For my critical play, I played We’re Not Really Strangers with two casual friends, both of whom I have never spent time with in an intimate or intentional getting to know you setting. From the box, WNRS markets itself as a game for ages 15+ and 2-6 players. From the nature of the emotional and at times sexual questions and the experience of answering the cards one at a time in a circle answering, I would suggest the game might be better suited for players age 17+ and would limit constructive getting to know you to 4-5 players.
This game feels very simplistic in its facilitation of fun. Its red and white, clean sans serif, and rounded corners design evokes themes of minimalism and feels like it would be found in a polished young adult’s first or second apartment. As we opened the sleek box and started playing with the Level 1 and Level 2 questions, it became immediately clear that this game demands buy-in and respect from all players to achieve its goal of getting the group to feel much closer to one another than when they started playing.
Naturally, WRNS fosters “fellowship” fun, as it uses mechanics of trust and reveal, or by Daniel Cook’s friendship theory the deep friendship formers of “Reciprocity” and “Disclosure”. In these techniques, players feel like they are building a web of trust together and have an implied or explicit “cone of silence”, or a safe bubble, to share their souls with the group with the wonderful human exchange of seeing others’ souls in return. The more vulnerable players are, the more rewarding the game feels to its participants, enveloping its players into a warm human nature hug.
As an example of this “Reciprocity” and “Disclosure”, when I played, I heard the story of how one friend wishes he would have come out of the closet much sooner in life but doubted he would be as successful as he is know if he had and how another friend admires his mom most in the world because she is everything he wants to be — kind and fun. In return, I shared what I believed my “purpose” in life to be — making those around me feel welcome and included, wherever I go.
WRNS employs “narrative” fun, but not in the traditional sense, as it is the player’s own life narratives that fuel the game, and the question cards that prompt these narratives, almost like a ‘choose your own adventure’ game where each player is the protagonist of their own journey and trading their vulnerability in turn for a chance of finding a connection with one of the other players.
The boundary of the game transcends well beyond the cards and even the players in the circle at the time of the game. From my experience, it felt like answering Level 2 and Level 3 cards shattered walls with the friends I played with and strengthened our relationship in a way and foster future conversations that will continue well into the future. I believe this is the most unique element of WRNS that sets it apart from other social games – its longevity and boundary-less impact into its players’ lives and its ability to morph into a different meaning with every possible combination of players.
