We’re Not Really Strangers (WNRS) Review

Ratings Breakdown

TL;DR
1. We played this game and it’s literally game-changing. We cried playing this game,
2. Three levels of questions to deepen relationships and form new ones. You can play it with friends, family or even with strangers! 🤩
3. The final card asks you to write the other players a handwritten note – does it get more intimate than that? 🥰
4. Glowing reviews from 2,100 customers, 4.9 out of 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. Featured on Forbes, Vogue, Hypebae and more! They also have a massive 5.1 million Instagram following! 🤩🤩🤩

The barrier-breaking game of the decade

In case your version of a game night has so far been limited to beer pongs, rowdy video games or high-stakes strategy-driven board games, prepare to have your mind blown. The creators of “We’re Not Really Strangers” have sought to completely reinvent the board game experience — making for a much more intimate, emotional and wholesome time..

The genesis of the game is very much telling of its objective. Its creator, Koreen Odiney, was inspired to create the game after experiencing personal heartbreak. Through the process, she found solace in interviewing strangers, specifically asking them about love and life. If you ask me, Koreen’s manner of handling heartbreak truly is a testament to her creativity and empathy, and we’re living for it. #westanaqueen

The creation of this game was aimed at bringing people closer together, eliminating the misplaced notion of “strangerhood” by asking targeted, deep questions that may not naturally surface in conversation. 🤔

Unlike other games, winning this game is a collective effort. All players win when conversations hit a new level of depth. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

So whether you’re looking to go deeper with friends and family that really ought to know each other better than they actually do, or bringing together a group of literal strangers, this may be the game for you.

Why you should trust us

Our team has spent over 15 hours extensively testing and researching the best wellness products, including WNRS. Our goal is to find the best brands who care about your well-being and help people live better lives. We evaluate games based on their quality, ease of play and fun factor.

We often ask ourselves a simple question: would we buy the product for ourselves and recommend it to our family and friends? This review is reviewed and thoroughly vetted by Amy Bells, our in-house wellness and self-care expert and product tester herself!

How we tested WNRS

Doesn’t WNRS just sound incredibly intriguing? Like I thought I knew everything there is to know about my partner of one year – but what if I don’t? The possibility of that was too much, so I purchased the WNRS card game. 😲😲😲

Okay, so he’s not a total stranger. But still! Do I know everything about him, and are we in this for the long haul? I needed to find out. 

I invited him around the same night that my package arrived – I couldn’t wait any longer. We cracked open a bottle of red, had a few snacks ready, and began playing. 

We started at level 1, perception, working all the way up to level three, reflection. 

I don’t know what I was expecting, but this game was even better. We were asked really deep questions, like How are you, really? That required us to be incredibly raw with one another. 😢

I would definitely recommend having a glass of alcohol with you to loosen you up and allow all the feelings to come pouring out. After all, that is the aim of the game. 

The dig deeper cards were a stroke of brilliance, too. I’d think that I got a question out of the way, and then I’d have to revisit it and expand on my already emotional answer. 

When the game was over, the final card required us to write each other a note that we weren’t allowed to read until we’d said goodbye. I won’t tell you what we wrote to each other, but let’s just say that I’ll keep it forever. 

Overall, this game is amazing for anyone who wants to learn more about the people in their lives, or even complete strangers. The game allows you to play it with anyone in your life, no matter how long you’ve known them. 🤗🤗🤗

You can also play this game with up to six people, so I got my girlfriends round for a similar night of wine and WNRS. Just like my first time playing, emotions were running high and our bonds grew even stronger. 

I have no complaints about WNRS, and I’ll be taking my game pack everywhere with me from now on! 😍

Get your head in the game(play)

The basic mechanism of this card game is pretty simple: Each player takes turns to pick a question card, read it to another selected player, who then answers the question. 

