Creative Dying Card Game
Talking about death is talking about life.
“You know you have a certain time left, and then the question is, ‘What is important for me to do in that time?’ – That’s different for everyone, so talking about death, for me at least, is the ultimate prioritization exercise.”
– Jon Underwood, Founder of Death Cafe Movement
Creative Dying is a conversation card game with the intention of offering a low-stakes, accessible way to have meaningful conversations about life and death, with ways to play in person and remotely over video chat. Although we often avoid conversations about death, talking about this topic can be liberating, important and practical.
In playing the Creative Dying card game, we hope that you might experience greater insight and connection to yourself, to other beings and to the rhythms of life.
This game is part of the larger Creative Dying Project, whose mission to start conversations about death, encourage end-of-life planning and establish dying centers that are inclusive, community-based and psychedelic-friendly.
* Death Cafe was established by the late Jon Underwood in 2011. The Creative Dying Game is not associated with Death Cafe, but rather was inspired by the open model of talking about death.
Nominated for the 2022 IndieCade Tabletop Award and the 2022 Meaningful Play Game Exhibition.
Creative Dying:
–A philosophy that aims to bring together ancient wisdom with modern palliative care to facilitate healing and approach death as a time for growth–
Gameplay:
- 1 – 8 Players
- Ages 12+
- 15 – 60+ minutes
- 6 different gameplay modes for Single Player, Two Player, and Multiplayer Gameplay
Why Play This?
- Talking about death can help us live more fully
- Play alone, with a loved one, or in a group
- Play in-person or remotely over video chat
- Six ways to play & infinite possibilities for meaningful conversation
Content Note:
The Creative Dying Card Game asks players to be open and vulnerable with one another about their feelings, beliefs, experiences and personal preferences. In these conversations, it is possible that painful or difficult topics may be explored, and challenging emotions may arise and be expressed. Offer non-judgemental support for suicidal ideation or self harm coming up in conversation. If you find that difficult emotions arise while playing the Creative Dying game, we encourage you to look to the Code of Conduct and each other for support, and to reach out to a trusted companion.
Contents:
- 88 prompt cards (176 prompts)
- 1 Code of Conduct Card
- 7 Gameplay Cards
- Box (physical edition only-Coming Soon!)
- Video Chat Gameplay Instructions (website only)
Versions Available:
- Free Print-and-Play downloadable PDF
- Free Online Card Browser Version (see below)
- Instructions for remote play (see links below)
- Physical edition-$32.99
Disclaimer:
Playing this game does not substitute for having discussions with healthcare providers about your end of life wishes and/or preparing an Advanced Directive, Living Will, or other legal documents. Preparing these legal documents can make it more likely that your preferences and wishes will be honored.
This game was created collaboration with friends at the Creative Dying Project. 80% of proceeds from the decks will be used to support work of the Creative Dying Project (establishing a inclusive, community-based, psychedelic-friendly dying center) & 20% will be used to support future Affinity Games projects.
From Our Playtesters:
“This is a very important tool to enhance people’s life and clarify their wishes upon their death.”
“It opened up thoughts about life/living.”
“After playing I have asked several of the questions to other people, what a great conversation starter!”
“My favorite thing was having a safe space to connect and be vulnerable, to hold conversations that might not otherwise have been held with other open-minded people.”
“I loved that it created connection within myself and between those I played with. I felt a sense of freedom and understanding building inside as time went on. I think we could have played all night. I also think the visual design of the game is simple and beautiful. The online version is amazing as well. It really improves the completely-free experience of game play in my opinion.”
“Talking about death helps normalize it.”“I think the way I might experience grieving in the future could be positively impacted by playing. My thoughts or feelings about living day-to-day life were impacted as well. Especially in the realm of relationships and personal healing.”
“I earned my vulnerability card. I got to express difficult experiences and emotions in a safe space. I got to learn things about my partner’s inner (and outer) experience.”
Play Now With Our Free Online Card Browser:
Gameplay Modes for In-Person and Remote Play with Video Chat:
Get the Free Print-and-Play Edition:
Playtest and Give Us Your Feedback!
Background:
“Death, which we will live to the end one day, which will strike our loved ones and our friends, is perhaps what pushes us not to be content with living on the surface of things and people, pushes us to enter into the heart and depth of them.”
– Marie de Hennezel, author of Intimate Death
Design:
The Creative Dying card game was inspired by conversations at Death Cafes* and by firsthand experiences of how acknowledging grief and death can help us live more fully. The game is influenced by color theory, the color wheel used by artists to mix pigments, the Kubler-Ross model of grief, Death Cafe, Death Over Dinner and a Westernized version of the human Chakra system. This game is part of the larger Creative Dying Project, whose mission to start conversations about death, encourage end-of-life planning and establish dying centers that are inclusive, community-based and psychedelic-friendly.
Intentions:
This game was created as a gift, an invitation, and an acknowledgement that all of us will at some point face death. Authentic conversations about death can bring deep engagement, insight and empowerment. These conversations can help us discover and share our own end-of-life preferences, which will increase the chance that our wishes will be honored.
Gameplay:
There are currently 6 gameplay modes. They allow players to engage with this game in whatever way best serves them–self-reflecting with a single player mode through meditation or journaling with the prompts, an intimate conversation with the two player mode, or different ways to have a larger group conversation with friends, family, new acquaintances or strangers about life, death, and dying. These questions can also be used to inspire your own conversations and practical planning and actions outside of gameplay.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Credits:
Game Developers:
Megan (Meg) Miller
Meg [she/her] is founder of the Creative Dying Project (CreativeDying.org) and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing. She has been a Registered Nurse since 2015, gaining experience in hospice and palliative care, nursing education and health promotion across the lifespan. Meg is passionate about end-of-life care and is interested in how our relationship to death affects the way we live. She hosts Death Cafes and Death Over Dinner events regularly. Her work focuses on developing mindfulness-based pain management interventions for people with advanced cancer and establishing inclusive, community-based, psychedelic-friendly dying centers.
Hermione Banger
Hermi is a non-binary [they/them] writer, game developer, farmer and witch. They have been farming for over 10 years, learning methods of sustainable and regenerative agriculture. They released their first non-digital game, “Fellowship of Fools: The (Friendship) Game” in 2018. They have worked on Fellowship of Fools, HAZMAT, After the Collapse, and Creative Dying. You can find them on twitter @hermionebanger.
Casey O’Donnell
Casey O’Donnell is a queer CIS white guy [he/him]. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University. His research examines the creative collaborative work of videogame design and development. His book about the “AAA” game industry, “Developer’s Dilemma” is published by MIT Press. Casey is an active game developer, releasing “Kerem B’Yavneh,” in 2016 and “Fellowship of Fools: The (Friendship) Game” in 2018. You can find him on twitter @caseyodonnell.