Эмоциональный интеллект
Эмоциональный интеллект Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Emotion cards
- Phrase cards
- 7 player sets, each with a clip figure (your hero) and 7 numbered voting tokens (1 to 7), used for voting. The box holds enough for a game of seven.
- Special cards: action cards ("Clap", "Gesture", "Word") and jokers (a colour joker and a black joker)
- The "Coolness/Silliness" card, used to determine the first turn
- The game board
Before play, please turn off gadgets so they do not distract the audience from you embodying the emotions.
Setting up the board: the board is set up vertically. To do this, insert the board's slots into the holes of the tray.
The board has two paths: red (all emotions must be conveyed in Babble) and green (emotions are conveyed with phrase cards).
Babble is an invented language whose words mean nothing. You can make it phonetically similar to Japanese, for example "assa kumyta masata", or to Italian, for example "feste unito pizzerroni mamiyo".
Setup
- Each player chooses a clip figure (their hero) and a set of voting tokens of the same colour. You need as many tokens as there are players.
- Before the game starts, decide from which side you will count. The card in that spot is always No. 1, the next is No. 2, and so on.
Determining the First Turn
Everyone takes the Coolness/Silliness card and one phrase card (one for all players). Then lay all the clips out in a row on the table. The first hero is number 1, the second is number 2, and so on.
In the first game, show coolness; after that, alternate coolness with silliness.
Your task is to say the phrase as coolly as possible, so that the other players believe you are the coolest here and vote for you. This gives you an advantage later in the game. Add a bright, expressive gesture; it will help you loosen up and will come in handy at the Enthusiast level.
Players show coolness in any order.
Then use the voting tokens to decide who was the coolest. Each player chooses one token with the number of the coolest player.
The player with the most coolness votes places their clip on the START space. They will show the first emotion. The next player to show an emotion is the player to their left.
Every player with more than two points may place their hero on START. At the Novice level, use only the green side of the board.
If two players have the highest, equal number of points, they may decide who is cooler in one of two ways, shown in the illustrations: a hand-sign contest or arm wrestling.
A theatre's artistic director, if one takes part in the game, starts first.
Players who scored fewer than 2 points take part in the game and the voting from the first round onward, but do not yet place their clips on the board; their heroes may wander around. Their first earned points go only toward placing the clip on START.
Note: the rulebook says "more than two points" for the START placement and "fewer than 2 points" for players who do not place yet. A player with exactly 2 points is not covered by either wording. The rulebook does not say how such a player is handled.
Even if you earned 6 points in the first round, you can only place your clip on one of the starts; the rest of the points are lost.
Gameplay
Once the turn order is set, the emotion deck is shuffled and each player is dealt 8 cards.
For convenience, the player who shows an emotion in a given round is called the lead. The lead's neighbour draws one card from the lead's hand, without looking at it. That card is the emotion the lead must convey.
The lead then takes a phrase card (if they are on the green side) and reads the phrase as if they were under the influence of the shown emotion. Remember that an emotion is a wave that runs through the whole body. So use not only your voice and facial expression but also gestures and body language.
Many houses on the game board show "crazy people" performing particular actions. You should perform the same actions when you show the emotion (for example, squats).
Many people find it hard to be in the spotlight, so try to end each showing of an emotion with applause and cheers from the spectators.
After the lead has shown their emotion, they place their card face down on the table. The other players each look through their own cards for the one that they think best reflects what the lead was trying to show, and place it face down on the table.
The lead collects the cards, shuffles them and lays them out in a row, turning them face up one at a time. The lead must do this impartially, showing no reaction to any card.
Guessing the Card
The main task of the players is to guess which of the emotions laid out on the table the lead was showing, and to vote for it.
Each player chooses one voting token with the number of their chosen card and places it face up at the same time as the others. The lead does not take part in the vote. You may not vote for your own card. When all players have decided and voted, the tokens are turned over and the points are counted.
