Why Beauty is in the deck
Beauty is one of the lighter cards in Thesis. It was picked as a light, playful way in. It can work in the first round, when the table is still warming up.
How people read it differently
Beauty can split a table in two. One side says beauty is in the eye of the beholder and can’t be measured. The other points to faces, proportions and rules that seem to hold across people.
Stories can land between the two. A player might talk about a song, or a person nobody else at the table would call beautiful. Someone else might talk about the first time they stopped caring. The word stays the same. What each player points to with it doesn’t.
The other side: Suitcase
The thing on the back is a Suitcase. It was picked for leaving home, moving, migrating and going on vacation. Packing is a decision about what matters enough to carry. It can bring a story about one trip, one move, or the thing someone always packs first.
Beauty and Suitcase were paired by a random draw. A player who picks the Suitcase side doesn’t need to connect it to beauty at all.
How to play this card
Draw the card. Choose a side: Beauty or Suitcase. Roll the die. Look at the word from that side.
The six faces are MEMORIES, BODY, PEOPLE, VALUES, CHILDHOOD and FUTURE. Say as much or as little as feels right; a short answer is a full answer.
When you’re done, the others can ask what they’re curious about. Keep it short and open: What did that feel like? Who else was there? Has it always meant that to you?
“There are no right answers.” That line from the rule card fits Beauty better than most.
More cards like this
Beauty is in the Self cluster, next to Joy, Belonging and Nostalgia. Draw a random card in the free online game, or see what’s in the box. The research behind the deck explains where the words came from.