Nevermind The Distraction Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Overview
  • Objective
  • A Journey in Stages
• Key Concepts
  • The Mind vs. The Watcher
  • The Meditating Consciousness
  • Intensity Levels
  • Mind Cards / Deck
  • Timer Deck / "Time Passes"
  • Active Thoughts / Cards
  • Center Card / Focused
  • Awareness Markers / Stolen Focus
  • Noting Tokens
• Gameplay
  • Mind Phase
  • New Thoughts
  • Increase Intensity
  • Watcher Phase
    • Watcher Actions
• Game End and Scoring
  • Scoring
  • Zen Master Win
  • Putting the Game Away
• Continuing the Journey
  • Stage Two - Vigilance
  • Stage Three - Monkey Mind
  • Stage Four - Life Is Now
  • Stage Five - Deep Breath
  • Deep Breath Action
  • Stage Six - Can't Shake the Feeling
  • Super Monkey-Mind Variant
• Putting It All Together
• Additional Resources
• Quick Reference

Components

9 Distraction Packs - 90 cards and 9 dividers total.

Each Distraction Pack includes:

• 1 Pack Divider (packs vary by box edition and theme; your cards may be different than the ones shown in the book)
• 1 Pack Card
• 1 Center Card
• 8 Thought Cards

Each Center Card includes a handy reminder of life's most important rule. Don't forget this rule... at least not for very long. Really.

Additional components:

• 8 Awareness Markers (+1 extra)
• 16 Noting Tokens (8 single-sided, 8 double-sided)
• 16 Mind Cards and 1 Divider
• 1 Cloth Bag, for loose component storage or gaming on-the-go
• 1 Cloth Playmat

Setup

We recommend setting up your game in a quiet, peaceful spot free from distractions to enhance your overall experience.

To set up a full game, follow the steps below:

1. Playmat. Place the optional playmat in the center of the play area. The cards and other components will be placed on top of it.
2. Distraction Packs. Select three (3) Distraction Packs to use for this game—we recommend choosing packs that match your mood, thoughts or plans for the day. Prepare each pack separately by setting its Pack and Center cards aside and shuffling its remaining (8) Thought Cards. (Do not shuffle the packs together!)
3. Consciousness Grid. Shuffle the three (3) Center Cards and stack them face down in the center of the play area grid. Draw any combination of eight (8) Thought Cards from the packs chosen in Step 2. Shuffle them together and lay them out face-down around the stack of Center Cards.
4. Timer Deck. Place the remaining Thought Cards from each pack face-down on top of its Pack Card, then stack those packs together. There should be a deck of 19 cards with each Distraction Pack grouped together, split by their Pack Cards. Place this deck to the left of the grid leaving space below it for a discard pile.
5. Mind Deck. Locate the sixteen (16) Mind Cards. Shuffle and randomly rotate the cards, then place the deck face-down to the right of the grid leaving space below it for a discard pile.
6. Awareness Pool. Place the eight (8) Awareness Markers within easy reach near the Mind Deck.
7. Noting Token Pool. Choose whether playing with the single or double-sided Noting Tokens (p.9).
   • If single-sided, place those eight (8) Noting Tokens face-down in a pool within easy reach near the Timer Deck.
   • If double-sided, place those eight (8) Noting Tokens alone in the cloth bag and set it within easy reach near the Timer Deck.

Setup is complete. You are ready to play Nevermind The Distraction!

Setup itself can help set the tone for the experience. Imagine preparing your game as if it were a Japanese tea ceremony—each step taken slowly and purposefully with the mind fully engaged in every action.

Overview

Nevermind The Distraction is a 10-15 minute solitaire card game based on the principles of mindful meditation. During a game (meditation) session the mind will cause thoughts to surface and get increasingly intense—to the point of distraction. The player is tasked with reducing the intensity of these thoughts, thus keeping the mind reined in. The result is a game of tug-of-war occurring in several places at once!

The game's short turns and simple actions cultivate the conditions for a flow state, not unlike what occurs during a meditation. Keeping a steady rhythm and not overthinking the choices can help facilitate such a flow state.

