Deciding Discussion Starters: Fun with Colored Dice, Bonding Actions, and App Tools
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One fun and meaningful way to decide who begins the discussion in a Curious Souls Cafe event is to use the colored dice. This article discusses both the physical dice and the virtual dice roller on the Curious Souls Cafe web app.
As discussed in our Event Structure article, to enhance bonding, participants can be grouped into different teams if there are enough people (e.g., 2-3 participants per team for a total of 5-9 people). These teams are often associated with one of the following colors: blue, yellow, or red (as these are the fixed, predefined colors on the virtual dice roller).
Our facilitator decides which team or individual starts first. For example, the person who arrives first at the event may be given the opportunity to roll a colorful dice below and decide whether to use a dice with stripes (punishment) or one without. The result of the roll determines who begins the discussion (e.g., the yellow team). The selected individual or team starts the discussion by answering their chosen question first, followed by others in turn. The person asking the question decides the direction in which the discussion will proceed (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise).
To achieve this purpose, we may create a colored dice, or use the virtual dice roller on our web app, for making the decision based on the result of a dice roll:
🔵 Blue: Pick people in the blue team to initiate a group discussion.
🟡 Yellow: Pick people in the yellow team to initiate a group discussion.
🔴 Red: Pick people in the red team to initiate a group discussion.
A standard six-sided colored dice (also known as a D6) looks like the one in the picture above.
Although there are six sides, each dice only contains three colors: blue, yellow, and red. One of the two sides of the same color can optionally be striped to enable meaningful “punishments,” aiming to make the session more engaging and interesting.
A Twist: The Striped Dice and Meaningful 'Punishment'
Consider this example. On the left is a striped dice designed for the variation of our game where meaningful “punishment” is enabled. On the right is a meaningful action prompt, or “punishment” card. These cards facilitate bonding and encourage meaningful actions, such as the example shown in the picture: “Write down one thing you want to manifest this year and date it. Compare.” (Note: we are not affiliated with the product.)
If a team rolls the dice and it shows stripes (like the red side of the dice above), they need to draw a punishment card and work on it together before discussing the next question. In the current example, the dice roll shows a blue side without stripes, meaning no punishment is required. (This dice also has a blue side with stripes to “punish” the blue team, just as it has one red/yellow side with stripes and one without.)
The collaboration process facilitates bonding, which solidifies common ground before proceeding with further discussion.
Note: Using the striped dice for meaningful actions (or “punishment”) is entirely optional. Feel free to skip directly to the discussion once a dice is rolled and a color is revealed.
How to Use the Virtual Dice Roller
The virtual dice roller offers a simple and engaging way to decide who starts the discussion, without needing physical dice. To access it within the Curious Souls Cafe web app, simply tap the round floating dice roller icon anywhere at the bottom right corner:
Get the Dice Rolling!
Below is the main interface of the virtual dice roller, where the optional punishment mode (the “Punish” toggle) can be enabled to prompt meaningful actions.
Tap “Roll the Dice” to get the dice rolling!
Let’s give it a try by rolling the virtual dice live here.
Meaningful “Punishment”: Optional Action Prompts for Bonding
Below is an example of a dice roll result.
Since the “Punish” option is enabled and the dice roll result is blue with stripes, a member of the blue team need to tap “Choose Punishment” as follows.
Note: Using the “Punish mode for “punishment” (meaningful actions) is entirely optional. Feel free to skip directly to the discussion once a dice is rolled and a color is revealed.
After tapping “Choose Punishment,” one of the blue team members will need to choose one of the meaningful actions displayed, before proceeding to discuss their chosen question.
Below is an example of the actions. (Feel free to give it a try on the below page, “Action Prompts,” on our live web app here.)
For this example, the actions the blue team members need to collaborate on can be one of the below:
“Let's each make a meaningful commitment to one another.”
“Write a comforting message for each other to read on tough days—it’s a little happiness in waiting.”
Bonus Alternative: Tap-and-Reveal Colors to Kickstart Discussions
Another way that doesn’t require forming teams to decide who starts the discussion first, is to simply ask participants to tap their chosen questions to reveal the color behind them.
Below is an example, where tapping a question reveals its yellow color:
(Feel free to give it a try on the above topic page, “Happiness,” on our live web app here.)
If the color matches the result of a dice roll, people with the virtual question cards of the same colors can start first.
Note:
The colors on the virtual question cards on the app are fixed and predefined: to be either blue, yellow, or red. (Although the colors of the virtual dice roller can be adjusted, changes will not be reflected on the virtual question cards.)
Go Back to the Topic Page
Once the group is done with using the dice, tap the “Back” button at the bottom left corner to go back to the previous page:
The “Back” button is available for both the app pages of virtual dice roller and punishment actions.
Curious Souls Café aims to foster a collaborative and reflective environment, where individuals engage in a process of shared experience, dialogue, and reflection, and are invited to share perspectives to create meaning and build connections.
Most of the things discussed on this page are flexible and can be adjusted according to the meeting requirements.
To explore further what our events are like, you can browse some of our past meetings archived at curioussoulscafe.substack.com/archive.