Scoring
Count points starting with the lead and going clockwise.
- The lead receives one point for each player who guessed their emotion.
- Each other player receives 1 point for guessing the emotion, plus one point for each player who mistook their card for the one chosen by the lead.
Players move their characters on the board by as many steps as the points they earned. (The illustration on page 4 shows a move of 2 steps.)
End of Turn
Each player draws one more card from the deck, so that everyone has 8 cards before the next round. Emotion cards played in the round may be shuffled back into the deck.
Epic Finale
The game ends when one of the players reaches the top of the central tower (the finish, unlike the start, is shared by everyone). If you earned more points than you needed to reach the top, that's fine. More is never less.
Difficulty Levels
We recommend playing a trial round at the Novice level.
The table below is the rulebook's difficulty table (page 5). A tick means the element is used at that level.
| Element | Novice | Enthusiast |
|---|---|---|
| Green board | ✔ | ✔ |
| Babble board (red) | ✔ | |
| Emotion cards | ✔ | ✔ |
| Each round, the cards played are reshuffled into the deck | Optional | |
| Usual showing modes (squats, singing, paper plane, closed mouth, drum shop) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Starred showing modes (kaleidoscope, four hands, card house) | ✔ | |
| Action cards (placed in the emotion deck; they start a mini-game when they appear) | Limited | ✔ |
| Clap | ✔ | ✔ |
Round Algorithm
The rulebook's game algorithm (page 6), in order:
- New round: every player has 8 cards.
- The lead's neighbour draws a card from the lead's hand.
- Is it a mini-game card? If yes, lay it on the table and run the mini-game it names. If no, go on to step 4.
- Check which field you are on (Enthusiast branch). On the Babble side, express the emotion in Babble. On the green side, draw a phrase card.
- Is there an action on the field? If yes, express the emotion in the indicated mode. If no, express the emotion as convincingly as possible.
- Green-side base modes: squats, sing, paper plane, closed mouth, drum shop. Enthusiast only: the starred modes (kaleidoscope, four hands, card house).
- The lead places the card of the emotion shown on the table, face down.
- The other players each place one card, face down.
- Shuffle, then reveal the cards one at a time, face down.
- Was an action card revealed? If yes, run the mini-game on it (see Mini-Games below). If no, go to voting.
- Voting, then scoring, then move the heroes on the board by the points earned.
Action Cards
Printed in the rulebook as "Types of action cards" (page 8). The numbering below is as printed: items 9 and 11 are followed by 10, so the order in the source is 1 to 9, then 11, then 10, then 12 and 13.
- Walking. If you are playing in a stadium, you can also run. Indoors, walking on the spot is fine. The main thing is that the other participants can see you fully.
- Squats. Don't forget the tempo: it will help others guess the emotion.
- Shuffling cards. It is always useful to shuffle the emotion deck. Do it while in your emotion.
- Table tapping. You may pound the table with your fist if you are angry; for affection, light finger taps are enough. The key is to create a rhythm. The speed of the tapping is directly linked to how impatient the person is.
- Touching a partner. This can be a handshake, and in places it can go as far as a hug. In some places it is fitting to poke a finger, and maybe even a kiss is appropriate.
- Paper show. Fold a paper plane while in the required emotion and repeating the phrase. What shape will it take, how will it fly, and will it fly at all? All this will help the other players guess your emotion.
- Closed mouth. The task is not to show the emotion but to pronounce its name. The difficulty is that you do this in one attempt with a closed mouth and clenched teeth, without any gestures or facial expressions.
- Card house. We give a simple scheme for building a house of cards. Of course, if you have enough time and patience, you can build a more complex one.
- Mask show. First take a mask with a grimace, put it on, then look at the emotion pulled out. Don't be shy about "working" with your eyes.
- Singing. For this we recommend using rhyming phrases. You can set new words to the tune of a well-known song, or improvise completely.