Objective

The goal is to get as many thoughts to their lowest possible intensity while limiting the mind's distractions before time runs out.

A Journey in Stages

The game is presented in increasing levels of complexity, called Stages (p.14), with each new stage unlocked after a perfect—Zen Master—win. You are not required to advance and are free to continue playing at the stage of complexity you most enjoy for as long as you like.

Key Concepts

The Mind vs. The Watcher

In Nevermind The Distraction, as in meditation, The Mind will try to intensify your thoughts until they become distracting, causing time to be wasted. You take on the role of The Watcher, mostly observing thoughts but stepping in to deal with them once they have become distracting.

For gameplay purposes, The Watcher always refers to you, the player, while The Mind is your tug-of-war opponent.

In meditation it is unnecessary to think of the mind as an adversary, but can be helpful to think of it as a separate individual part of you, like a hand. Though it is a part of you, your hand doesn't define you. This can also be said of your mind.

The Meditating Consciousness

The 3x3 grid in the center of the play area represents the meditating consciousness. Each of the eight spaces around the perimeter are for different thoughts that may arise during your meditation session.

Each thought in the consciousness grid is collectively represented by a Thought Card and the Noting Token next to it.

Intensity Levels

Each of these thoughts occur in varying levels of intensity indicated by the Thought Card's side (face-up or down) and the location of its Awareness Marker - see diagram below.

Thought intensity levels, from the Watcher's goal (least intense) to the Mind's goal (most intense), with tug-of-war in between:

• Released - Card face-down, Awareness Marker on card.
• Subliminal - Card face-down, no Awareness Marker. With or without a Noting Token.
• Acknowledged - Card face-down, Awareness Marker on Noting Token.
• Thought - Card face-up, Awareness Marker on Noting Token.
• Distraction - Card face-up, Awareness Marker on card.

Mind Cards / Deck

Mind Cards indicate which thought will be intensified each round by pointing to the matching location in the consciousness grid. When the Mind Deck is empty, rotate some of its cards randomly while shuffling to reset the deck.

The filled-in dots on the Mind Cards are not used until Stage Five (p.16).

Training the mind with the mind can feel counter-intuitive, even uncomfortable at times—like trying to taste your own tongue.

Timer Deck / "Time Passes"

When instructed that Time Passes (p.11-12), discard one (1) card face-down from the Timer Deck. Both Mind and Watcher actions can cause time to pass.

When the Timer Deck is empty, the game ends immediately (p.13).

Pack Cards help with deck organization but are treated the same as other cards in the Timer Deck during gameplay.

This is a normal part of the process and a sign you are on the right track. Keep going!

Active Thoughts / Cards

A card that is available for a Watcher Action is considered active. Active thoughts have an Awareness Marker on the card's art side or on its Noting Token (Subliminal and Released cards are not active).

A thought may only be activated once per round, so a thought intensified during the Mind Phase (showing on the top of the Mind Deck's discard) is no longer active, and not available for a Watcher Action the same round—unless there are no other active thoughts.

Center Card / Focused

The Center Card does not have Intensity Levels.

A Center Card with an Awareness Marker on it is considered both Focused and active until the Awareness Marker is removed.

Awareness Markers / Stolen Focus

When The Mind intensifies Subliminal to Thought, the Awareness Marker is always taken from the Center Card, if possible. This is called Stolen Focus. If the Center is not Focused, the marker is taken from the Awareness pool.

Noting is a technique used in meditation in which a distraction is acknowledged and then briefly 'labeled' in a general way before returning the attention to the breath. This helps cultivate objectivity and can lead to valuable insights about the mind.

Noting Tokens

Noting Tokens pair up with Thought Cards to represent the type of thought: Remembering, Thinking, Feeling, or Anticipating.

Noting Tokens allow for some flexibility in play-style. During setup, the player chooses to play with either the single or double-sided tokens:

• Single-sided tokens, used for simpler play, are drawn blindly from the face-down pool, then placed face-up next to the new thought.
• Double-sided tokens, used for a more mindful and personalized game, are drawn blindly from the bag, the player then choosing which side best signifies what that card's imagery means to them.

