Once Upon a Time: The storytelling card game – Improve your storytelling and listening skills

Get your message across, lead a “conversation” to your desired conclusion, listen up to detect your chance to jump into the “conversation” and be creative on the fly.  These are all things you’ll do, skills that you’ll develop, when playing Once Upon a Time: The storytelling card game.

This is a peculiar game (and in my eyes, a stroke of genius) for 2-6 players.  It’s not very competitive in nature, but surely very enjoyable.  Summarized, the rules are:

• Each player will have a certain amount of cards in their hand.  These cards show random objects, events, places, aspects, etc.  Also, each player will have one “ending” card, a sentence to finish the story: if you are able to get rid of all your cards and finish the story coherently reading your ending card, you win.
• A player will start narrating a story he will be making up as he goes.  He will try to fit in the best he can the things his cards say (objects, places, events, aspects, etc.); as he does, he will place down on the table in front of him those cards.
• Other players have the ability of interrupting him and taking over the story where he left off.  This can happen if the narrator mentions something on someone else’s card, for example.
• For a more in depth explanation of the rules, here’s a video by BoardtoDeathTV.  Also, here is an entertaining video of a game played.

So these are the reasons why I think this brilliant game is such a great “make me better” game:

• As a narrator, you’re not only going to try to drive the story to your ending, you’re going to try to do it while playing the cards in your hand.  And you’re going to have to make the story up and fit the pieces in as you along.  Just like in any conversation where you’re trying to get a message through while paying special attention to how you do it (and on the go; no rehearsing in this game).
• Also as a narrator, you’re going to have to speak up amongst an audience, which might ask questions, interject, criticize your intervention, etc. (sort of like the meeting I’m used to at work :D).
• As a listener, you’re going to have to pay attention to your cue, your chance to jump in and take over.  In other words, you’re going to have to actively listen, and be ready to participate.

As an additional plus to this game, just mention that it’s not a very competitive game, and many of the rules have a subjective interpretation, which favors that your play it more relaxed than other games.  Mind you, though: this is not an easy game!  You’ll realize you could use some practice with your storytelling and active listening skills after you play your first game ;).  The only con I would maybe mention is that this game is for groups of players that know each other: playing this game with stranger might make you feel ackward unless you have an outgoing personality.