Special cards: among the emotion cards you will find cards with special mini-games (there are 3) or with special properties (jokers).
Mini-Games
Mini-games are found among the emotion cards and can be used in two cases:
- a mini-game appears on the table when the emotion cards are being laid out in a row;
- the mini-game becomes the card that the lead is "showing", if that card has been taken from their hand.
In the first case, the mini-game described on the card is played, and then everyone returns to guessing the lead's emotion. In the second case, the lead ideally lays the card on the table suddenly and starts the mini-game. In this case, regardless of the outcome, the lead gets one point, and the showing of the emotion passes to the next player.
For failing to perform an action, a penalty is imposed. The clip goes into the hair. (The rulebook gives no further mechanic for this penalty.)
Houses with Surprises
Some houses on the board carry special effects.
- Laundress's house. On the red side there is house No. 9. A player who lands on it must move back three houses.
- House marked "П". A house on the red side marked with the letter "П" means the player standing on it must speak only words beginning with "П" for the rest of the game. The other players watch closely and may try to throw them off. If the player makes a mistake during the game, their hero slides back one house. (The text does not state the house number; the illustration on page 5 appears to show this house as No. 11.)
- House No. 13. A player who lands on this house receives a black marker (a special black token marked 13), which they place on the table in front of them. All points they earn when votes are cast for their emotion card count against them, until they move on past this house. This applies only to the player who first landed on the house. After the player leaves the house, the black marker is returned to the box, and the next player may land there and receive this trouble.
- House marked "К". A house No. 14 on the green side marked with the letter "К" means the player standing on it must speak only words beginning with "К" for the rest of the game. The other players watch closely and may try to throw them off. If the player makes a mistake during the game, their hero slides back one house.
Playing in Pairs and Other Notes
Playing in pairs is even more fun!
The optimal number of players is 6 or 7. If there are more of you, split into teams and show all the emotions in the "Crazy hands" mode. In this variant both partners in a pair know the emotion.
If a dispute arises during play that is not covered in the rules, the host decides how to proceed.
On average a game lasts about an hour. For a longer, drawn-out game, use both boards as one: start on the START of one board and finish on the START of the other.
Of course, the rulebook covers only some emotions; there are many more. The designer notes that a "Pro" expansion to the game is sold separately and makes it even more interesting.
The ribbon on the box is a traveling trophy, awarded to the winner of each game.
Background: Emotions
The rulebook closes with a background section on emotions. It is printed in the rulebook and is transcribed here for completeness; it is not part of the game's procedure.
What Do We Feel From Early Childhood?
Emotions. Paul Ekman, the outstanding American psychologist, identified 7 basic human emotions: sadness, anger, surprise, fear, disgust, contempt and joy (the emotions of pleasure).
Basic emotions are in turn divided into families, which differ in strength (from irritation to fury) and in type (sullenness, indignation, hostility, and so on). Also, each person has their own expressiveness, that is, the degree to which they show emotions. Some emotions can be called blends of basic emotions, or transitional states from one into another.
For convenience we will call them feelings, states and experiences. The whole range of emotions is covered by the concept of temperament, understood as a kind of background noise of feelings that defines our disposition.
The database of emotions is open and constantly replenished on the basis of life experience. For example, Robert Plutchik in 1980 identified 8 basic emotions (unlike Paul Ekman, he added anticipation and trust in place of contempt) and related, more complex emotions to them. The result is a clear "wheel of emotions" that helps you find your bearings.
There are no negative emotions: there are justified and positive ones. Each feeling is valuable and important in its own way. As Aristotle remarked: "Indeed, the appropriate emotion is feeling commensurate with the circumstances."
What sets off each emotion? If we are going to change what causes our emotional arousal, we must know the answer to this question. Paul Ekman called these symptoms, the triggers of emotions.
Each person accumulates triggers over the course of life. For example, one can say with confidence that if someone gets in your way or takes a thing you value without asking, it can cause your irritation or even anger.