A Noting Token is assigned when a New Thought (p.10) is first revealed. In Stage One, the difference in Noting Tokens is purely thematic. In more advanced stages, they represent different strategic challenges—each type of thought having a unique impact on gameplay (p.14).

Gameplay

Though this game has been designed to provide a faithful introduction to meditation, it isn't intended to be an accurate simulation. True meditation is much less result-oriented, focusing mainly on observation and (self) awareness.

The game is played across a series of consecutive rounds, each round consisting of a Mind Phase and a Watcher Phase.

The following rules—thru page 13—describe STAGE ONE - BEGINNER'S MIND. Later stages of gameplay (p.14-18) may alter these base rules.

Mind Phase

Skipped the first round.

1. Flip the top Mind Card face-up onto its discard.
2. Find the card in the grid matching the space shown and Increase its Intensity (p.11).

Edge case: If there are no active thoughts (the eight cards around the grid are either Subliminal or Released and the Center Card is not Focused): If the Mind is blocked by a Released card (p.11), increase any Subliminal card to Thought intensity as if the Mind Card just had.

New Thoughts

When the Mind focuses on a card that has not yet been revealed (Subliminal with no Noting Token):

Increase its Intensity level directly to Thought:

• Flip the card face-up.
• Place a Noting Token from the pool or bag (p.9) in the space next to the card.
• Place an Awareness Marker on the Noting Token—drawn from pool unless Center is Focused (p.9).

The goal during meditation is not to stop ourselves from thinking, or even from becoming distracted, but to learn to recognize when we have, and to train ourselves to let go and focus on the present moment.

Increase Intensity

Find the indicated card's current Intensity Level below and take the action shown to increase its intensity:

• Released intensity is locked at the lowest level and cannot be increased (later stages may alter this rule (p.14)). Proceed to the Watcher Phase.
• Subliminal intensity is increased directly to Thought by flipping the card face-up and placing an Awareness Marker on its Noting Token—Marker is drawn from pool unless Center is Focused (p.9).
• Acknowledged intensity is increased to Thought by flipping the card face-up.
• Thought intensity is increased to Distraction by moving the Awareness Marker from its Noting Token onto the card. Then, Time Passes (p.8).
• Distraction is the highest intensity level and cannot be increased further. Time Passes (p.8).

Watcher Phase

Focus mainly on the breath while letting thoughts come and go in the background. Observe them but don't run away with them. Eventually, you will get distracted. Notice when this happens, acknowledge it and let go, returning your attention to your breath. This is meditation.

Choose an active card (p.8) and take the appropriate Watcher Action (below) to reduce it by one intensity level. Limit one action per round.

If the Center Card is Focused—an Awareness Marker on it (p.9)—you must take the LET GO Watcher Action.

Watcher Actions

• Notice - A card with the Distraction intensity is reduced to Thought by moving the Awareness Marker from the card onto its Noting Token.
• Acknowledge - A card with the Thought intensity is reduced to Acknowledged by flipping the card face-down.
• Focus - A card with the Acknowledged intensity is reduced to Subliminal by moving the Awareness Marker from its Noting Token to the Center Card. The Center Card is now Focused.
• Let Go - A card with the Subliminal intensity and a Noting Token is reduced to Released by moving the Awareness Marker from the Focused Center Card to the Subliminal card's back. Then, Time Passes (p.8).

Game End and Scoring

The game ends once the Timer Deck is empty or all cards are Released. Then, flip the Center (breathe) Card over and gain 1 point toward your final score below.

Congratulations on remaining diligent and seeing your meditation through to the end! Take a moment to appreciate this achievement!

In meditation, there are no good or bad results and no such things as winning or losing.

Scoring

Add up the total number of Released cards—plus the 1 point for diligence (above)—then subtract any Distractions.

If the resulting number is more than zero: Congratulations, The Watcher Wins!

Look up your score on the Path to Enlightenment chart to find your rank:

Score	Rank
9	Zen Master - Lighting the Path
6 - 8	Priest - Teaching the Path
4 - 5	Monk - Walking the Path
1 - 3	Initiate - The Way to the Path
-2 - 0	Asleep - Awakening Comes
-4 - -3	Adrift - Surfing Many Realities
-6 - -5	Afraid - My Mind is Me

Zen Master Win

Score is 9. If all eight thoughts are Released, this is considered a perfect win! If you are comfortable with your skills at this point, you may now advance to the next Stage (p.14).

