Why Joy is in the deck
Joy was kept from the first list of words for the game as the warmest light word, a counterweight to the heavy ones. A deck with Death, Regret and Loneliness in it needs a warm word too.
It can be an easy card to start with, answered with a picture rather than a definition.
How people read it
For one player it can be loud, like a party or a song in a car. For another it can be quiet, like a morning with nobody awake yet. Some players talk about a person.
The card leaves that open on purpose. What counts is what joy means to the people at your table.
The other side: Chair
The back of the card shows a Chair, and it can pull in a different direction from the front. Grief writing talks about the empty chair at the table after someone dies (Griefhaven). In a forum thread about best childhood memories, a grandfather’s chair comes up as part of a happy picture (Mumsnet).
So the same object can bring a warm story or a heavy one. If the Chair side feels like too much today, play the Joy side or pass. The group agrees on how passing works before the game starts.
How to play this card
Draw the card. Choose a side: Joy or Chair. Roll the die. Look at the word from that side.
The die’s faces are MEMORIES, BODY, PEOPLE, VALUES, CHILDHOOD and FUTURE. Say as much or as little as feels right.
The others ask what they’re curious about, gently, without judging: What did that feel like? Who else was there? Has it always meant that to you?
Next cards
Joy shares the Self cluster with Beauty, Nostalgia and Passion. Open the online game to draw one now, or see the printed deck.