Temporal Tactics

The future is not a single line drawn ahead of us. It is a field of possibilities, some familiar, many unseen, shaped by the stories we tell and the choices we make.

Yet too often, our vision is narrowed by habit, bias, and the illusion that the present order is permanent.

Temporal Tactics is a set of questions designed to crack open that narrow frame. Each card is a provocation, a small disruption, an invitation to look again at the present, at the paths ahead, and at the fragile assumption that tomorrow will simply take care of itself.

Temporal means across time and timelines. Tactics means practical strategies you can use.

Put them together, and Temporal Tactics means exploring different possible futures to discover strategies that help us act smarter today.

They are prompts for imagination and tools for transformation, designed to help us practice the art of seeing differently. Play them to unsettle assumptions. Play them to spark conversation. Play them to rehearse futures that are inclusive, daring, and in harmony with the living world.

Getting started

Temporal Tactics are simple to use. Each card carries a provocation.

Draw one. Sit with it. Discuss it. Let it shift how you see what’s possible.

Solo Pick a card. Note what stirs. Capture what emerges. The uncomfortable, surprising, energising responses matter most. Build a record of how your thinking shifts over time.

With others Draw and display. Let everyone gravitate to the ones that magnetise them. Build ideas together. Every perspective reshapes the thinking. Try having each person pull a card, then combine them to create, critique, or prototype collective concepts.

With perspectives Pair a question card with one of the four perspective cards to see futures through radically different forms of intelligence, breaking free from purely human viewpoints.

There’s no wrong way. Trust the process.

What’s inside

A deck of 56 cards, including 48 provocation cards, 4 instruction cards, and 4 perspective cards, organised across 12 futures categories. Scan through them all and collect the ones that stir something.

• Temporal — Explore how different time periods shape futures • Possible — Consider a range of possible futures • Worlds — Explore fluctuating outcomes across futures • Systems — Examine the systems that govern futures • Views — Analyse different experiences of futures • Ripples — Reflect on the outcomes of actions in futures • Plural — Explore diverse identities shaping futures • Knowns — Investigate levels of understanding futures • Arcs — Understand change trajectories of futures • Signals — Uncover signals shaping futures • Shocks — Investigate unexpected events that disrupt futures • Tactics — Plan pathways to navigate futures

When to play

Temporal Tactics were created to cut through “business as usual” thinking, the tendency to assume tomorrow will look like today.

They are provocations for moments when conversations stall, when minds close down, or when the future is reduced to a single, predictable path.

Futures built on certainty are the most fragile. Understanding the full range of possibilities helps us make better decisions and prepare for what’s actually coming.

Reach for them when: • Habits and assumptions feel solid and unquestioned • You want to spot signals before they shift everything • Your thinking needs disruption, not confirmation • Alternative paths feel hidden or impossible

Pick the provocations that break your frame, not the ones that feel safe. Choose what unsettles. Skip what doesn’t serve. Discovery lives where comfort ends.

Put to work

Temporal Tactics work across research, strategy, design, or any creative project. Pull a card to spark new questions, or use them mid-project to bring fresh perspectives.

Draw and read aloud Pull a card at random or choose one deliberately. Say it out loud, even solo. Hearing activates different thinking.

Set a timer Five to ten minutes. The constraint creates focus and urgency.

Respond freely Write, speak, or sketch as many responses as you can. Quantity over quality. Don’t filter. Let absurd, uncomfortable, half-formed ideas flow.

Notice and circle Some responses will be quiet signals, some bold leaps. Notice patterns. Circle anything that stirs energy or discomfort.

Treat it as material What you generate is raw material. Build on it. Question it. Use it as a springboard.

Imagine consciously

Futures work begins with conversation and human connection. Your participation makes all the difference.

Futures thinking is a practice, not a one-time event. Keep these cards close. Return to them often. Each time you engage, you rewire how you see what’s possible.

In a world of broken systems, shifting mindsets starts with us. By using these tools in the real world, you are part of building conscious and equitable futures.

Thank you for taking on the radical responsibility of imagining and shaping better relationships with each other and the living world.

Ideal for • Workshops and strategy sessions • Teams exploring futures • Personal reflection and imagination • Creative problem-solving

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