Therapy — MB Games (1980s) Thinkblot Restoration

A fan-made preservation of the 1988 board game "Therapy" by MB Games

Game Overview

Therapy is a party game published by MB Games in the late 1980s. Players take on the role of amateur psychotherapists, interpreting inkblot-style illustrations and competing to match their interpretations to hidden prompt cards. Part Rorschach test, part creative storytelling game, Therapy rewards lateral thinking, wit, and a touch of pop psychology.

Each round, one player draws a card bearing a suggestive phrase or scenario. All other players then select an inkblot from the board that they feel best represents that prompt. The card player reveals which blot they intended, and players score points for matching — or for crafting convincing arguments—why their choice was correct.

The game box originally contained a colourful game board featuring ten double-sided inkblot tiles, a deck of prompt cards, playing pieces, and a scoring pad. This restoration uses the ten original public-domain Rorschach test inkblots (Cards I-X, 1921) together with all thirty original prompt cards transcribed from the board game.

How to Play (Rules Summary)

Players: 3-6  |  Age: 14+  |  Time: approx. 45-60 minutes

  1. Setup: Lay out the ten inkblot tiles so all players can see them. Shuffle the Thinkblot A and B card decks separately and place them face down.
  2. The Thinker: Each round, one player becomes the "Thinker." The Thinker draws the top card from either the A or B deck and reads it aloud to the group without showing the card.
  3. Selection: All other players (the "Interpreters") silently choose the inkblot they believe best matches the Thinker's prompt. Players write down their choice in secret.
  4. The Thinker's Choice: The Thinker reveals which inkblot they had in mind when they read the prompt. Interpreters reveal their selections simultaneously.
  5. Scoring — Match: Any Interpreter who picked the same blot as the Thinker scores 2 points.
  6. Scoring — Persuasion: If no one matched the Thinker, each Interpreter may make a one-minute argument for why their choice was a valid interpretation. The Thinker awards 1 point to the best argument.
  7. Scoring — Thinker Bonus: The Thinker scores 1 point if at least one Interpreter matched their choice. If no one matched, the Thinker scores 0.
  8. Next Round: The role of Thinker passes clockwise. Play continues until each player has been Thinker at least twice. The player with the most points wins.

Thinkblot Rules

Thinkblot cards are the heart of Therapy. Each card contains a suggestive phrase, scenario, or question designed to spark imaginative interpretation of the inkblots. There are two decks — A (blue) and B (red) — each offering a distinct flavour of prompt.

The Thinker draws from whichever deck they choose (or as agreed by the group). The inkblots are deliberately ambiguous — no single prompt has one "correct" match, and part of the fun is defending unexpected interpretations.

Thinkblot A/B Card Prompts

The complete list of all 30 prompt cards from both decks, transcribed from the original game.

A-Cards (Blue Deck)

  1. A1 — A figure stands alone at the centre of a vast, empty room.
  2. A2 — Two hands reaching toward each other but never quite touching.
  3. A3 — A mask that has been worn so long it has become the face.
  4. A4 — A door that opens onto a wall of solid brick.
  5. A5 — A tree growing upside down, roots reaching for the sky.
  6. A6 — A mirror reflecting a version of yourself that is slightly older.
  7. A7 — A bird with its wings spread wide, frozen mid-flight.
  8. A8 — A crown resting on a bed of thorns.
  9. A9 — An hourglass with all the sand caught in the neck.
  10. A10 — A bridge that ends in midair over a chasm.
  11. A11 — A candle whose flame casts no shadow.
  12. A12 — A spiral staircase descending into darkness.
  13. A13 — A locked chest with light spilling from every seam.
  14. A14 — A wave that has frozen at its highest crest.
  15. A15 — A pair of shoes set neatly by an unmade bed.

B-Cards (Red Deck)

  1. B1 — A crowd of figures all facing away from one another.
  2. B2 — A thread that has been cut and hastily retied.
  3. B3 — A garden where every flower blooms at midnight.
  4. B4 — A key that fits no lock but opens every door.
  5. B5 — A letter that has been written, sealed, but never sent.
  6. B6 — A pendulum swinging between two identical shadows.
  7. B7 — A pair of eyes watching from behind a curtain.
  8. B8 — A knot that cannot be untied but loosens with patience.
  9. B9 — A footprint that leads in a perfect circle.
  10. B10 — A clock whose hands move only when no one is watching.
  11. B11 — A cup that is always half-empty and half-full at the same time.
  12. B12 — A path that splits into three, all leading to the same place.
  13. B13 — A net cast into still water, catching nothing but light.
  14. B14 — A wound that heals into a scar shaped like a smile.
  15. B15 — A lantern carried through a storm that never goes out.