The Gottman Couples Retreat Board Game

My husband and I recently bought this couples game. We were not sure what we were getting into except that my brother and his wife really love the Gottman seminars. We hadn't heard much about it but we are completely committed to having a strong loving relationship and recognized that after 12 years of marriage and two young children we could use some help keeping it fresh and intimate and we are always looking for ways to communicate with one another with more clarity and compassion. We picked an evening for ourselves and agreed to try the game whole heartedly. We found it to be challenging, informative and fun. We laughed together (sometimes at our own ineptness in answering the questions :), we thought hard, we listened carefully, we danced, we touched, (we looked up how to write a haiku together). By the end of the game we felt closer and surprisingly refreshed.The game was easy to follow. We did have to refer to the rules a couple of times but we always came away understanding how to proceed. It was a good length of time. In the beginning we were thinking the goal would be accomplished in just a few minutes at the pace we were going. In the end we played for a little more than an hour and then we sat around looking at the Salsa cards preparing our minds for what might be come up in the future.We made plans for our future together, made notes about things to schedule time for as well as notes about how we like things. (I kept a spicey suggestion for how we could spend our next alone time.)I guess the reason I love this game is based on the saying "Everywhere you go there you are." When you go on a vacation you can go to the most amazing destination and be discontent at the end of it because you didn't like who you were or how your partner treated you. If you can play this game and feel the connection, and affirmation you need right in your own home just think how amazing that next vacation will be!

online apps they created are just as good

My husband & I played this game and we got to the end to fast so we went around a couple of more time to talk some more and check out more of the questions/ suggestions on the cards. We did enjoy having to ask questions and learn more about each other. There were several that we could answer for the other which confirmed that we really know the others dreams, likes, and favorites. I would recommend this for young and older couples to reconnect, have fun, and learn some more about their partners.

For couples who have a lot of communication issues only. I thought it would be fun to try to out and use as a therapist, but the game is for people with serious relationship problems. It is just too simple for strong relationships. It felt silly even trying to play it, we already knew all the things we were going to say. We were not able to learn anything new from it.

We received our game today and immediately got it out to play. It definitely created a feeling of togetherness - we had a great time. It was a fun way to connect with each other. My fiancé kept avoiding going to the end of the game and we still barely used any of the cards in the decks. I can see that this game will last through many plays.You should definitely shuffle before playing this the first time, as some of the cards next to each other are similar.You can play it with another couple, but even removing the Salsa cards as suggested by the game, playing with another couple would ruin the intimacy. Within our one game and not on a Salsa card, my fiancé gave me a 2 minute hand massage, whispered something in my ear about why he was attracted to me, he wrote me a poem, I wrote him 3 love notes to hide for him to find later, we held hands and told each other our hopes and dreams, and I cried when discussing my fears for the future. I can't imagine doing any of that in front of another couple!Besides the things above we planned several future dates, a double date, and we now know how we are going to celebrate Valentine's Day based on ideas we shared during the game.The DVD and card decks that are included in the game are also sold separately, and buying this game is a huge savings. I highly recommend this to any couple looking to connect in a fun, relaxed way.P.S. - here is a photo of my fiancé making a sculpture for me out of household materials in 2 minutes.

My partner and I enjoyed this game. He loves Gottman and was happy to play along. I found some of it cheesy, and we skipped a few cards, but overall it helped us connect and encouraged him to open up. It is pretty fun, we'll play again!

There is zero reason for the board except to charge more for it.

This is super fun. My boyfriend and I played it and had a great time. The path you take to the end can potentially be really short. If we had ended it when my boyfriend reached the final stone it would have been a ten minute game with us only asking each other a few questions. So we just kinda meandered around the board until we decided to stop playing on our own. The "Facts" cards weren't much fun either for the most part. So if one of us landed on that we also got to choose a card from another pile. It was a great way to bring up topics and learn about each other in ways you wouldn't normally think of. You could also just use the cards as conversation starters, without the board game. I believe you can actually buy the card decks on their own just for that purpose, but I'm not sure if they're identical to the ones in the game.