But what makes the game interesting is the fact that there are 3 levels of questions, each with increasing depths of probing:

• Level 1 is Perception
• Level 2 is Connection 
• Level 3 is Reflection

Each of the levels targets a unique facet of getting to know someone, from ascertaining observations (and assumptions about a person), to finding common ground, and then identifying deeper things about each other that wouldn’t normally surface in conversation or even daily thought.

The levels build upwards, culminating in the “final card” where players write handwritten messages to each other, which are only to be read after they’ve parted ways for the day. #cute

In addition to the question cards, the deck includes several “dig deeper” cards and “wildcards”, each of which adds intensity and depth to the game. 

For instance, in the case of the “Dig Deeper” card, these are shuffled into the deck at random, and a player that picks one up has to revisit their last answer and share an even more detailed answer to the question (as the card title suggests). It’s crazy how sometimes our answers change when we’re asked the same question twice, and this game perfectly leverages that. 👌

Plus, each deck also features a bunch of wildcards, which prompt the player to perform an action, rather than just answering a question. These are pretty much akin to the “dare” option in a  game of Truth or Dare, which compel some kind of action instead of merely question-answering.

The game is playable by 2 to 6 players, making for a perfect post-meal activity for couples, families or any friend group. It’s also a small deck of cards, so it’s perfectly portable and playable on the go – perfect for taking from home to home, or on travels. ✌️

The game deck comes with a WNRS notepad and pencils, if additional stationery is required for the “final card” which requires handwriting – though this could of course be personalised on any stationery you already own. 

How deep is “deep”?

Of course, it’d be a huge spoiler for us to divulge the entire set of questions that “We’re Not Really Strangers” features. After all, part of the fun comes with spontaneously reflecting on questions that may never have been put to you before, and communicating them concisely (or not) to the other players.

But to get a sense of the types of questions the game dives into, it’d be helpful to just give a small glimpse of samples. To that end, we note that the game does well to include a whole plethora of questions – ranging from small-talk openers to soul-bearing questions. 💯

Simple questions include “Do I appear to be a morning person or a night owl”, but move upwards sharply in intensity, including questions like “Are you lying to yourself about anything”? #oof 😱

While some may be tempted to trivialise the Level 1 questions, we’ve found it fundamentally crucial to have questions which break the ice, generate some laughs, and build into some of the more deeper topics. This allows for even real strangers to slowly open up to each other in ways unimaginable. 🤗

To get a direct representation of the impact this game has had on a group of literal strangers, we implore you to take a couple of minutes to watch this gameplay between strangers. As the creators put it nicely: “Warning: Feelings may arise”. 😭😭😭  

We’re Not Really Strangers questions

Some of our favorite question cards include the following:

• How are you really?
• What about me intrigues you?
• What is a compliment you wish you received more frequently?
• What is a dream you’ve let go of?
• What would your younger self not believe about your life today?
• Are you missing someone right now? Do you think they are missing you too?
• Have you changed your mind about anything recently?
• What do you think my superpower is?
• When this game is over, what will you remember about me?

For those who want to keep it fresh: Game variations

Since this game relies on responding to questions drawn by each player, some may feel that you only get a limited number of plays out of the game before the deck becomes all too familiar, taking away any sense of intimacy. Repeated answers and thoughtless responses threaten to undermine the very purpose of the game, and while players may seek to generate new answers every game, it’s somewhat second nature to revert to old responses.

For this reason, we especially applaud the creators of We’re Not Really Strangers for coming up with a full array of expansion packs and special editions to keep the game fresh, and more importantly, to continually tug at the right heartstrings to facilitate deeper, more fruitful conversations. 🙆‍♀️ 🙆 🙆‍♂️

Other wildcards require a little more bravery. One reads, “Call someone you admire and tell them why you appreciate them! (Put on speakerphone).” While this may seem daunting, we can only imagine how rewarding it may feel afterward.

For those that want even more: Expansion packs

When the original deck starts feeling passé, the next thing to look at is the  expansion packs, each of which contain additional question cards and wildcards. Each expansion pack is centered around a specific theme, which makes this a perfect addition to an original deck if you know exactly who you’d like to go to the next level with. 

