2020 has forced many of us to navigate our relationships through unchartered territory, and perhaps discover new connections in unfamiliar ways. Lockdown groundhog may have left you feeling emotionally disconnected from those physically distant as well as those within your everyday vicinity. Fortunately, the card game We’re Not Really Strangers (WNRS) may have risen to prominence at just the right time.
Founded in November 2018 by Koreen Odiney, a Los Angeles-based model and photographer, WNRS is a modern card game with a twist. In order to “win,” all you need to do is to play to grow and not to play safe.
Split into three consecutive levels, every card challenges the player to be emotionally vulnerable and explore delicate themes by asking questions about themselves and others. Odiney has described each question as an art form, explaining that every card serves a purpose and personally takes on a special meaning to her.
In fact, all three levels: Perception, Connection and Reflection were created to “gamify the experience of making meaningful connections,” making it a “fun experience that leaves us feeling deeply connected with others and ourselves.”
Since their founding, WNRS has released two moving YouTube videos that lay bare the psychological release and emotional benefits that can be garnered just by opening up conversations with strangers. The first video focuses on first dates whilst in the second, three sets of strangers play the game in public.
Standout questions asked: what character do you think I would play in a movie? when asked how you are, how often do you answer truthfully? what is the most pain you’ve ever been in, that wasn’t physical? and how would you describe me to a stranger? The players create unexpected and endearing connections simply by asking questions and listening. Some even admit to confessing personal information that those closest to them are not privy too.
Researchers in medicine, psychology and sociology have increasingly found that confiding in others continually improves our mental and physical health. More recently, sociologists have explored the nuances of human interaction specifically in relation to the sharing of personal information.
In his book Someone to Talk to, Mario Luis Small confirmed that based on long-standing evidence, confiding in others is an essential component to our overall wellbeing. As a Harvard sociologist, Small studied a group of graduate students to better understand the dynamics of their support systems. He found that although the majority of those questioned consistently claimed that they confided in their inner circle on personal matters, the last person they had revealed sensitive information to was more often a weak tie such as a colleague, therapist, priest or distant friend. Coincidentally a proven human tendency actively encouraged in this game!
WNRS has opened a space for meaningful conversations in a virtual environment too. Their strong design aesthetic and thought-provoking Instagram posts have created a magic formula subscribed to by a community of 2.2 million and counting.
The authenticity of WNRS from its roots to its petals is welcomed on a platform increasingly under criticism for its damaging superficiality. For a generation regularly swapping 24-hour news channels for social media, the ripple effects of initiating honest discussions online can be invaluable.
On the basis of recent events and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, Odiney released “Race and Privilege: an Overdue Conversation,” a free digital toolkit available to download straight from their website. This expansion pack contains 25 questions and wildcards that aim to help empower difficult conversations about race and privilege.
Even on TikTok, WNRS has created a unique filter that asks difficult questions, providing an opportunity for serious conversations beyond the viral dances and memes.
@maeciray ♬ Become the Warm Jets – Current Joys
With such pure intentions, a bold and easily identifiable brand, specialized expansion packs, and branded merchandise already available, it’s hard to see WNRS going anywhere but uphill from here.
This year more than any other, shared international experiences have emphasized our basic human need for connectivity. To echo the sentiments of the late British politician Jo Cox, “we are far more united … than [the] things that divide us.” So, perhaps it’s time to ask ourselves: are we really strangers?
To learn more about We’re Not Really Strangers, visit their website.
All images in this article are courtesy of We’re Not Really Strangers.
