Creative Whack Pack - mental tool for when you are stuck
This is not a traditional card deck. The Creative Whack Pack is a set of 64 cards that help you step outside familiar thinking patterns. Pull a card, read the prompt, and look at your situation from an angle you would not have chosen yourself.
The deck was developed by Roger von Oech, an American creativity consultant who has been running workshops since the 1980s for companies like Apple, Sony and NASA. His approach centres on breaking open what he calls 'mental locks': beliefs and habits that prevent you from thinking something new.
What you see on the cards
The design is strikingly graphic. Abstract patterns in bold colours, geometric shapes, minimal text. The style is deliberately simple and recalls early postmodernism.
Each card has a name and a prompt. The texts are short and direct. No metaphysics, no symbolism, just a concrete thinking trick. Examples: 'Flip it' asks you to reverse an assumption. 'Break the rules' challenges you to deliberately ignore a norm. 'What if?' prompts you to take an unrealistic premise as your starting point.
The cards work quickly. You pull one, read the prompt, and apply it directly to a question you are working on. The effect is not always spectacular, but often enough to shake you loose.
How you use them
Many people use the deck as a brainstorming tool. Pull a card at the start of a session and use the prompt as a lens. Others use it individually: one card per day, a brief mental exercise before starting a project.
It also works well in groups. The cards create a shared language and give structure to a conversation that might otherwise become circular. Precisely because the prompts are so concrete, you reach usable ideas faster.
Pull a card and deliberately use the prompt wrongly. Sometimes the best insight comes from the resistance you feel towards a prompt.
About Roger von Oech
Roger von Oech studied history at Ohio State University in the 1970s and earned a doctorate. He began working as a consultant shortly afterwards, helping companies improve their innovation processes.
His book 'A Whack on the Side of the Head' from 1983 became a bestseller and formed the foundation for these cards. Von Oech bases his approach on the idea that creativity is not a talent but a skill you can practise by consciously disrupting your thinking habits.
Specifications
- Number of cards: 64
- Language: English
- Finish: Smooth coating
- Design: Abstract graphic patterns in bold colours
- Designer: Roger von Oech
- Type: Creative tool, not tarot or oracle
Questions we often get
Do you need experience with cards to use this deck?
No. The prompts are printed on the cards and can be applied immediately. You need no background in tarot or oracles, and no special knowledge of creativity techniques.
Is the English text a problem if your language skills are not perfect?
The sentences are short and clear. If you understand basic English, you can apply the prompts without difficulty. The language is functional, not literary.
