Imaginhero 4+

Imaginhero™ is the card game where you battle to save your friends from negativity.

Dealing each player a hero and superpower cards, use your power’s Empathy Points to fight the monstrous Echoes, use your shield to protect from their attack, and be careful not to hit their trigger points.

About The Game
The gameplay of Imaginhero is built on underlying principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Each part of the game works to instill patterns of positive thinking, develop empathy, and encourage players to visualize new ways of thinking about challenging situations.

A core element of the game is that there are no villains. There are 12 playable characters and, just like in life, any of them can be the hero and any can become overwhelmed by negativity. In each round you’re battling another character, but you’re battling to save them - not defeat them.

The therapy techniques incorporated into the gameplay start with the ‘power’ cards. Each of these, from Freeze Blast (which helps block negativity) to Magma-Pop (which helps channel anger into an energy for change) is a metaphor for healthier patterns of thinking and a way to develop a positive response to stressful situations.

Heroes

Hero cards can be dealt as both the playable characters in the game, and as those friends who are being overwhelmed by Echoes.

Each card shows the character’s inner voice. The illustration represents who they really are, how they see themselves deep down. Whether it’s the shy kid who’s really a born performer, the fierce warrior who’s always there for their team, or an explorer who can’t keep their curiosity contained.

By rescuing a friend card from an Echo, you free them from the negativity of the echo. They can return to being who they really are; a kid waiting for a chance to be a hero. Once rescued, they become a Hero card the player can use.

Echoes

Echoes are personifications of negative behaviors and patterns of thinking. Echoes are able to overwhelm any of the Hero characters in the game; when this happens, it’s up to their friends to rescue them.

Echoes each have a number of Pain Points. These aren’t a measure of the pain they inflict in their attacks, but a measure of the pain they are in. To defeat an Echo and release the character they’re overwhelming, players must use their empathy points to reduce their friend’s pain.

Each Echo draws its strength from a different vulnerability. If the vulnerability of the Hero they’re fighting matches the Echoes source of pain, then their attack strength increases.

Powers

The Imaginhero powers are used by players to confront friends who are being overwhelmed by Echoes and reduce their pain. Each power conveys an underlying technique or CBT principle that can help a person deal with anxiety, aggression, stressful situations, or negative thoughts.

Each power has a level of Empathy Points. The more empathy a player can employ against an Echo, the greater their chance of reducing their friend’s pain.

Triggers

Trigger cards are activated at certain points in the game. Each card represents a type of situation that, depending on the person, could trigger either anxiety or inspiration. Depending on the cards in play, a Trigger could help or harm a player’s chances of overcoming the Echo.