The game guide · Empathy
How to play Collect the Listening Cues
Collect listening cues while letting assumptions drift past. Collect the marked good symbols while leaving distractors alone. This short collecting challenge uses a clear visual rule and a themed invitation to choose what deserves your attention.
Your starting point
Collect listening cues while letting assumptions drift past.
The rules
Tap or collect the marked good symbols as they fall. Avoid the distractor symbols. Follow the on-screen legend and feedback until the round ends.
A helpful approach
Read the symbol legend before starting, then focus on the marked good objects. Let a difficult catch pass rather than reaching for every moving thing. Notice the difference between the information you have been given and the story you might be assuming around it.
After the game
What is worth giving attention to, and what could you comfortably let pass today? What respectful question could help you understand someone’s experience without deciding their feelings or needs for them?
There is no need to turn a small moment into a perfect performance. Play again if you want to explore it, or leave it here and take the thought into your day.
The feeling behind it
Listen before deciding what someone must feel. Make room for a perspective that is different from your own.
A women’s storytelling tradition inspires attention to perspective. These games are original and do not reproduce Hikaye tales.
Read our empathy story, inspired by Palestinian Hikaye in Palestine. The UNESCO: The Palestinian Hikaye provides the source context.
Share the invitation
I am here to listen, without writing your story for you. Try Collect the Listening Cues with me, if you fancy a little empathy today.
If someone comes to mind, send them a game they might enjoy. Add your own words, let them choose whether to play, and keep private details out of a public link.