For instance, the Relationship Expansion pack comes with 54 cards (including question cards and wildcards), aimed and probing partners to see each other for who they’ve evolved to be in the present, rather than focusing solely on the person they were when the pair first met. As if this doesn’t sound exciting enough, the creators actually warn players that this pack was intended to be used by established partners and for couples who aren’t afraid of having the “I love you” conversation. That’s simply testament to how deep this game goes. ❤️ 

If you don’t quite feel ready for that level of emotional intimacy, consider the Honest Dating Expansion Pack, which aims to prompt players to be completely open and honest with a potential new partner (in the creators’ words, from anyone having first dates all the way to pairs at the “DTR” stage). This is simply ingenious. If you’ve ever struggled with having a gazillion questions you’d like to pose to a potential partner (and rightly so), but never could think of how to raise the subject, this is the perfect foot in the door. 👍

Special editions

If you’re a true lover of the game and aren’t satisfied with merely buying expansion packs, look no further than the special editions of the entire game, which provides a completely new deck of question cards and wild cards. 😍

The creators have truly gone over and beyond to brainstorm different scenarios that the deck come could in handy for. Over the years, the special editions have kept coming, each arguably showing itself to be even more relevant than the last. These include:

• The Breakup Edition: As the name suggests, this is aimed at helping the player process through a very difficult heartbreak (much like creator Koreen did herself!) Before you ask, this is meant to be played solely by the individual who went through the breakup, as a tool of self-reflection. There’s no need to involve anyone else in this game. Admittedly, this no longer works as a “game”, but still has multiple uses – it can be used in a “1 question a day” format to inculcate a prolonged habit of reflection, or in tandem with a journaling session.

• The Healing Edition: For those looking to invest in their mental health journey in an accessible and fun way, this edition serves as an excellent jumpstart by posing questions that are aimed at “getting it all off your chest”. This can be played either solo or with a trusted friend. 

• The Self-Love Edition: If you’ve not found a way to treat yourself a little more kindly and gently, let this edition of the game inculcate that as a deeply-grounded habit! This edition is aimed at bringing to light your own strengths and attributes, helping you to appreciate yourself a little better (even if and when no one else does).

• Family Edition: One of the relatively newer editions is aimed at allowing players to truly connect with family “not just as relatives, but as human beings”. Its creators have stated that this is targeted at deepening connections with players’ biological families, the people who raised them, or the community they’ve created for themselves.

• Forgiveness Edition: According to the creators of this edition, when you forgive the past, you create space to redefine your future. And this edition helps with just that. This edition can be played with someone else on a similar forgiveness journey, or reviewed solo as journal prompts.

• Couples Edition: Inspired by the Relationship Expansion pack, this edition of the game challenges how well couples really know each other with 100 new questions, aimed at revealing layers in each other they never knew existed.

For those looking at using the deck for self-reflection, we’d recommend picking up the Self-Reflection Kit, which comes with everything you need to get started: Self-Reflection Special Edition Pack, pen and notebook, all wrapped up in an uber cute holographic cover. 😍

It’s interesting that the fundamental versions of the game (and its attached expansion packs and special editions) were all meant to be played in person, and not online. This is perhaps most ideal for facilitating conversations (and training players to be emboldened to share their raw, honest emotions in a safe physical space). 🤜🏻🤛🏻

We’ve also observed that the Quarantine Edition of the game was made available during the covid-19 pandemic, and was furnished in pdf form to be printed, cut and subsequently played. This clearly shows the flexibility the creators have adopted to stay relevant to the times, and frankly how often can we say that of games? 🤩

Comparison: WNRS vs. Let’s Get Deep

Let’s Get Deep is another card game similar to WNRS, featuring three categories of cards – Ice Breaker, Deep, and Deeper. 😍😍

Gameplay is very similar to WNRS, although one big difference is that Let’s Get Deep has 500 question cards in the pack, while WNRS only has 150 (not including the dig deeper cards).