Most of the time our body is run by autopilot. If it sees a situation similar to one already loaded into memory (a trigger), it immediately starts certain emotions. A driver does not need to keep looking for the pedal, reacting to every car at once, or watching the road signs: autopilot does all of this for us. If the senses send it a signal of a stressful situation, the emotions switch on and send an impulse to the muscles to prevent it. The steering wheel turns to avoid a collision without our conscious awareness. This is their main function. Most of the time emotions mobilise us to act without a process of thought. This system frees our attention for other things: reflection, conversation with a fellow traveller and so on.
How does it work in the brain? The emotional centres are located in the limbic zone of the brain, which is connected to all the other parts of the brain that developed during evolution. That is, emotions have boundless capacity to influence the functioning of the brain, including the centres of thought.
The amygdala serves as a store of emotional memory and therefore plays an extremely important role. Joseph LeDoux discovered that the amygdala can receive signals directly from the senses and trigger a response before they have been fully registered by the neocortex. That is, a raw emotion is triggered independently of thinking, and it runs ahead of it.
Emotions can also disrupt the process of thinking. People who cannot control them are forced to wage constant internal battles, harming their health and losing the ability to work with concentration and think clearly.
When we are under the power of some emotion, we perceive the surrounding world differently and become deaf to information that does not match that experience. For example, an offender has apologised to you several times for what they did, but you still believe it is not enough, that they chose the wrong words, and so on.
In short: we have two minds, one that thinks and one that feels.
The emotional mind reads reality in an instant and mobilises us to respond to events that demand an answer, without losing time on reflection.
According to Daniel Goleman, the beliefs of the rational mind are approximate in nature: a new fact can refute a belief and replace it with another, because it takes objective data into account. The emotional mind, however, considers its beliefs absolutely correct and therefore takes no account of any evidence to the contrary. That is why it is so hard to persuade someone who is in emotional turmoil: the logical reasonableness of your arguments means nothing and has no effect if they do not match the person's current emotional conviction. Feelings justify themselves with a set of representations and proofs made entirely of their own "production".
What are the signs of emotions? Our facial expression, voice and body involuntarily reveal the emotion we feel now. Paul Ekman compiled a whole atlas of the muscles of the human face, which can take about 10,000 different forms.
Joy. In genuine joy the eyes always take part. In distinguishing joy from the emotions of pleasure, the voice plays a decisive role. In joy, touches on the shoulder and hugs are possible. When laughing, fresh blood flows and the heartbeat quickens. The emotions of joy are revealed mainly through the smile, its intensity and its duration.
Anger. Anger arises when progress toward a goal is hindered, or in moments when we are being controlled. Typical signs: a gaze straight ahead, a jaw pushed forward, furrowed brows, clenched fists, an open mouth.
Surprise. You cannot deliberately experience surprise if you have been warned what will happen. Raising the eyebrows in surprise, a person enlarges the field their gaze covers. As a result they can gather more information about the unexpected event. Typical signs: raised eyebrows, an open mouth.
Sadness. Sadness reveals a person's essence and allows them to look back. It bears witness to losses and to parting from loved ones. Typical signs: lowered eyebrows, a gaze turned down and inward, lowered corners of the mouth.
Fear. In fear and dread a person often uses closed postures. When nervous and afraid, blood drains from the palms, which become cold and sweaty. Typical signs: hands held in front of the body, leaning back, a slightly open mouth.
Contempt. Contempt is an emotion that does not push toward any action; it only asserts one's superiority. Typical signs: a closed posture that shows non-acceptance of another's opinion, a smile that uses only part of the face (a smirk).
Disgust. Disgust signals a rejection of something: "This is unacceptable to me." The feeling of disgust helps us avoid infection. The disgust response is 10 to 20 percent higher in women than in men. Typical signs: a crease between the brows, a wrinkled nose.
