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Games to wonder with.
Play is one of the oldest ways into presence — a doorway back to curiosity, wonder and the simple pleasure of not knowing what comes next. These are games I've made over the years, each a small invitation to slow down, pay attention, and enjoy. Play alone, or with others.
Dranzhin
A card game years in the making, rooted in Dzogchen practice. Each hand is a small journey toward presence and letting go — play solo against gentle companions, or gather others around a table.
Play A wondering diceWonder Together — the game
Twelve dimensions of a life, on a rolling twelve-sided die. Spin it, let it settle to a bell, and wonder with whatever it lands on — one question, one colour, one moment of noticing at a time.
Play Tibetan tile gamePagchen
A traditional Tibetan domino trick game, brought to your screen. Quick to pick up, with a surprising depth once you're in — play a few rounds against George, Maria and Ocean.
PlayPlay isn't just for children.
There's a whole field of research into play across adulthood — and it turns out the thing we did so naturally as kids is one of the richest ways to keep learning, stay well, and come back to wonder. A few things it has found:
What makes play play is the spirit you bring — engaging freely, for enjoyment's own sake, rather than for some outside reward. The same activity is only play when you meet it playfully.
A playful disposition is linked with more creativity and imagination, stronger problem-solving, greater resilience, less stress, and higher wellbeing right across adult life.
Play unfolds in a space set slightly apart from ordinary life, where the usual consequences are suspended — which is exactly what makes it safe to experiment, take risks, and learn through failure.
At heart, a good game is authentic, collaborative problem-solving — intrinsically engaging because it was built for pleasure, drawing you in and keeping you curious.
Playfulness works by stirring curiosity and wonder — through mystery, surprise, chance, story and humour — turning a flat moment into one you actually want to lean into.
An education fixated on outcomes and high-stakes tests tends to crowd out the joy of learning for its own sake — the delight of curiosity, the magic of discovering something new. Play invites it back.
Drawn from Nicola Whitton, Play and Learning in Adulthood: Reimagining Pedagogy and the Politics of Education (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022).
Play is where it starts
Every game here is a small way of wondering together.
If playing one stirs something — a question, a curiosity, a wish to go further — that's exactly the doorway the mentoring opens.
Wonder with me