/pic7730456.png)
Each person has different elements of their personality, from introversion and extroversion; to different types of temperament, from composed to volatile. In Emotional Intelligence, each player becomes a personality detective, and aims to deduce the personality traits of the other players before their own personality is revealed. The catch: players can only provide subjective This or That clues regarding their personality type. The result is a fast-paced, sometimes contentious social deduction game perfect for players looking for both mystery and social examination.
HOW IT WORKS:
You’re given a unique personality at the beginning of the game - you will play from the perspective of this personality for duration of the game. Every turn, you will take turns asking other players to answer This or That questions based on one element of your given personality. The clues, which are subjective This or That answers, may only be as helpful as how well you know the person. Is seeing the future Volatile or (K)omposed? Up to you!
You will be given a Deduction Pad, where you will jot down your notes and make your decisions on whether another player is more Extroverted or Introverted, Logical or EMpathetic, Concrete or Abstract, or Volatile or (K)omposed. Once you’re sure about all 4 elements of another player’s personality, you can instigate guessing their personality. Everyone else will guess as well, but you will get double the points for each correct guess. Additionally, you get points when other people correctly guess your personality, so it's a win-win!
The game ends when everyone's personality has been investigated. The winner is the player with the most points.
—description from designer
- personality inference and social interaction
- opinion/traits-deduction party game
- group deduction with persona traits
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Social Deduction — players deduce others' personality traits while protecting their own
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the most expensive one was the deluxe version of outrage which we did not know anything about did not and did not pick but that one goes for $36,000
- I am outraged and outrage
- the smart Scrabble goes for 30 grand
- there's one copy of this game and it has the actual jewels in it
- the Black Lotus card went for 3 million
References (from this video)
- Easy to learn and quick to play
- Encourages conversation and social interaction
- Role-playing elements add immersion and fun
- Reveals interesting insights about players' personalities
- Can blur in-game personas with real personalities in familiar groups
- Mechanics can feel repetitive for frequent players unless you lean into post-game discussion
- Personality types and social deduction in a friendly, quiz-like format
- Modern-day social gathering where players explore personality types at a table
- Light-hearted, conversational, with moments of role-play
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Category dice and cards — Category dice determine which of four personality categories (energy, expression, decision making, info processing, temperament) a question belongs to, guiding play.
- Deduction — Players deduce others' personality types and score when their guesses are correct.
- Deduction and guessing — Players deduce others' personality types and score when their guesses are correct.
- Hidden personality cards — Each player receives a hidden personality card that defines their in-game type.
- Instigation phase — A player can prompt others to guess a target's type, triggering a round of public guesses and scoring.
- This or that questions — Players answer prompts with one of two options, tied to their personality.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the inner machinations of my mind are an enigma
- this makes you reframe the question and adds to the entry