True Story.

While at a Workshop at SXSW this year I shared a table with Maryanne Lee, a young design student who is going through the Austin Center for Design. As we did our introductions she mentioned a card game she was creating. This game, called True Story, is to be played by multiple generations to get them talking about topics that are often difficult to bring up in regular day-to-day conversations. Since it is a card game, the hope is the game feels non-threatening as you begin to play and this is a way to get information about your parents wishes without having to have some sort of "big talk."

As an ex-caregiver, a person that doesn't shy away from difficult conversations and person who loves games, I was intrigued. 

Maryanne and her partner Laura Galos shared a blog post with me that discusses the concept behind the game and lets you play a clickable prototype.

As an ex-caregiver, the game is a fantastic idea. Any way you can surface difficult conversations in a positive way is a plus. If the game works to get the information you need -- well before you need it, I am all for it. 

I can imagine using this as a way to pry answers out of someone I need information from. And since I LOVE playing games, I could be having fun while playing. Bonus!

The blog post highlights some great questions: 

From True Story: Tell me about a time you travelled to another country, tell me about a time you made friends with an animal, tell me about a time when someone made you laugh.

And Maryanne and Laura have developed a great hypothesis for the game. 

From True Story: Feels non-threatening to older adults, feels approachable to family members, leads to solutions not just bonding moments, uses a medium older individuals already enjoy, includes a way to follow-up on conversations, takes into consideration families who live far apart.

Though playing the clickable prototype probably isn't as intuitive as the game (the way we interact with a screen by ourselves is very different than the way you act when playing a game with a group of people), it is worth a gander. 

I'd say True Story is a great idea to help facilitate difficult conversations with families! Go Laura and Maryanne!