The Clarification Game

Das Klärungsspiel was created by Petra Kumm, an NVC trainer and teacher from Bremen who spent more than five years developing and repeatedly refining it. It is intended for situations in which a conflict or problem is clearly on the table and you want to use Nonviolent Communication to find a way through it together, even if you are only just beginning with NVC.

The set contains two DIN A3 cardboard game boards that guide you through four steps: ‘What happened’ (observation), ‘This is how I feel’ (feelings), ‘This is important to me’ (needs) and ‘What happens next?’ (request). It also includes two sets, each with 18 feelings cards, 18 needs cards and four request cards, as well as detailed instructions.

On the front, each feelings card shows a facial expression with a sentence such as ‘I am sad’. The reverse lists related feeling words, for sadness, for example, downcast, hurt, disappointed, unhappy, depressed or desperate. The needs cards are structured in a similar way: the need words are arranged in groups, and each card bears an image representing that group’s core need.