Non-verbal signals. We are often so focused on what a person says that we completely miss their emotional state and pay no attention to their body language. Non-verbal signals (body language) were used by humans long before speech appeared, but in spoken language all of it is noticed: "not bowing one's head", "shoulder to shoulder".
Only 7 percent of information is transmitted verbally, that is in words; 38 percent vocally (through tone of voice, stress and the way sounds are produced); and 55 percent through non-verbal signals.
"The meaning of what you want to say is conveyed far more by how you look at the moment you speak than by your words." (Allan Pease)
It is therefore very important to use the whole body to show emotions convincingly in the game. Every gesture or movement is a key to the feelings a person experiences at that moment. But singling out one gesture is not enough; whole chains of gestures must be read, since they come in context, like words in a sentence.
Some facts about non-verbal signals from Allan Pease:
- When a person lies, they make a show of being very busy.
- In a handshake, if your palm is on top you are dominating; if it is underneath, the gesture is more suited to an apology.
- Brushing off imaginary specks of dust and adjusting cufflinks often reveal agitation.
- Shrugging the shoulders shows ignorance and submission (a person instinctively covers the neck against a blow).
- Hidden palms are like speaking with a closed mouth.
Context. Many emotions are hard to understand without context. Who is speaking? To whom? What is the weather? What day of the week is it? What is their status? How did they sleep? Are they fed? What is their physical condition? We often say one thing while thinking and feeling something quite different. The meaning of what one person says to another depends on many factors.
The expression of emotions never tells you the source of the emotion!
Ways to generate emotions. There are several ways to generate an emotion, and you can use them in our game.
- You can re-experience an emotion by recalling past emotional episodes. A memory includes the emotional reaction.
- You can also trigger the emotion you need through imagination, by inventing a situation. Imagine a film being shot around you, in which your character has a line that you must deliver with the right emotion to the player opposite you.
- Another way is copying: mirroring the facial expression on the card. When you set your facial muscles into the position that corresponds to the given emotion, the emotion automatically begins to arise in you. (So smile more often in life.)
- If you add the corresponding exclamations at this stage, the emotion switches on even faster: "ry-y-y!" for anger, "oh!" for surprise, "Wow!" for delight.
- The law of cause and effect says that if you deliberately make certain gestures, you will feel the emotions associated with them. For example, if you clench your fists and frown, you will most likely feel irritation.
(Illustration caption: "Wow!")
What Is Emotional Intelligence?
John Mayer and Peter Salovey coined the term EQ in 1990. Emotional intelligence is the art of understanding other people's feelings, controlling your own emotions and creating a pleasant atmosphere around you.
The rulebook's diagram lists five components:
- Know your emotions. Self-awareness, recognising a feeling at the moment it arises, is the cornerstone of emotional intelligence. The ability to track your feelings from time to time is crucial for understanding yourself.
- Manage your emotions. The ability to cope with feelings so that they do not go beyond appropriate bounds. People with this skill recover from life's setbacks much faster.
- Motivate yourself. Putting emotions in order is necessary to reach a goal and focus attention, and to gain the ability to create and feel inspiration.
- Develop empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand other people's feelings, to take their point of view and respect their different attitudes to circumstances, with an emotional attunement to social signals.
- Maintain relationships. The art of maintaining relationships largely consists of skilfully handling other people's emotions. Attunement to others requires calm within yourself.
"Sensitivity is the ability to notice contradictions between a person's words and the movements and gestures they make." (Allan Pease)
Our game lets you develop exactly this sensitivity: by stopping conflict in time, you stay in a good mood and a positive frame of mind, which gives you the capacity for flexible and more complex thinking. Developing the strength of will to keep emotions under the control of the mind is required.
"Without friendship, without shared achievements, without contact with other people who give us sensory pleasures, our life would be dry and colourless." (Paul Ekman)
A closing note. The designer hopes the game will let you be in the moment, here and now.