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The New Game from Esther Perel
(We Cannot Stop Playing)

You’re welcome. Play this chicly boxed, enchanting new game—invented during the pandemic by psychotherapist, sex and relationship expert, author, and podcaster Esther Perel—on a date night or during a boisterous friends-or-family get-together and you’ll laugh your way to deepening your sense of connection with the people you love best.

It’s called Where Should We Begin? A Game of Stories, and the idea is simple. It’s a series of prompts and questions to ask one another that spark real revelation—and thus conversation (and, often, hilarity). “The last thing I looked at that I wasn’t supposed to…,” “I feel most attractive when…,” “I think the concept of marriage is…,” and hundreds of other really good prompts spur surprising answers from even the people you think you know through and through. (Perel, whose wildly popular podcast is also called Where Should We Begin?, vetted them exhaustively with a who’s-who list of therapists, thinkers, and friends.)

Perel says that stories are essential to our relationships. “The pandemic left us missing intimacy and play. The game is designed to help us connect and reconnect in a time of social atrophy.”


  1. Esther Perel
    WHERE SHOULD WE BEGIN – A GAME OF STORIES
    goop, $40

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We’ve been playing it with everyone we know—family, friends, and romantic partners—making ordinary afternoons or evenings together more meaningful and more fun. It’s even great among strangers: At the launch party, Perel placed a random card at each guest’s place, and the conversations they engendered were far deeper and more “real” than ones you’d have at any party, let alone a press launch.

So: Throw a spring party! We’ve designed three parties around the game here—a family get-together, a romantic date night, and a friends’ brunch—but, of course, the possibilities for getting creative are truly endless.

FAMILY DINNER

Omit the sex-related cards (they’re marked in pink, so it’s easy), gather around the table, and prepare to get to know the people you think you know in a totally new way. An especially fun combination is grandparents and teenagers.


  1. Emporio Sirenuse Sun Dinner Plate, goop, $150

    Emporio Sirenuse
    Sun Dinner Plate
    goop, $150

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  2. Alexis Steelwood Go Long Party Board, goop, $400

    Alexis Steelwood
    Go Long Party Board
    goop, $400

    SHOP NOW


  3. Mepra Dolce Vita 2-Piece Salad Set, goop, $180

    Mepra
    Dolce Vita 2-Piece Salad Set
    goop, $180

    SHOP NOW


  4. The Green Vase Floribunda Rose Plant, goop, $565

    The Green Vase
    Floribunda Rose Plant
    goop, $565

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  5. Roman and Williams Guild Kaneko Kohyo Rinka Mug, goop, $50

    Roman and Williams Guild
    Kaneko Kohyo Rinka Mug
    goop, $50

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  6. Lady M New York Signature Mille Crêpes, goop, $123

    Lady M New York
    Signature Mille Crêpes
    goop, $123

    SHOP NOW

DATE NIGHT

We imagined holding this one outside on a warm night, but every element works just as well inside (except, depending on your space, the hammock). Make sure to include the pink-labeled, sexier cards in the deck—they’re spot-on.


  1. Emporio Sirenuse Flower Dinner Plate, goop, $150

    Emporio Sirenuse
    Flower Dinner Plate
    goop, $150

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  2. Estelle Regal Flute, Set of 2, goop, $100

    Estelle
    Regal Flute, Set of 2
    goop, $100

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  3. Business & Pleasure The Hammock

    Business & Pleasure Co.
    Hammock
    goop, $299

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  1. goop x Social Studies Brushed Silver Taper Holder Medium 4”, goop, $24

    Roman and Williams Guild
    Reed Candlestick
    4.25″

    goop, $370

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  2. BALMUDA BALMUDA The Lantern, goop, $149

    BALMUDA
    BALMUDA The Lantern
    goop, $149

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  3. Tensira Handwoven Bedroll, goop, $325

    TENSIRA
    Handwoven Bedroll
    goop, $325

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FRIENDS’ BRUNCH

Connecting through storytelling might sound like what you already do with your friends, but trust us: The game deepens the exchange into something next-level and, in our experience, supremely funny. (You might want to leave out the sexy cards for this one—or you might not.)


  1. goop Fair Trade Specialty Coffee, goop, $28

    goop
    Fair Trade Specialty Coffee
    goop, $28

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  2. Pala Ceramics
    Carafe & Pour Over Coffee Set
    goop, $120

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  3. Trendglas Jena Large German Glass Mug, goop, $22

    Trendglas JENA
    Large German Glass Mug
    goop, $22

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  1. goop x Alexis Steelwood goop-Exclusive Holiday Serving Board, goop, $250

    goop x Alexis Steelwood
    goop-Exclusive Holiday Serving Board
    goop, $250

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  2. Ghia Non-Alcoholic Apéritif, goop, $33

    Ghia
    Non-Alcoholic Apéritif
    goop, $33

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  3. La DoubleJ Dinner Plates, Set of 2, goop, $155

    La DoubleJ
    Dinner Plates, Set of 2
    goop, $155

    SHOP NOW



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By admin