Earlier this week, I received my affiliate deck of Conflicted Deck II for review. I’m going to be completely candid here – I’ve not yet gone all the way through Deck I yet. (Read more about my thoughts on Conflicted Deck I here.)

I can’t. Seriously, every time I read a card or two, and discuss it with my wife, I end up running out and spending $100 on something, “just in case”. Some people smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, or binge-eat when stressed, when I get stressed, it seems that I “prep-buy” 😛

I’ve gotten through a little more than 3/4 of the Conflicted Deck 1, and while is deeply troubles me to openly answer each question while reading them with my wife, each scenario puts me ahead of the game of survival. Better to think about the possibilities and talk them out with my life partner, rather than to try to sort out options on the spur of the moment. Preparedness is not just band-aids, bullets, and beans….it is also a mental stance. Sorting out how to deal with a situation is just as important as having good gear AND the knowledge on how to utilize that gear.

Conflicted Deck II includes 52 brand new scenarios. I’ve read through about half of Deck II, and have found some striking differences along with much of the same  mindset. The biggest difference in this deck, and one that I thoroughly enjoy, is the 20 cards with “Scenario Submitted by” line, giving credit to those scenarios sent in from readers/players of Deck I.  Proving that I’ve been “in the business” a while, I actually know several of the contributors!

With both decks, some of the scenarios portray a situation I simply cannot pigeonhole myself into. Try as I might, I cannot fathom how I would get into such predicaments….but dislocating myself from the “How did I get here” part, I find myself looking back on my real situation, and trying to find chinks in my armor, so to speak.

For example, once card in Conflicted Deck II starts out, “You have run out of food, and your family is starving“.

Seriously….I live on the coast of Florida, in the land of fruit trees 12 months of the year, no frost, wild edibles galore, as well as fresh and saltwater habitats TEEMING with food. How could I run out of food or not find enough in the wild with my skill set???

Taking my location and foraging, farming, hunting, and fishing abilities for granted is a weak point in my planning. Something I tend to forget is the fact that there is a nuclear power plant less than 10 miles from my house. (yes, poor planning on my part!) A nuclear disaster could spell the end of edibles in the area for a long time, far longer than it would take for my family and I to starve.

Duh! I’d have not thought about this, had I not read through Conflicted Deck II. In a single session, I’ve already opened my thinking to new alternatives.

Having read that single card may save my life in the future.

I fully expect to find other weaknesses in my planning. I also will learn more about my spouses way of thinking as we talk about these scenarios.

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Now, having said all of this, I want to state flatly that I do not expect the world to end. I don’t believe that life as I know it be devastated any more in my lifetime than it already has been. I believe that the world will go on for a long time to come…with earthquakes, hurricanes, freak winter storms, freak heat waves, etc. You know, bad things. They happen. So does change, some of it drastic. But the world goes on.

All we can do is try to be ready for bad things and/or change and adapt. This game can help us in that endeavor.

And if nothing else, this game will help to understand the folks you care enough with whom to share the game.

Reading the cards and talking about it is scary. I know, it freaks me out. But facing your fears is the best way to rob them of their power. Get a deck, grab a close friend or twelve, and play. The cards can be a fantastic tool to weed out folks that are NOT like minded. And far better to do that now, rather than when the wolves are howling at your door, in whatever form they might take.

Disclaimer:

Yes,  Conflicted: The Game are advertisers of mine. For every order of their games placed through my website, I get a small percentage. I do not believe that promoting a product that helps pay my bills is a conflict. I do not accept anything or anyone for ad space that I do not believe in 100%. Simply put, if I don’t like it I won’t review it. This is a product that I believe in…no matter how much it freaks me out 🙂

As always, I wish you…

Peace,
db

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