Try to let go of a strong intention to win, keep a curious, open mind and play just to see what happens.

Putting the Game Away

The Pack Cards in the Timer Deck have kept the cards separated by Distraction Pack, making it easier to put the Timer cards back into their respective packs. Refer to the Pack dividers for help if needed.

Continuing the Journey

Before advancing to later stages, we suggest waiting until you are comfortable enough with the current rules that you're able to enter a flow state during play.

Beginner's Mind is just the... beginning. Each time you achieve a Zen Master win (p.13), if you are comfortable with your abilities and would like a greater challenge, you are free to proceed to the next Stage.

Stage Two - Vigilance

From this Stage on, the game is played with these additional rules:

If all eight (8) Thought Cards have Awareness Markers on them—either Released or Distraction intensity—and you did not earn a Zen Master Win: The game ends immediately! The score is not tallied. The Mind wins.

Stage Three - Monkey Mind

In these later stages, the activity leans slightly more gamified, and strays further from representation of true meditation.

From this Stage on, the game is played with these additional rules:

• Released cards with this Noting Token are no longer locked. A Mind action here intensifies it directly to Thought unless both cards immediately adjacent are also Released.

Diagram: a Mind Card is drawn and points to a Released card with this Noting Token. If both adjacent cards are Released, that card is safe (not intensified); otherwise it is intensified to Thought.

Stage Four - Life Is Now

It can be tempting to get caught up in planning for better days or dwelling on what could have been, but life occurs only in the present moment. Since the past and future don't exist outside the mind, why spend all of our time there?

From this Stage on, the game is played with these additional rules:

When a Mind Card points to a card with the Distraction intensity and one of these Noting Tokens—Remembering or Anticipating—first Time Passes (p.8). Then:

The Mind's focus continues on to the next card—clockwise for Anticipating / counter-clockwise for Remembering—passing through any with the Distraction intensity:

• If the next card is Released, nothing happens and the Mind Phase ends.
• If the next card is not Released, Increase its Intensity following all normal rules (p.11), then the Mind Phase ends.

Cards intensified by this second Mind action are not considered to have been activated (p.8), and are available for a Watcher Action in the next phase. It is suggested that each Noting Token be rotated to point in the direction it will send the Mind's focus to help with visualization.

Diagram: for a counter-clockwise Remembering token, Time Passes, then the mid-left card becomes a Distraction, so Time Passes again. For a clockwise Anticipating token, Time Passes, the Mind focus passes through the middle Distraction then stops at the Released card.

Stage Five - Deep Breath

From this Stage on, the game is played with these additional rules:

Each time the Mind Deck is depleted during normal play, you may choose to add one of the three Center Cards from the grid into the Mind Deck while shuffling. Limit twice per game.

There must be at least one (1) Released card to take a Deep Breath.

During play, whenever "breathe" is revealed (the next card in the Mind Deck), first take the normal action indicated by the Mind Card just drawn, then decide whether or not to take the Deep Breath action:

• No - Proceed to the Watcher Phase. On the next Mind turn discard this Center Card as if it were a Mind Card—no Mind action is taken.
• Yes - (verify at least 1 Released card) Remove the newly revealed Center Card from the game, then start the Deep Breath action.

During actual meditation, avoid intentionally taking any specific type of breath. The point is to observe the breath, not influence it.

Deep Breath Action

1. Choose a card with the Released intensity and move its Awareness Marker to the grid's Center Card (like a FOCUS action).
2. Count all of the cards with Distraction and Released intensity and draw up to that many cards from the Mind Deck into your hand—keeping their orientation the same (do not rotate them).
3. Play each card by taking the following steps in order: a. Mind Focus Step - Locate the Mind focused card on the grid:
   • If the Mind focus is on a Released card: Take any single available NOTICE or ACKNOWLEDGE action on the grid.
   • If the Mind focus is on a Distraction: Time Passes (p.8).
   • If neither of the above are true: Discard this Mind Card. b. Noting Focus Step - Locate the Noting focus on the Mind Card: If the token at the Noting focus location has the same icon as the one at the Mind focus location, change that card to Thought intensity. Discard this Mind Card.

