A personal favorite pastime of mine is talking with strangers. (Often through online games!) I know, so insane and unique, right? Despite how often I partake, however, I sometimes have some difficulty talking with people. Recently, I was gifted this game, “We’re Not Really Strangers,” and I kid you not, it had changed my life, deepening friendships and revolutionizing how I get to know new people.
WHAT IS We’RE NOT REALLY STRANGERS?
We’re Not Really Strangers is a card game, featuring questions. It’s simple in concept and fairly easy to understand. Easy concepts make games fast to pick-up and play, something vital for the purpose of the game as a whole. Essentially, there are three levels of questions, each designed with a different purpose in mind. That makes the game easy to pick-up and play. The difficult part about the game is opening up.
HOW DO YOU PLAY WE’RE NOT REALLY STRANGERS?
The game is split up into three distinct levels, Perception, Connection, and Reflection. You can play it with two people or more, but I will just be discussing how to play it as it was originally intended, with two players. In each level, one player draws a card, and the other answers it. You can either play 15 cards from each level before moving on, or go through the entire deck together.
In Perception, the questions on the cards are made to bring up how each person sees the other. It can either test your knowledge of the other person or enable you to get an idea of how others see you. These questions are more surface-level to help ease players into the game. One of my favorite cards from this level is, “What’s the first thing you noticed about me?” I’ve gotten a lot of answers, from a pin I’m wearing, the number of people around me, to just the way my eyes look.
In Connection, the cards are meant to foster connections between the players. Now that you and your partner have gotten to know each other better, nature of the questions change, delving deeper into how each player works, thinks, and lives. For example, “What are you currently working through that others don’t see?” These questions invite each player to open up and share more about their lives in a structured way that builds relationships.
In Reflection, the purpose of the questions shift again. This time, you take the knowledge each player has learned about the other to help them answer these questions. They reflect on what you now know between the two of you, and remind you how each player has grown during the duration of the game, as well as opportunities to gleam extra insights into the other player’s responses. Questions like “What question were you most afraid to answer?” give additional context to previous questions that heighten the understanding between the players.
There is one final level, or rather card, once the previous three levels have been completed. It’s a nice surprise that I would prefer to preserve for you, the reader of this article, to find out yourself, but I thoroughly enjoyed the final card when I got there.
Each level also features wild cards, as well- whether it be shouting your favorite TV show on the count of three, or swapping seats with your partner, they shake up the game in various ways. There are also two “Dig Deeper” cards that each player can play to encourage the other player to not hold back if they sense they are restraining themselves.
Why PLAY WE’RE NOT REALLY STRANGERS?
Ultimately, this game builds connections between people. If both players can break down their walls and be vulnerable, each card strengthens the bond between each player. Many of my closest friends have played this game with me, and it brought us closer than I thought we could be.
Give the game a shot if you have a chance. When you get the game, there is an author’s note that is poignant:
There are two ways to play the game:
Playing safe, and playing to grow.
The second is how you win.