Why Conversation Cards Are Everywhere—and How We're Making Them Accessible to All

Something remarkable is happening in the world of human connection. While we spend more time than ever on screens, there's a parallel movement gaining momentum: people are turning to structured conversation tools—card decks, question sets, guided dialogues—to rediscover the art of meaningful talk.

The numbers tell a compelling story. Pip Decks, a UK company selling workshop facilitation cards, has sold over 250,000 decks at roughly $260 each—to teams at Google, Microsoft, and Apple. The Gottman Institute's free card deck app has been downloaded by millions of couples seeking deeper connection. A simple search for "therapy card games" on Amazon returns over a thousand results.

This isn't a fad. It's a recognition of something profound: most of us were never taught how to have meaningful conversations. We know how to make small talk, how to argue, how to scroll past each other on social media. But the conversations that build intimacy, resolve conflict, spark creativity, and foster understanding? Those require intention. Structure. The right questions.

The Science Behind the Cards

The modern conversation card movement has deep roots in psychological research. In 1997, Arthur Aron and his colleagues demonstrated that 36 carefully sequenced questions could make strangers feel as close as lifelong friends—in just 45 minutes. That research spawned countless applications and inspired a generation of relationship tools.

John and Julie Gottman, drawing from decades of research in their famous "Love Lab," translated their findings into practical tools that couples could use at home. "We needed a way to translate our interventions into ways that couples could take them home," Julie Gottman explained, "without their therapist going home with them."

Positive psychology researchers like Martin Seligman and Ilona Boniwell developed strengths-based approaches, leading to card decks that help people identify and leverage their character strengths. VIA Institute created tools around the 24 universal character strengths. Whole Person Associates developed therapeutic card games for mental health professionals.

The Landscape Today

The conversation card market has exploded into a diverse ecosystem serving different needs at vastly different price points:

Each of these serves a valuable purpose. Pip Decks helps facilitators run better workshops. VIA cards help coaches explore character strengths. Gottman's app helps couples connect. They're all doing important work.

But as I surveyed this landscape, a question kept nagging at me.

Who Gets Left Out?

The tools that transform Fortune 500 teams, that therapists use with clients paying premium fees, that executive coaches deploy in corporate settings—these same tools remain out of reach for most of the world.

Most card decks offer 50 to 150 questions, focused on a single domain: couples, or therapy, or business facilitation. If you want comprehensive coverage of human flourishing, you'd need to buy dozens of different products from different companies, spending thousands.

This struck me as fundamentally wrong.

The science of meaningful conversation shouldn't be locked behind price barriers. The questions that help executives lead better could help parents raise children better. The prompts that therapists use could benefit anyone seeking self-understanding. The frameworks that Fortune 500 companies pay consultants to facilitate could transform community gatherings.

A Different Approach

FlourishTalk was built on a radical premise: what if we made all of it accessible to everyone?

Twenty years of positive psychology research from Stellenbosch University's FlourishWell4Life program. PERMA wellbeing, VIA character strengths, mental fitness, critical conversations, leadership development, relationship building—all of it, organized into 37 categories with over 23,000 questions.

And here's what matters most: you can access everything, right now, for free.

Why This Matters

I'm not criticizing other providers. Pip Decks creates extraordinary products. Positran's work with Dr. Boniwell is scientifically rigorous. The Gottmans have done more for couples than perhaps anyone alive. These are heroes of mine.

But the conversation card revolution shouldn't only benefit those who can afford premium prices or have access to trained professionals. The teacher facilitating a difficult classroom discussion deserves tools as good as those used in corporate boardrooms. The family navigating conflict deserves the same quality of questions that therapists use. The community trying to bridge divides deserves access to evidence-based dialogue frameworks.

That's why we built FlourishTalk the way we did. Not to compete with existing providers, but to extend their reach. To take the science they've validated and make it available to everyone.

Join the Movement

The conversation card revolution is just beginning. More people than ever are recognizing that meaningful dialogue doesn't happen by accident—it happens by design. With intention. With the right questions.

We're honoured to play a small part in making these tools accessible to everyone, everywhere. Whether you use our free online platform, invest in personalized card decks, or simply take inspiration from the questions we've curated—we hope you'll join us in believing that everyone deserves access to meaningful conversation.

The tools exist. The science is proven. The only question is: who gets to use them?

Our answer: everyone.

With gratitude to all who came before,
Alten
Founder, FlourishTalk