Beautiful Dixit cards as a diverse tool for trainers to use in get-to-know, teambuilding, storytelling and many more contexts
Created by a child psychiatrist, Dixit is a communication game with beautiful artistic cards. The goal of the original game is to choose associations for the cards that at least some of your co-players will guess, but the real beauty of the game lies in its versatility, making Dixit cards a great tool for many trainers.
Each pack of Dixit cards includes 84 evocative images and they can be used in many creative ways. Some of the more straightforward ones are in storytelling, presentation skills, self-awareness development and team building. They can also be used for goal setting, personal planning or anything else where the power of visualization and imagination can be beneficial.
Dixit cards are also great for getting-to-know-you and icebreaker activities, encouraging sharing with a visual prompt. Because of their dreamlike artwork, the cards can be inspiring, playful, stimulating and even relaxing.
Story Time
Have participants pull out a random card and tell a story about it. You can set a time limit for the story (e.g. 3 or 5 minutes) or give complete freedom to the storyteller.
To make it more challenging or encourage more creativity, the same can be done with 3 random cards.
If you prefer to make it a team effort, have each participant in a group of 3 or 4 pull out a random card. Their group goal is to collectively build a story using their cards. For an additional challenge, they can do it in silence, using only non-verbal communication. After a certain time (set by you) or once they have agreed on a story, they line up according to their story order and tell their part of the story one after another.
good for: storytelling, icebreaker activities, teamwork
Answer a Question
Each participant chooses one card and shares why they chose it as an answer to one of the following questions (depending on your goals, training topic and timing of the exercise):
“How am I feeling at this very moment?”
“What would I like to be?”
“What do I fear the most?”
“How was/is this event for me?”
“Which card do I relate to the most?”
good for: icebreaker activities, getting feedback, sharing
Prompt a Solution
When faced with an issue, use one or several of the cards as random stimuli to generate more ideas. You can pull out a card and think of ways it is related to the problem, or think how the card can be presented as a solution.
good for: brainstorming, problem solving, ideation
Storytellers & Artists
Choose one person who will be the «storyteller», with all the other ones taking the role of «artists». The storyteller chooses or is given a card and has to describe it for the artists to draw the image following the description. You can allow or forbid the artists from asking additional questions. This activity can also be done in pairs, with the storyteller and the artist sitting back to back.
good for: teamwork, communication, challenging assumptions
Action Plans
When used for closure of a training or an event, participants can choose a card representing them or their actions in the future, creating anchors for their action plans.
good for: goal setting, inspiration, visualization
Agile Dixit
Dixit cards can also be used with agile teams during retrospectives. Each team member chooses a card representing something that happened during the sprint, and other team members write what they think the card represents.
Find more instructions by Chris Sims at the link: http://www.agilelearninglabs.com/2013/07/dixit-sprint-retrospective-game/
good for: creative thinking, goal setting
Currently there are three editions that include the whole playing set for the actual game (Dixit, Dixit Odyssey and Dixit Journey) and additional expansion packs containing 84 cards each:
Dixit Odyssey (expansion) (same cards as Dixit Odyssey)
Dixit Quest (Dixit 2)
Dixit 3: Journey (same cards as Dixit: Journey)
Dixit: Origins (Dixit 4)
Dixit: Daydreams (Dixit 5)
Dixit: Memories (Dixit 6)
Dixit: Revelations (Dixit 7)
Many of these games can be done with a set of diverse printed photos or even art personally drawn on cards.
P.S. Not sure which edition to start with?
Our personal favorites are the Odyssey and Origins editions – just beautiful!
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