deeper questions ones that will require more focus and attention. The lighter green cards have Eyes Closed, showing that it's safe to take a break and take them less seriously. As the product description says, the questions range from light-hearted to heart-breaking, and the responses you'll get will vary just as much. If you don't have a real life kiddo to bounce these ideas off of, I can whole-heartedly recommend this pack for character-writers and psychology-lovers, in conducting low-pressure interviews with one's inner child, past self, internal family systems, parts, alters, tulpas, and beyond.
I got these because we're getting a large group of people together for the first time since the pandemic started and I was hoping to find something that was a little more thought provoking of an ice breaker than most of the things I've come across. If I want to use these for that I'll have to read through every card and pick the ones that would be appropriate for that. The Good: + High Quality Materials Both the card box and the cards themselves feel very high quality. The cards are playing card sized with a pleasant, glossy finish. The box is designed so that it has a hinge which makes it easier to get the cards in and out without ripping the top on accident. + Polished Feel The box and the cards feel like they went through a lot of design and look very sleek. The way you tell apart the light/ice breakers and heavy/deeper questions are the pictures in the corners where the face either has it's eyes shut with lighter color (light) or open with darker color (heavy). + (Probably) Gets People to Think For what these questions are, I think they'd work really well for one-on-one conversations or self-reflection. The Bad: - Light vs Heavy Categories were a good attempt Some of the questions in the Light category could be answered heavily, and the Heavy category includes things from thought provoking to therapy levels of heavy. Definitely better for parents to play with their kids or couples or for journaling than as a group activity. - The Gamification doesn't feel right to me. There are three ways to play: journaling, 1:1 mentorship, or Game Night. Game Night gameplay reads as very Cards Against Humanity to me. One person reads a card, everyone at the table answers, the reader picks a winner, and the winner reads the next card. But that's not really the *point* of this deck, in my opinion. Questions like What are your top three go-to ice cream flavors? don't really have a best answer, it's just an opinion. On the flip side, questions like Is there anything you feel insecure about? When was the first time you remember feeling that way? are just asking for trouble when someone has to pick a winner for who's willing to admit their own insecurities. I likely won't be using these for the icebreaker this Saturday, but it might be fun to go through them with my SO sometime, or as a way to get to know new friends one-on-one. Definitely **not** a card game for groups.
Super cool icebreaker game; deck of cards with different prompts to ask friends and family. Highly recommend as a game to get to know people a bit better!
These are just really nice playing deck-style cards easy to carry along and bring with you to school, the office, on dates (maybe?). Since we have a teacher and therapist in the household, we'll get a ton of use out of these. I'd say these can be (maybe selectively) used for ages 8 or 9 through adulthood. Only thing that I think is a negative is that these are very expensive for what they are. They are in essence a playing deck of cards with nice questions on them and an instruction card. For that I would've probably paid closer to 8-13 dollars. Otherwise, really nice!
The questions in this deck of cards will cause you think and gain a deeper introspection into your mental and emotional processes. It has a lot of good questions surrounding many social issues. This would make a great gift. I like that you can use this deck alone while journaling or in a group. I think this could also be great in a classroom setting.
Played this with my boyfriend and bestfriend and it was really fun! The questions were so unique and really helped me get to know them better. Super recommend for icebreakers, work buddies, bday parties, ect.
These cards are beautiful, both in design and intention. I think they’re perfect for co-workers too! We need to work like a team, and that takes trust. These cards are a fun way to break that barrier to build real relationships. They have been especially convenient and easy to play during this pandemic over Zoom or FaceTime!
An excellent read, loads more to do to fully understand the truth and reasons for self gratitude as well as empathy, thanks Michael for including me!!
I’ve already done this once, would like to return it for a refund.
Actually Curious Happy Hour Edition | Party Conversation Card Game
Honestly It felt like something was missing. The interactive part but seeing as though it’s on zoom with breakouts That would be hard to do.
Facilitator Training: Gathering With Empathy (Digital Download)
Frankly the price feels exploitative and disappointing for a deck of cards with a few words on each card that I could have gotten from AI. I was hoping for much more probing and interesting questions. I have enjoyed Michael Tennant’s book much more and was expecting a lot more for $25. Now that I look I see that I paid just under $25 for the hard cover book The Power of Empathy, and here I am having paid the same for a pretty poor deck of cards.
Actually Curious Happy Hour Edition | Party Conversation Card Game
Such a great company. The wrong deck had shipped and they immediately responded and sent the right one out. Being a small business owner myself I understand the complexities and issues that can arise that are out of our control. This company is one that I will continue to support. Everyone can be more empathetic and this is a great stepping stone to get more people in the loop.
Get quality and looking forward to using them!
Brought these on a valentines weekend trip with the guy I’m in relationship with. It was a great activity for cozy lounging with wine.
Awesome!
Love the design island prompts
I love how this book breaks out 30 days of empathy exercises and reflections.
Not bad
I run an AmeriCorps program and I love using this deck to create meaningful conversations and connections.
Not amazing.
I'm so excited for these decks! I bought Culture & Curiosity. The cards are great quality! I think these are the perfect questions to use as an ice breaker prior to deep culture work on leadership teams.
Excellent!