Cards in hand may be played in any order but each card must be fully played—both steps taken—before moving to the next card.

4. Clean Up - Once all Mind Cards in hand are played, the Center Awareness Marker is moved back to its original card; Time Passes.

Example Deep Breath (p.17), as captioned: a Released Awareness is moved to Center. Four total Distraction / Released cards, so the player draws three cards into the Deep Breath hand. Card 2 is played first: Time Passes, then Match! and the top-left card becomes Thought. Card 3 is played second: No Match!, so a NOTICE action at the bottom-middle. Card 1 is played third and skipped: not Distraction or Released, so discard. Clean Up: move the Awareness back and Time Passes.

The breath is the perfect focus for meditation practice because it is always with us.

Stage Six - Can't Shake the Feeling

Emotions are handled the same as other thoughts. All there is to do is notice when they have carried you off, acknowledge it and let go.

From this Stage on, the game is played with these additional rules:

Once a card with this heart-icon Noting Token has the Distraction intensity, The Watcher's NOTICE Action cannot be used on it. The Distraction intensity on these cards can only be reduced as part of a successful DEEP BREATH Action (p.16).

Super Monkey-Mind Variant

Like Daniel-san in The Karate Kid, it turns out you weren't just flipping cards and moving markers all summer, you were also learning to meditate!

If you find Nevermind The Distraction is not enough of a challenge at Stage Six, consider playing with the following variant:

During the Mind Phase, after taking the Mind action, additionally take a second Mind action as follows:

Use the Noting Focus (p.17) to find the Noting Token type (Thinking, Feeling, etc.) and take another Mind action on any card (player's choice) with a matching Noting Token icon.

Visit www.nevermindcardgame.com for additional stages and variants.

Putting It All Together

Try using the names of components and actions to internally "narrate" what you are doing as you play. This can help develop a subconscious skill set to use inside your head during an actual meditation session!

"I notice that the mind has distracted me with feelings about the rainforest..."

To meditate for real, just close your eyes, focus on your breath, pretend any thoughts are cards and... keep playing.

Additional Resources

Meditation encompasses a wide range of styles and techniques, reflecting the diversity of cultures it has touched across the centuries. If you desire to learn more about the practice, you are sure to find a style that suits your circumstance. These are a few of the many resources the designer has found helpful during the journey into mindful meditation.

Books:

• The Mind Illuminated by John Yates
• Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
• Mindfulness in Plain English by Henepola Gunaratana
• Works by Thich Nhat Hanh, Alan Watts and Eckhart Tolle

Online:

• Mindful.org
• Freemindfulness.org
• Ten Percent Happier Podcast

Apps:

• Calm
• Headspace (inspired this game)

Quick Reference

Pair with the chart on the back of the Beginner's Mind Guide.

Round sequence

1. Mind Phase (skipped round 1) - Draw Mind Card and Intensify.
2. Watcher Phase - Choose an active card and take the Watcher Action to reduce its intensity. (If Center is Focused, you must take the LET GO action.)

Active (Watcher Action is available)

• Acknowledged, Thought, Distraction, and Focused Center.

Not active (Watcher Action is not available)

• Subliminal, Released.
• Card The Mind just intensified.

Time Passes (discard from Timer Deck) when:

• The Mind causes a Distraction.
• The Mind tries to intensify an existing Distraction.
• After the LET GO Action.

Awareness / Stolen Focus - When a new Awareness Marker is needed, it is always pulled from the Center if possible.

End game and scoring

• Game ends when Timer is empty.
• Flip Center and +1 to Score.
• Count all Released and subtract any Distractions for Score.
• Zen Master win advances Stage.

Often forgotten rules

• Time Passes on a LET GO.
• Cannot act on the same card as The Mind that round.
• Must take LET GO action if Center is Focused.

Noting Tokens indicate the type of thought: Remembering, Thinking, Feeling, Anticipating.