The Genesis Card Games are

- help you to see subtle connections between the Genesis cards and your own art

- create a relaxed atmosphere before doing art or other activities

- for ESL students and teachers (visual tool to develop speaking skills and vocabulary

- for relaxation by yourself or with others

- for building team spirit

- for problem-solving

- for brain-storming

- for oral and written story telling

- for opening up communication in classroom or therapeutic settings

THE 3 GUESSING GAMES THAT FOLLOW (HAND SETS, TABLE SETS and SLAP ME DOWN) familiarize you with the Genesis Card deck, its labels and imagery. Divide the deck evenly so that all players get same number of cards. Get ready to turn over a card but before doing so shout out a word–for instance, sky, red, house, flower. Then turn over your card and see if the word you just said can be found in the card. Player who wins get to keep card, otherwise the card is returned to the bottom of the deck.

1) HAND SETS

Each player receives 5 cards face down.

Decide who will go first.

The first player puts down a set from the 5 cards. A set consists of 2 of a maximum of 3 cards with strong similarities.

For instance: Three people match with three dolphins. A sunny sky matches the smiling sun in the Healing card. A large hand matches a card with small hands.

State what your set is, put them in a separate pile, then replace this set with new cards in order to maintain 5 cards in hand.

The next player puts down a set, then chooses a card.

The game proceeds until all the cards are used up from the stack.

The game has several variations.

Longer version: try with one deck each per player.

2) TABLE SETS

Objective: To have fun with your intuition and sharpen your confidence to guess what’s under the cards without seeing

The same game as HAND SETS but played with all the Genesis cards laid out on a table face down.

Each player takes a turn by flipping over 2 cards to make “sets.” If you make a match, you can have another turn.

As with HAND SETS, a match is made when you see spirals, the sun, hands, red dots . . . or anything else that you can see the same in both cards.

3) SLAP ME DOWN COLORS

Objective: To have fun with your intuition and sharpen your confidence to guess what’s under the cards without seeing

In this guessing game, each player has a set of 44 cards or half the deck with 22 each.

Without looking each player simultaneously slaps down a card while calling out a color.

If your card matches the color you called out, you get to keep the card. The player with the most matched cards wins.

Advanced Version of SLAP ME DOWN (recommended for players familiar with the imagery on the Genesis Cards)

Call out two colors instead of one; or call out shapes, such as circles, squares and spirals or other natural elements such as stars, sun, flowers . . .

4) IT’S ELEMENTAL

Object of the game: To name as many elements on a card as possible.

ESL learning skills: speaking, reading, counting, spelling, object recognition, vocabulary building.

How to Play: With cards face up, each player takes a turn choosing a card and calling out as many elements as they can find. For instance, shapes, colors, body parts, clothes, accessories, anything that can be seen in the picture.

Score card: Keep track of the elements by writing down what is seen.

5) WHAT”S ON TOP

Object: To score by choosing cards with the most happening on top.

Learning skills: Speaking, object recognition, vocabulary building

How to Play: With cards face down, each player takes a turn choosing a card and describing as many things happening in the upper third of the picture as they can see.

Player can either say what they see, or to gain “points,” write down everything seen in the top portion of the card.

The game is over when there are no cards left.

Variation: Same game can be played with WHAT”S IN THE MIDDLE and WHAT’S ON TOP.

6) SOLITAIRE: PYRAMID

Make a pyramid out of the Genesis cards by placing the cards in horizontal rows until you come up with a pyramid in these categories:

Sky, Water, Mountains, Buildings, Green Places, Animals.

Variation: Make your own categories to create a beautiful pyramid

7) I AM

Object: Good for conversation building, vocabulary building, friendships, breaking down communication barriers etc.

How to Play: Take a deck of Genesis Cards and put in the center of the table between players.

One player or all players can take turns flipping over the cards and saying something about the card that relates to themselves.

The answers can be true, fun, silly, and as short or long as you like. For instance: After picking the Angels card would say: I am an Angel when I . . . .

STORYBOOK

Object: To make a story from the imagination and then illustrate it. Can be played by children from elementary school age up.

Select five cards randomly and arrange in any order you like to create a story. This tale can be fun, fantasy-filled and silly if you like.

Or it can be a hero’s rich adventure.

Each player has five-ten minutes to come up with the story and talk about it. Afterwards, all players write the stories down.

Finally, take out art supplies and create an illustration of your story.

9) COLOR GRID

Object: To understand how you and your partners make unique color associations that guide the influence you see the world.

Take the Genesis Cards and make into a grid of 11 cards across and 4 cards down. Arrange the cards by colors to make a pattern that feels logical to you.

9) NUMBERS

Object: To build sequences of consecutive numbers.

Each player is handed 7 cards from the Genesis deck.

The remaining cards are placed in the center of the table.

Each player takes a turn selecting a card from the center until a numerical sequence is made, such as 2 Animal Wisdom followed by 3 Angels.

Put these cards down and continue playing until one player has made their sequences and is out of cards.

10) HISTORY OF MY LIFE (2 or more people)

The Genesis Cards can be used to capture in pictures the highlights of your life from birth to your current age now.

Spread the cards out so that you can see them all and very quickly while thinking about various key points in your life.

Pull the card that most matches that period.

Use as many cards as you need to express your story.

Talk about your life through your card choices, explaining what happened at these various stages of your life through the imagery on the cards.

11) SEVENS (2 or more people)

What captures your attention? The object of this game is to share with others your unique way of seeing the world by focusing on the number seven and what it means to you.

Choose 7 categories of things that interest you by selecting face up seven Genesis Cards that represent areas of life that are important to you.

You can let others know how you relate to the world around you through discussion.

This is a game that helps you find out the overlap in interests that you share with others.

Hint: Seven is a powerful number associated with completion: is the 7 days of the week, the 7 notes of the musical scale, the 7 temperaments, the 7 colors of the rainbow. What other associations come to you with the number 7?

12) COUNTING GAME (a fun counting game to do with young children)

Each player gets a stack of cards so that all the cards are evenly divided among players.

At the word “go” players turn over the card on the top of their stack and the card with the highest number “wins”. A winner takes the other players’ cards.

13) GENESIS BINGO (great for parties!)

Photocopy 8 Genesis cards at a time. Make each page different to create as many variations as you need for the number of players attending.

Hand out the pages to everyone. Shuffle the cards. Call out the card name.

Put a nut, raisin, candy, cookie or other small treat on your sheet when your card is called.

When a player makes a row or fills the cards first, everyone gets to eat their markers.

Please enjoy these free Genesis Card games. Don’t have a deck of cards yet? We can ship sets of Genesis Cards anywhere in the world for ¥3,000 ($30) plus shipping. To place an order: http://www.genesiscards.com/purchase-genesis-intuitive-art-cards/ Thanks for choosing the Genesis Cards.