You've Got Questions?
We've Got Answers!

What is the difference between the Professional Version and the Family Version?

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Short answer: the number of cards and the paper material.

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Professional Version has 160+ Scenario Cards and 80+ Discussion Cards; while the Family Version has 41 Scenario Cards and 40 Discussion Cards.

 

Family Version has scenarios that are tailored only toward family dynamics and relationship, while the Professional Version encompasses a wider range of social interactions.

 

Professional Version was made using thicker and sturdier cardboard with a shoulder-and-neck rigid box. Family Version was made using slightly thinner cardboard with a pizza box. 

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Please refer to this chart for reference.

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Where can we get this game?

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Right here! Right now!

Go to our shop to purchase your copy. You will also find us in bookstores, game stores, and toy stores. Here is a list of our Brick and Mortar stores. If you don't see our game in your local stores, let them and us know you'd want us there. 

What makes your game so special?

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What if a game could make children kinder? That's our driver. We needed a way to make learning and developing empathy interesting, so we decided to make it so fun that even parents want to play it.

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Furthermore, it is not only a fun and exciting board game that kids go nuts over but a therapeutic one that professionals use in clinical settings and an educational one that teachers use in educational settings.

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The type of board game that Empower Empathy is stands between a regular board game that is typically priced around $20-$30 and professional therapeutic tools that are priced around $200-$300.

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With the quality materials that we have carefully curated and the sustainable business model we've adapted by using small artisan shops, we could very easily charge $150 for the type of educational tool that Empower Empathy is.

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But we also want our products to be easily accessible to families and every single child at home. We want to make evidence-based strategies apparent and accessible to all. We want to help prevent issues instead of watching people scrambling for solutions while struggling in frustration.

 

Why wait until a real problem exists that would take years in a therapy's chair to resolve when you can prevent it by playing and learning a little bit each day at the leisure of your own time?

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So here it is, Empower Empathy at its best - bridging the best of both worlds of traditional board games and professional therapeutic tools while the price is less than an hour of piano or soccer lesson.

You say your game is about teaching emotional awareness, so how exactly do you do that in the game? 

 

This game is a conglomeration of many different things. First of all, emotions are nothing but a state of mind or an array of facial expressions and bodily gestures IF they are NOT connected to some situations, behaviors, and thought processes. Therefore, in order to fully understand and cognitively process our feelings, we’d need to understand the origins of our emotions. 

 

In Empower Empathy™, we make use of 160+ different scenarios to help process players’ thoughts, feelings, and actions. (We have over 2000+ scenarios in our stockpile for future add-ons!) In addition, we have 80+ discussion questions for players to share openly how they feel about multiple aspects of life. 

But how I feel on certain topics might be different than what you would feel. How do you accommodate that in the game?

 

You’re absolutely right! Everyone’s feelings are unique and different. In other words, given the same encounter, you might feel differently than I do. For example, someone dropped their ice cream on the ground. Some might feel sad because they can’t eat it anymore; some might feel sorry because they had wanted to share but can’t anymore; some might feel angry; some might feel frustrated; some irritated. Everyone is different. And there’s no right answer. That’s why in Empower Empathy™ we ask players to link any given scenarios with any of the 28 emotion cards. Players are encouraged to relate feelings from their own perspectives and from other’s perspectives. 

What about behaviors? Not everyone would react the same way given the same situation, either.

 

Yes, everyone’s actionable approaches to circumstances are also different from one another. So what’s unique about Empower Empathy™ is that we do not provide a “standardized response” (like a SOP), a “how-to-do list,” or a “right answer.” We respect everyone’s individuality and cultural backgrounds, so our game allows the players to “figure out” what they think might be their best course of actions to take. We humbly respect everyone‘s opinions and choices.

How did you decide which emotions to include?

 

Empower Empathy™ is 3 years in the making with a team of psychologists, doctors, educators, counselors, and parents. We’ve exhausted the dictionary and thesaurus to find ALL the emotions, simple and complex, in the English language. We then factor-analyzed to see the main categories that emerged. After that, we painstakingly debated and selected the 28 emotions that are in line with our mission: growth mindset, integrity, grit, responsibility, mindfulness among many others.

How do you incorporate emotional awareness and empathy into the game?

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In order to activate empathy, a person must feel or think similarly as the other person. So the gameplay of Empower Empathy™ encourages the players to name as many emotions that they can think of - this is to encourage the players to consciously make aware of any possible emotions one might feel, not just the players themselves but also from another’s perspectives.

Can you be more specific on how to teach Empathy in the game?

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Amongst the 160+ scenario and 80+ discussion cards, there are many situations where one can exercise their social and communication skills via the awareness of one's own emotional states, boundaries, and behavioral regulation. Empathy is not only limited to having empathetic feelings and actions toward others, but to our own self as well. Although the graphic style of the game is "kiddish" and "cutesy," the situations in the game are all applicable to every aspects of life well into adulthood. For example, one scenario might depict a conflict between siblings with a parent; however, this family dynamic could easily be translated into arguments amongst two coworkers with their boss OR a disagreement amongst a married couple with their in-law. The main point to exercise Empathy is not to have the EXACT same experience with another person in order for the empathetic feelings or actions to occur. When someone broke their bone, it doesn't take the other person to purposefully break their bone in order to understand how the first person might feel. One must see past the current situation and see what the essence of the issue is.