Let’s Get Deep is only targeted towards couples, whereas WNRS can be played with partners, friends, family, or even complete strangers. It also doesn’t come with a final question of writing the other players notes, which is one of the main things that attracts people to WNRS. 🤔

WNRS is slightly more expensive than Let’s Get Deep, with the former having a price point of $25 and the latter being priced at $19.99. 

However, if you were to compare WNRS: Couples Edition to Let’s Get Deep, they would be the same price. Still, Let’s Get Deep does offer more cards than the alternative. 

WNRS has expanded their brand to offer 13 variations of the WNRS card game, as well as clothing and accessories. Let’s Get Deep only sells one card game at the moment. 🤑🤑🤑

What other customers are saying

Needless to say, this revolutionary game has taken the world by storm, and everyone is talking about it. As a clear example, their Instagram page has generated a following of a whopping 4 million followers (and this count is still growing!).

But the impact they’ve had goes far beyond just generating a following in numbers – based on the customer reviews on their website, it’s clear that they’ve made a real impact.

One customer remarked, “This game is priceless. I pared $25 dollars for a game that absolutely changed my life and my friend group’s dynamic, entirely. Seven of us played together and not a single person left without shedding a tear.”

Another said, “I always seek new ways to connect to those I love and this game is awesome at that. I tried it with my boyfriend and even though we had been dating for almost a year we learned so much more about each other. We weren’t afraid to share, we just never had the questions in our mind and these cards made us open up in ways we never had before.”

Is this game for you?

While the impact of this game cannot be overstated, we also understand that its effectiveness will only be best understood when played (and not read about). So let’s bring this review to a close. 

Here is an (obviously non-exhaustive) list of persons whom we think the game will serve well:

• Friend groups who often participate in all sorts of fun-based activities but have never had the opportunity to “go-deep”
• Old friends gathering for a reunion after a period of disconnect
• Family members who are aiming to go beneath the surface with their conversations
• Colleagues (including those in newly formulated teams) who need an ice-breaker to facilitate better workplace relations
• Couples looking to grow deeper in connecting with each other
• Individuals who are looking to grow in self-reflection 

For us, the post-quarantine world’s been pretty hard to adjust back into, so the extra help we get to reignite deep in-person conversations is much needed! 😇

In fact, we’ve been thinking lots on self-care and improving our mental health, with this game being a huge contributor to both efforts. For more on this, check out our guide to self-care and guide to taking care of your mental well-being.

As for the game, we believe it serves a unique purpose of generating and asking questions which may normally escape us, or which we may never have had a proper excuse to pose to those in our lives. Take that awkwardness out of the equation and invest in your relationships by picking up this simple deck, which for all the reasons stated above is clearly a pocket-sized dynamite to accelerate personal and group reflections. 💪

Ringing in at $30 per deck, this may not naturally seem like the most affordable card game — especially if you’re concerned about limited replays. That said, we still think the game is worth every penny of the upfront investment. Any issues with limited replays can easily be solved with the add-ons offered in the form of expansion packs and special editions, all of which allow for a richer, fuller experience. 

Shipping & Exchange Note: We’re glad to note that the game currently ships internationally. However, do note that the company does not accept any returns or exchanges unless the deck is damaged on arrival, or an incorrect order. To this extent, sales are final and can’t be returned, cancelled or exchanged. 

We’re Not Really Strangers online

We found there is an unofficial We’re Not Really Strangers online version created by Candido Sales, who happened to be a huge fan of the game! The online game is simplified and adapted to play for the pandemic so friends can get to know each other even from a distance.

To play the full version, we still recommend buying the physical cards!

We’re Not Really Strangers discounts

There are currently no discounts available. However, on Black Friday and during other promotions, we have noticed WNRS had offered 25% off sitewide – no discount code needed. So keep an eye out for them!

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