The game guide · Empathy
How to play Two Sides to Notice
Match words that make room for another person’s account. Turn over word cards and discover four matching pairs. This short memory round connects familiar words with a small reflection, using a shared arrangement for this challenge.
Your starting point
Match words that make room for another person’s account.
The rules
Turn over two cards at a time. Match all four identical word pairs. Remember where each word appeared and try again after a mismatch.
A helpful approach
Look at the positions as well as the words. After a mismatch, remember one useful location before choosing the next two cards. Notice the difference between the information you have been given and the story you might be assuming around it.
After the game
Which word stayed with you after the cards were matched? 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 Two Sides to Notice 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.