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The goal of Gather Round is to have interesting conversations with friends exploring the themes of nature, migration, technology and home. One way to start these conversations is to use the deck of cards in simple games. Below are some ideas you can use to get started. If you invent a new game or adapt your own rules, let us know. Email samantha.dwyer@humanitiesmontana.org.
Game Ideas:
Theme and Variation
Shuffle the deck and deal each player five cards. Pick a judge for the first round. The judge picks one of their five cards to read aloud to the group and indicates the kind of response they would like. For example, they can ask for other cards “most like” their card or “opposite” their card. If the judge is asking for matching cards, each person should read their card aloud and explain why they chose it. The judge might also ask for everyone to complete the activity instructions (Be Present, Get Social, Get Creative, Tell a Story) on the judge’s card. In that case, players do not contribute cards. The judge chooses their favorite response and that player receives the judge’s card as a point. If other cards were played they go in a discard pile and players draw back up to five cards. If no other cards were played, the game simply continues with the next judge. The number of points cards accumulated at the end of the game determines the winner. To end the game, players can either go through the deck until no more cards are available to play, or choose to compete for a certain number of cards (first player to win five cards, for instance).
Memory
Shuffle the cards and lay them out face down in the center of the players. Take turns turning over two cards at a time. Read the cards aloud and follow any instructions for activities. If the cards are a matching pair the player keeps the pair and gets to go again. If not, the next person takes a turn. The goal is to find all the matching pairs.