Complete the form below to receive free Strong Minds games from around the world.
The Human Route
A game companion to Strong Minds: The World Is Our Greatest Classroom
Eight countries. Eight human capacities. One question the whole book keeps circling back to: when do you ask the machine, and when do you insist on doing it yourself?
Download the printable card deck (PDF) you will receive via email.
Print on cardstock (110lb / 199gsm or heavier) and cut along the dashed guides. Everything you need — the Capacity Cards, the Diotima Deck, the Notebook Cards, and the Authentic Game cards — is in that one download.
Players & Time
2–5 players · Ages 10+ · 30–45 minutes
Setup
Sort the Capacity Cards into their eight suits and place each face-down at its country's stop on the board. Shuffle the Diotima Deck and place it in the center. Each player starts with 3 Independent Capability tokens and one blank Notebook Card for each stop.
Turn Structure
Roll the die and move along the route. When you land on a country, draw the top Capacity Card from that suit and read it aloud.
The Choice
Solve the card yourself — say your answer aloud to the table — or consult Diotima: draw a card from the Diotima Deck and lose one Independent Capability token. Either way, mark the Capacity Card as solved.
A Third Option — The Authentic Game
Every country's stop has a real game behind it — Karuta, Jass, Dominó, Chess, Mölkky, Moksha Patam, Cornhole, Congkak. Instead of solving alone or consulting Diotima, you may play that stop's Authentic Game challenge (see its card) for a chance to solve the card for free. It always costs nothing to try — but it doesn't always work, the way the real games don't either.
The Diotima Deck
Most Diotima cards give a correct answer. A few give an incomplete one — you must name what's missing to get full credit. One rare card refuses to answer at all, and hands you back a better question. Answer that instead before your turn continues.
The Notebook
Instead of drawing a Capacity Card, you may fill in that stop's Notebook Card with one real insight of your own. Keep it — it's worth a point at the end, and it's the one thing that leaves the table with you.
Winning
The game ends when all eight stops have been visited by every player, or after 45 minutes. Add: Capacities solved + Independent Capability tokens remaining + Notebook Cards completed. Highest total wins — but the real measure is what's written on your Notebook Cards.
The Human Route is free to download and play. Haven't read the book yet? Every card is a real moment from Strong Minds — the game plays best after you've traveled the eight countries with Rafael.