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Free game guide · TABLE Method™

Dixit

Perspective-taking with images that mean more than one thing · Stage 2 to 3

Buy the guide, $7 See the TABLE plan

Dixit TABLE Method™ Game Guide cover

What the game is

Each turn, one player is the storyteller. They choose one of their picture cards and say a clue: a word, a phrase, or even a sound or a song. Everyone else secretly offers a card from their hand that fits the clue. The cards are shuffled and shown, and players vote on which one was the storyteller's.

Why it works at a table

Dixit's images can be read many ways, and the scoring rewards clues that only some players understand. That gives a natural, game-driven reason to talk about how different people see the same picture. Clues can be personal, borrowed from a song or film, or entirely invented, so players control how much of themselves goes in.

Try one variation

Cooperative clue lab (BGT house rule, not an official rule). Play without points. After each reveal, invite the group to discuss which clues or card choices made the storyteller's meaning easier or harder to find. Before the next turn, the group may suggest one general clue-giving strategy. The next storyteller is free to use or ignore it.

  • Targets: Collaborative sense-making and shared strategy
  • Suits: Groups practicing collaborative problem-solving without competitive scoring
  • Watch for: Stronger voices dominating or pressuring the next storyteller.
  • Debrief prompt: “What did we understand better by comparing our different interpretations?”

The TABLE Method™, applied

A short excerpt from the full guide's TABLE plan. Anyone can pass, pause, or stop at any time.

  1. Target

    Notice how players read the same image differently, and how the group responds to interpretations that differ from their own.

  2. Assess

    Check the player count, the time, and whether the game serves today's goal.

    • Has this group already played something lighter together? Dixit invites more self-expression than a word game.

  3. Build

    • Say before play that clues can be invented, borrowed from a song or film, or a single sound. Nobody needs to use a personal story.
    • Consider a first round without points. Add scoring only if the group wants it.

  4. Lead

    • Take the first storyteller turn yourself and use a light, playful clue. If playing is inappropriate in your role, model a sample clue outside gameplay instead.
    • A facilitated session does not need to finish the game or give everyone a storyteller turn. Tell the group in advance how many turns or how much time is available. Keep the reveal about the cards: “Three people saw the boat in this one.”

  5. Extract and Extend

    Debrief in order: Board, Self, Us, Life or Work, Extension. Ask what participants make of the game. Do not tell them.

Game not included; play by the rulebook in your box. In the BGT book: Chapter 3 (the Magic Circle chapter; Marcus's storyteller turn and “What Dixit Asks You To Do”), Appendix C (Stage 2 to 3, scope: all), and Appendix F (six-week group, week 2; twelve-week cohort, weeks 1 to 2). Independent companion. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Libellud. Dixit is a trademark of its owner and is named only to identify the game. Board Game Therapy is not inherently psychotherapy. Copyright 2026 Solid State Strategies, LLC.

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