Staying Oriented Under Pressure
Staying Oriented Under Pressure is a cooperative KAMMELS game that helps participants practice regulation, discernment, and care while engaging difficult realities such as:
political and social instability
AI-amplified media environments
The game does not seek agreement, solutions, or optimism.
Its purpose is to stabilize movement so that kindness can function as a living attractor rather than a moral demand.
What This Game Is (and Is Not)
This game is:
This game is not:
a simulation of “correct” behavior
It is an orientation practice.
Core Movement Loop
All play follows the same loop:
FEEL → NOTICE → CARE → REPAIR → RETURN
This loop mirrors:
nervous system regulation
toroidal resonance dynamics
Players may move backward, pause, or repeat at any time.
Avalanche of Kindness Phase Diagram
MPCM Design Overview
AoK Phase Diagram (printed board)
FEEL / NOTICE / CARE icon tokens
Kindness overlay token (shared)
Prompt cards (media, climate, place)
Blank paper or drawing materials
Materials contain experience; they do not instruct.
Process stabilizes the system before meaning forms.
The facilitator names the context explicitly at the start:
Context is acknowledged so it does not silently dominate.
Meaning emerges as:
Meaning is never scored or declared.
Synectic Foundations
The game relies on synectic metaphors that participants inhabit rather than analyze:
Nervous system → regulation before cognition
River flow → information and emotion movement
Gyroscope → kindness stabilizing motion
Inner child / inner wise elder → sensing and stewardship
These metaphors allow players to reason across domains without abstraction overload.
Setup (10 minutes)
Place the AoK Phase Diagram at the center.
Place FEEL, NOTICE, CARE icons nearby.
Place the Kindness token within reach of everyone.
Choose one prompt card or media case study.
Remind participants:
silence and pauses are allowed
anyone may return to FEEL at any time
repair is always available
Gameplay (45–60 minutes)
Step 1 — FEEL (Regulation)
Prompt
“What do you notice in your body right now?”
Participants respond by:
No explanation required.
AoK phase sensitivity
This step often corresponds to Accumulation or Criticality.
Step 2 — NOTICE (Discernment)
Prompt
“What stands out about this situation or story?”
Participants may:
point to a phase on the AoK diagram
name patterns, not opinions
The facilitator reflects patterns, not correctness.
Step 3 — CARE (Response Without Burden)
Prompt
“What response reduces harm here?”
Care may include:
changing how stories are told
CARE does not mean action.
It means responsibility without overwhelm.
Step 4 — REPAIR (If Needed)
At any time, anyone may say:
“I need repair.”
Repair options:
Repair is a strength, not a failure.
Step 5 — RETURN (Integration)
Participants notice:
No closing consensus is required.
AoK Phase Awareness (Implicit)
Participants are not taught the phases directly, but facilitators track them:
Child-Inclusive Adaptation
Children may:
act as “Kindness keepers”
Children often sense criticality before adults do.
Their role is honored, not corrected.
This game:
aligns with nervous system realities
bridges data and wellbeing
turns kindness into lived physics
It teaches how to stay oriented, not what to believe.
Design Constraints (Non-Negotiable)
This game must never:
These constraints preserve the game as ethical art practice.
Closing Principle
We do not ask people to carry the weight of the world.
We help them learn how to move within it together.
Notes for Facilitators
This game improves with:
It is a studio practice, not a performance.
