Play outside the box with the game 'Sacred What if'!

Play outside the box with the game "Sacred What if?"!

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Welcome to "Sacred What If?"!

"What If" is a game that results in some very interesting and intriguing answers to the question "What if?". It is a unique game that is fairly easy to play and no board game or dice, etc. are necessary. All that is needed is paper and pens (or pencils) and a group of people. Synchronicity/serendipity seems to play a role in this game.

While the basic idea is for each person to create a question and answer, the results are often funny (sometimes hilarious) and sometimes deeply profound. If nothing else, the results are unexpected!

The purpose of this site is to share this game with others in hopes that they will be inspired and entertained. I also hope that others will discover inspiration within this "game".

Another purpose of this site is to gather the results of others from around the world. I will share some of those results here. I also hope to share the game results in the form of a book. So, please, if you try this game and have some interesting, intriguing, profound, and/or funny results, please share them with me!

A question and answer game may sound simple enough, but this game has a twist.

Here are the instructions (rules of the game) for "Sacred What If?":

Seat everyone in a circle - This can be another shape, as well. The main thing is that you can easily go from person to person in an obvious order (not skipping around a room from one to another). People should also remain in the same place for the duration of that round (one question, one answer, and the reading of all the questions and answers).

Set the intention - Before starting, set the intention of the final reading of the questions and answers. In other words, select the person who will be the starting point for reading the questions and answers later, as well as which direction you will go next (taking turns in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction).

Hand out paper - Hand out one piece to each person and make sure each person has a pen (preferred) or pencil. (Handing out extra pieces of paper ahead of time may confuse some people and may result in people writing more than one question.)

Write a question - Instruct everyone to write a question on the paper beginning with "What if". Some people may be challenged with so much freedom, so you may wish to offer a few examples.

Return question - Have a bowl or basket, etc. available and ask everyone to drop his/her question into the basket. The facilitator/host can pass the bowl around.

Answer question - Once EVERY person has completed his question and has dropped it in the basket, then pass the bowl around again and have everyone pull ONE piece of paper (pull one question, without being able to first read the question). People should immediately look at the question to make sure it is not their own question. Everyone should answer a question new to him (no one should have his own question). If anyone pulls his own question, it should be returned to the bowl and another question pulled. If all questions have already been pulled, then two or more people should trade questions. Everyone should then turn the paper over and answer the question on the back side.

Return answered question - As people complete the answer they should return the paper to the bowl.

Select a completed question/answer - Once everyone has completed the answer and ALL papers have been returned to the bowl, the bowl should then be passed around one last time. Everyone should take one paper. It is okay to select one's own question or answer, so people should keep the paper they select.

Read the questions and answers - Beginning with the person who had been selected as the starting point for the reading, the first question should be read (but ONLY the question!). In the selected direction (clockwise/counterclockwise) the very next person should then read his ANSWER for the first person's quesiton. He then reads his question. The next person then answers that question with his answer and so on. Once the last person has asked the last question, the first person then reads his answer to complete the circle.

Here's another way to look at the final step of Sacred What If:

Person 1: reads the question on his/her paper
Person 2: reads the answer on his/her paper

Person 2: reads the question on his/her paper
Person 3: reads the answer on his/her paper

Person 3: reads the question on his/her paper
Person 4: reads the answer on his/her paper

etc., etc., around the circle...

Last Person: reads the question on his/her paper
Person 1: reads the answer on his/her paper

Collect the papers - The first question would remain on top: The first person who read his question should pass his question in the direction that the questions were read. The next person should place his question/answer UNDER the first and pass on the pile to the next person. Each person should place his question/answer under the pile and pass it on. The result is the questions and answers piled in order of how they were read, so they can be recorded. The stack should be secured with a rubber band, etc. for later transcribing. It's helpful to write the date and location, etc. on the stack.

Record the questions and answers - Please transcribe the questions/answers in order into an email and send them to this site. (info "at" SacredWhatIf.com) Please include when and where the game took place (city, state, and date). Feel free to offer if it was a specific group or club, etc. I certainly appreciate your time and effort. My hope is to have enough collected game results to create a book. Please also give me permission in your email to publish the results (such as in email, in the book, and on this web site.) I won't use any individual names, unless you wish them to be included and we have their permission. I feel at least the group name, location, and date are important. When people eventually read a collection of the game results, they may appreciate knowing the type of gathering that created these results.

Additional suggestions:

People should remain in the game for the duration of the round (they should only leave between rounds).
People should remain in their same position for the duration of the round (moving between rounds is fine).
If anyone comes late and wants to join, they should wait for the next round.
Larger groups can break into smaller circles as an option. They can then report back to the entire group some of their results. Even the reading of the questions/answers could be done for the entire large group to hear (while honoring each smaller circle). Each circle could take a turn reading their questions/answers.
It's possible to include additional intentions such as a topic: all questions can be posed within a certain topic. This can be a beneficial and fun activity for work meetings or corporate retreats!
This games transports people outside of the box, which can help, not only individuals, but families, groups, and corporations. Especially if people don't know how to think outside the box or "can't" think outside the box, this game can help move them there and offers new ways of looking at things. It offers new perspectives and opportunities for reflection.
It may be worth reminding people to honor those who will be reading the question & answer by writing clearly.
Be sure to make sure everyone in the group has completed one step before proceeding to the next step!

Some things to reflect on:

What was the "real" question for your answer?
What was the "real" answer for your question?

Regarding paper:

Any paper with sufficient space to write on and which has two sides, should suffice. I like paper cut to about 1 1/2" x 4 1/4" - that's an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper cut into 16 pieces. To see what I mean, place a sheet of paper in front of you vertically. Fold the top down to the bottom, then the left to the right, then the top to bottom twice. I find that size to be a handy size for the game, but other shapes and sizes can work.
For the more ambitious, you can use a label template in Microsoft Word or other word processing program, add the words "What if" to each cell (not necessary, but a nice touch!) and print to plain or colored paper. Then cut them. You could even create your own template including "What if..." along with lines for cutting.

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