How do you connect emotions with facial expressions or body language in the game?

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In Empower Empathy™, we install a face-off lighting round where the players have to make faces and do body gestures according to the emotion cards that are drawn. This facial mimicry element is installed with the intent not only to make a physical connection to feelings, but also to let the players see each other’s facial and bodily nuances amongst themselves. Plus, it’s silly watching people make faces!

How can parents use Empower Empathy™ to apply in their daily home lives?

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We specifically link each of these 28 emotions with a mini-inspirational lesson in our Guidebook for the adults to ponder upon and to help apply in their daily interactions with their children WHEN certain emotions or circumstances arise. In other words, when you feel a certain emotion, there’s a lesson to be learned, a chance to shape your value system, an opportunity to change for the better. We want our players to process their thoughts-feelings-actions with a growth mindset and mindfulness. What lessons can we learn here even if it’s a negative emotion? What can we do to problem-solve effectively given this situation? How can we help one another with compassion and without judgement?

Can Empower Empathy™ be used for special needs individuals?

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Absolutely! 

 

Other than being utilized extensively as an essential tool for countless mental health practitioners and educators,  professionals and families with neurodiversity, special education, speech pathology, English-as-second-language learner, and occupational therapy love to learn and play with Empower Empathy™ .  

So you’re saying Empower Empathy™ is not just a game?

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It's a game to play for fun. It's also a pretend play being superheroes who defeat the villain and save the day. And it can even be played competitively, if not cooperatively.

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And you're right that Empower Empathy™ is more than just a game. Empower Empathy™ seeps in the most important lesson for us mankind, especially in this day and age, empathy. It's packaged and marketed for teaching the kiddos, but it also helps guide the adults to sort out their emotions and model positive behaviors as well. Children learn best from play; children also learn most from imitation. Oftentimes, adults are willing to change for the better for their little ones. And we can only hope our little game can change for a better world, one family and one classroom at a time! 

I'm sold! Do you have a digital or electronic version of this game? I do teletherapy and online consultation so it'd be great if Empower Empathy™ is available in a digital format. 

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You are amazing at what you do to provide mental health assistance to those who don't readily have one nearby. 

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When we first embark on this journey of developing this toolkit, we seriously considered going digital, but with multiple components of the game that requires reading people's faces, we felt it was best to stay with making a physical board game that encourages face-to-face human interactions.

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However, that is not to say that you cannot use Empower Empathy using online technology! What you can do is having two cameras: one that hovering over the entire game board and the other one facing yourself. You may take off the footings from the superheroes and the villain pieces and lay them flat on the board and the street blocks. You will, obviously be rolling the dice, spinning the spin board, flipping over the street blocks and cards, as well as moving the character pieces around yourself. 

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We have had clients and students who equally LOVE this way of playing. Sometimes because this way "seems" digital, they actually play a LOT longer! Email us to let us know how we can best assist you and your clients.​

Is there an adult version of this game?

 

We'll have you know that the current version of the game is actually tailored to adults (whom we hope will garner the skills and use this toolkit to teach and support their children and students).

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This toolkit has been used extensively in professional development, couples counseling, corporate training, and team building activities with great effectiveness for personal development, strengthening relationships, and bringing smiles & laughter. ​

How should we incorporate this toolkit into our family life?

 

When you play the game with your family, because our game allows the flexibility of "no right/wrong answers," this is when you can use the game as a guide to help teach and discuss how you as a family would practice practical safety and communication skills to avoid unwanted situations. Also, as a family, you will gain valuable and perhaps even surprising insights to how each of you "really" think and feel about certain situations and issues. This creates the perfect opportunity for you as a family to discuss what you deem is socially appropriate and what your core values are as a family.

 

Since this is all during game play, there is no added stress of being accused or lectured. You are free to talk about what had happened before and discuss if the outcome was what you desired. With situations that you haven't encountered before, they serve as a cognitive script for what you could possibly do in the future when you actually encounter the issue in real life so you won't be so flustered and jump to a bad choice.

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Set aside a leisure time once a week and have a fun game night. This is one game that would bring people together to grow together and support each other. Be ready to laugh your hearts out and have heart-to-heart conversions that would surprise and touch you!

What other products or services can we expect from you?

 

We're working on ​having expansion packs that tailor to teenagers, couples, and work settings. An App, a Goobi plush, and picture books are also in the works as shown here.

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In the meantime, we are also churning out workshops for various target audiences; parents, educators, professionals, and summer camps for youths; as well as other products that are aimed to promote mental health, develop self awareness, and enhance learning capabilities such as growth mindset, resilience, multiple intelligence, etc.

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We're working hard on providing you the best innovative and practical evidence-based solutions. Shoot us an email and let us know what you'd like to see. We'd love to hear from you!

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