No past.

No future.

Just right now.

HOW IT WORKS

The Present Moment Game is a social meditation that brings small groups together—online and in-person—to practice presence. You don’t need any special background to play. Just a willingness to show up, warmly meet others in the moment, and do your very best to stay there.

Get present,
on purpose

Notice your experience as it unfolds, leaving behind stories about the past and speculation about the future. When a group speaks only from what’s happening in the moment, it’s a surprisingly simple conversational shift that opens up an entirely new way of being together.

Speak only in
present tense

Entering the moment isn’t the real challenge. Staying in it is. Inevitably, you’ll drift into speaking about the past or the future. This isn't failure! Because noticing you’ve left the moment, and then returning to it—over and over again—is the practice.

Return when
you drift

The game closes with each person sharing a brief reflection on their experience. The hope is that you leave with a quieter mind, a softer heart, and a new relationship to the moment that only deepens each time you come back to play.

Leave
differently

What people discover

  • "I expected awkwardness. But after about 20 minutes into the game, it felt so intimate. Like we skipped all the small talk and landed somewhere way more real."

  • "Even though I meditate every morning, this experience made me realize that I'm rarely, if ever, truly present with other people. Talk about an awakening."

  • “I was seriously shocked when the timer went off. The hour somehow felt both incredibly long and spacious, and also like no time at all.”

  • “Honestly? Some parts of the experience felt oddly sacred to me. Almost like a kind of human communion that people of all (or no) faiths can share.”

  • "I didn’t think an hour of staying present could feel this funny, emotional, uncomfortable, joyful, and human all at once."

  • “I realized that I was waiting for something more interesting to happen. Then I realized that any ordinary moment—when truly observed—is more than enough.”

  • “My mind kept reaching for the past or future, just out of habit. I was surprised by just how effective the rules were to bring me back to the moment.”

  • "It's one thing to be fully present by myself, and something very different to share it with others. I want more of this in my life."

  • "I didn't know anyone when we started, but by the end of the game, I felt genuinely connected to every one there."

  • "As someone who thinks about language for a living, I'm wide-eyed at what speaking solely in the present tense unlocks."

  • "Returning to the moment again and again felt like I was building a muscle for presence. I'm excited to keep playing and developing this skill."

Who comes to play

Mental Time Travelers

People who tend to replay the past or rehearse the future, and want practice staying in the moment they're actually in.

Mindfulness Practitioners

Those with an existing solo practice who are curious about what a practicing presence with others might make possible.

Full-Plate
People

Busy people who spend most of their time in doing mode, but who want to make more space in their lives to just be.

The Digitally
Overstimulated

Those caught in an endless stream of pings, updates, alerts, and noise, who crave an analog experience of just…less.

Tender-Hearted Humans

Anyone who is moving through loss, change, grief, or uncertainty, and seeking refuge in the sturdiness of the present moment.

The Once Present

People who’ve glimpsed what it feels like to be completely present, and want practice finding their way back to the experience.

Anyone who has no idea
what this is, but has made it
this far and wants to sign up
and find out.

Depth
Seekers

People craving deeper social contact that goes beyond the usual small talk, stories, and conversational scripts.

Between-Chapter People

Those in the strange space between what was and what's next, curious about who they are right now.

The Simply Curious

Anyone who has no idea what the heck this is, but has made it this far, and wants to sign up and find out.

Just Humans Being.