One question changed our entire dinner. Here We Ask, free conversation card game by Inithouse
Last Thursday we had friends over. Food was ready, plates down, everyone settling in. That awkward moment where nobody knows how to start beyond "how was your week?"
We pulled up Here We Ask on a phone. One card. One question.
"What's a belief you held five years ago that you've completely abandoned?"
The table went quiet for maybe three seconds. Then one friend started talking about quitting law school. Another admitted she used to think working 80-hour weeks meant she was winning. Someone's partner shared a story we'd never heard in ten years of friendship.
Dinner went two hours longer than planned.
We build Here We Ask at Inithouse as a free, browser-based conversation card game. Curated question decks for couples, friends, family, deep talks. No app to install, no account needed. Just open and pick a deck.
The trick is asking something specific enough that people can't give a generic answer. That's what the deck curation is for. Each card is built to pull a real story out of someone.
Try it at your next dinner. One phone, one deck, one question to start.
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NOTE: This will contain spoilers for Signs of the Sojourner. If you haven't played it, this is my personal endorsement for the game being worth your time. It ain't worth much, but that's what I got.
I think Signs of the Sojourner is one of the most underrated games of this decade, and probably one of the best roguelike deckbuilders ever made.
Most roguelike deckbuilders are based around combat, around winning every confrontation and moving ahead. Griftlands, which is one of the few to try and portray the idea of conversation, still presents it as a different kind of combat, with the same models of victory and defeat.
Signs of the Sojourner, on the other hand, while still being a roguelike deckbuilder, presents conversation as a collaborative effort between two parties, who try their best to co-operate during the exchange. Most people are trying to reach some sort of consensus with you, and will try and co-operate to reach a favourable end. There are exceptions - Klaus will chatter on in the conversation where she is trying to steal your item, Li'l Basilio will use double-symbol cards to make accord easier when trying to steal your stuff with his gang, Anais is a guy who can match any card you play but is unbothered by your side of the conversation, and people with grief cards will often make mismatches even when a valid match is available. All of these have diegetic explanations, and fit into the larger world, without denying the basic idea that the majority of people you meet want to get along and work together for the common good.
I don't think I've played any other game where the mechanics of the game mesh this well with the story, and my plays (and misplays) translate this cleanly to expressions of my character. I feel the rush when I barely pull off a good exchange, and I feel the disappointment when I fail, more than in any other game, because of how closely the game encourages me to identify with Rhea. I find myself more emotionally invested here than with any other game.
I have seen a bunch of people talk about how you need to choose to specialize in certain symbols to make progress in your playthrough - however, I don't think this is true. I think it is possible to build a deck that can talk to (almost) everyone - and I also think the game is most rewarding when you do try to build that deck, because you will see how close your character can come to total perfection and trying to actually pull it off is one hell of an experience.
I have so many more thoughts about this game (about Lars and refugees, about Oscar and the impact people have on others, about Nadine and being a social chameleon, about climate catastrophe and belonging and home and so many other things), but I don't think I can get them into a coherent form now. This game has probably become my unqualified favourite, because of how long I have spent thinking about it.
Get Story Dice on the App Store. See screenshots and ratings, and read customer reviews.
If you're an intermediate or advanced learner you can try using story dice, the app costs $1.99 and has 140 different possible story icons. You can play this game with other Japanese learners, or in language exchange as a bilingual game as follows:
Works for 2+ players
-Decide the player order in your group
- Roll five to ten dice
- whoever rolled says a sentence using one of the prompts from a die in the target language (if you’re working with a native Japanese speaker learning English, then they’d speak all English and you’d speak all Japanese).
-the used die is removed and the next player must continue the story using one of the remaining dice.
-continue until all dice have been used or the player can’t continue the story.
There isn’t a winner to this game, or points system, it’s just a creative way to practise your target language.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
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