How long does a typical round take to play?

Timing depends on which format you choose and how many people are playing. A single All In round where everyone responds to one theme might run fifteen to thirty minutes with a group of four to six. Competitive StorySLAM with pitching and voting takes longer. You can easily play just a few rounds and stop whenever the energy shifts.

Do I need to prepare stories in advance?

No preparation needed. The prompts are designed to help you recall something from your own life on the spot. Each theme offers multiple angles, so you can usually find a prompt that connects to a memory you can access quickly.

Can this work with people who don't know each other well?

Yes. The Getting to Know You format is specifically designed for introductions, and players naturally gravitate toward lighter stories when the group is new. As comfort builds you can move into themes that invite more vulnerable or surprising material.

Is this similar to an actual Moth storytelling event?

It's inspired by The Moth's live shows and uses a similar approach of drawing from real experience, but the format is more casual. You're not performing a prepared monologue; you're sharing a memory in a conversational setting guided by prompts.

What's the difference between the four play modes?

All In has everyone respond to the same drawn theme. Getting to Know You gives each player a different card. Best in Show pairs players to swap stories privately before choosing one to share with the group. Competitive StorySLAM adds a pitch round where players use three keywords to tease their story, then the group votes on which gets told.

The Moth Presents: A Game of Storytelling

The 3-second version

Draws on The Moth's twenty-five years of live storytelling events and podcast production
One hundred theme cards with over three hundred specific prompts to guide your stories
Four play formats from casual all-share rounds to competitive pitch-and-vote modes
Needs players comfortable sharing real stories
No scoring mechanism in most play modes
Works best with at least four people

Why it's on GiftsFeed

A storytelling card game with prompts inspired by The Moth's live show tradition

Most conversation card games ask you to invent hypothetical answers or rank abstract preferences, which tends to produce forgettable banter. This one asks for true stories from your life, anchored in real events and actual people, which means the answers reveal something genuine and often surprising.

The prompt structure matters. Instead of one broad question that leaves you floundering for a response, each theme offers several angles to help you locate a specific memory. That scaffolding makes the difference between awkward silence and a story worth hearing, especially for people who don't naturally think of themselves as raconteurs.

Good gift when

People who find typical party games shallow and want conversation that lands somewhere real
Anyone hosting gatherings where guests don't all know each other well yet
Friends who already talk regularly but want a structure to go beyond routine updates
Facilitators running team-building or workshop sessions that need authentic connection

Skip it if Requires participants willing to share personal experiences rather than just opinions or preferences

Specs

Number of theme cards: 100
Total prompts: Over 300
Play formats included: 4
Publisher: Penguin Random House

What's included

100 theme cards
Over 300 story prompts
Instructions for four play formats

If you're giving it

No sizing to guess
Arrives ready to give

Works for anyone comfortable sharing stories, no prior storytelling experience required

The details

This card-based storytelling game draws on two decades of The Moth's experience hosting live narrative events and producing their popular radio show and podcast. Instead of inventing fiction or acting out scenarios, you share true stories from your own life guided by thematic prompts.

The deck contains one hundred theme cards covering territory from Love Hurts and Mama Rules to Hot Mess, Busted, and Lifelines. Each theme comes with multiple prompt variations that help you zero in on a specific memory or angle, so you're never staring blankly trying to summon something worth telling.

You can play several ways depending on the size and mood of your group. The All In format has everyone respond to a single drawn theme. Getting to Know You assigns each player their own card to work from. Best in Show pairs people up to exchange stories privately before selecting one to share with the room. Competitive StorySLAM adds a pitch round where players tease their story using just three keywords before the group votes on which tale gets told in full.

The structure keeps things moving without turning into homework. You're not performing a five-minute monologue like you would at an actual Moth event; the prompts simply give you a frame for recalling something real that happened, then the conversation flows from there. The cards work equally well for breaking the ice with new acquaintances, deepening connection among people who already know each other, or turning a dinner party into something more memorable than small talk about traffic and weather.

Because the stories come from your actual experiences, the game scales to match the comfort level in the room. A group of colleagues might stick to safer themes and lighter anecdotes, while close friends can chase the prompts into more vulnerable or absurd territory. The variety of themes and the sheer number of prompts mean you're unlikely to exhaust the deck even after many sessions, and returning to the same theme months later will pull different memories depending on what's happened in your life since the last time you played.

Art of Play

The Moth Presents: A Game of Storytelling

One hundred theme cards and over three hundred story prompts for sharing real experiences around the table

$18at artofplay.com

Quantity

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The 3-second version

Draws on The Moth's twenty-five years of live storytelling events and podcast production
One hundred theme cards with over three hundred specific prompts to guide your stories
Four play formats from casual all-share rounds to competitive pitch-and-vote modes
Needs players comfortable sharing real stories
No scoring mechanism in most play modes
Works best with at least four people

Questions

How long does a typical round take to play?: Timing depends on which format you choose and how many people are playing. A single All In round where everyone responds to one theme might run fifteen to thirty minutes with a group of four to six. Competitive StorySLAM with pitching and voting takes longer. You can easily play just a few rounds and stop whenever the energy shifts.
Do I need to prepare stories in advance?: No preparation needed. The prompts are designed to help you recall something from your own life on the spot. Each theme offers multiple angles, so you can usually find a prompt that connects to a memory you can access quickly.
Can this work with people who don't know each other well?: Yes. The Getting to Know You format is specifically designed for introductions, and players naturally gravitate toward lighter stories when the group is new. As comfort builds you can move into themes that invite more vulnerable or surprising material.
Is this similar to an actual Moth storytelling event?: It's inspired by The Moth's live shows and uses a similar approach of drawing from real experience, but the format is more casual. You're not performing a prepared monologue; you're sharing a memory in a conversational setting guided by prompts.
What's the difference between the four play modes?: All In has everyone respond to the same drawn theme. Getting to Know You gives each player a different card. Best in Show pairs players to swap stories privately before choosing one to share with the group. Competitive StorySLAM adds a pitch round where players use three keywords to tease their story, then the group votes on which gets told.