When I was in college I worked at the school library and one of my many tasks was to take items slated for destruction (books, or in this case a board game) down to the dumpster. Sometimes I couldn’t resist saving things from destruction and Group Therapy: Is It Really A Game? was one of those things. So I immediately took it home and we decided to play it that night which was disastrous.

So the point of Group Therapy: Is It Really A Game? is you start here on “Hung Up” and you’ve gotta groove your way over to “Free.” Now the only way to move is to draw cards that have really touchy feely, just shockingly intimate (particularly for 19 to 22 year old college students), things like “Ask someone to hold you and rock you, give yourself to the experience. Look into someone else’s eyes for about a minute, and then tell them what you’re feeling.” This was a favorite; “The group will surround you in an interlocked circle. You must get out of the circle fairly.”

Now in theory this sounds like an awesome game. But in practice it really kinda wasn’t. What we kinda learned about each other was, “Hey we really don’t know a lot about each other and not only that but we’re utterly unwilling to learn.” […] It was a delightful experience. I recommend all of you look up Group Therapy: Is It Really A Game?

This belongs in the Museum of Forbidden Objects that Men Fear to Tread

Exhibited by Dave Ruthenberg

Transcript edited by Sarah Crawford