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Welcome to Shame: The Game

A card game for looking at shame through image and story. Choose four cards, and receive a short reading about how they might speak to your life.

Before you begin

This is self-reflection, not therapy. It isn't counseling or mental health care, and it doesn't replace them.
Made by a person, written with AI. Shame: The Game was created by Paul J. Chamberlain, who developed this tool from his own story of changing the relationship with his own shame. Your reading is generated by AI, guided by his card meanings and a checked set of research on shame. It can still miss the mark, so take what's useful and leave the rest.
Nothing is saved. We don't keep your readings or the cards you choose.
Support is always one tap away. If anything stirs up more than you expected, you'll find people to talk to under About.

This is an early test version. Thank you for helping shape it.

I'm 18 or older and I understand this is not therapy.

Shame: The GameChoose four cards

0 of 4 chosen

Your reading

Your four cards

This reading is AI-generated reflection, not therapy. If something here stirred up more than you expected, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential and open 24/7. Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. Outside the US, find a local line at findahelpline.com.

Reflect

One question at a time, to answer on paper, at your own pace.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988

About & Support

What this is

Shame: The Game is a reflection tool built on cards. Each card uses an image (a cage, a cloak, a labyrinth) to name a kind of shame, a moment that can set it off, or a practice that can help. Choosing cards and reading about them is a way to look at your own experience from a little distance.

What this isn't

Shame: The Game is not therapy, counseling, or medical or mental health care. It doesn't diagnose anything, and it isn't a substitute for a licensed professional. If you're looking for that kind of support, a doctor or a licensed mental health professional is the right place to start.

How readings are made

[Paul J. Chamberlain] created the game, wrote every card, and chose the research the readings draw on. When you tap "Read my cards," the names of your four cards are sent to an AI system (Claude, made by Anthropic), which writes a short reading. Nothing else is sent: no name, no email, no account.

Readings follow a few rules:

They may mention ideas from researchers and writers on shame, compassion and storytelling, but only from a short list we've checked, and only as ideas, never as quotes.
They don't give statistics or claim that research proves anything.
They don't tell you what you feel or what happened to you. Only you know that.

AI can still get things wrong. If a reading feels off, trust yourself over the reading, and please tell us through the feedback link below.

Your privacy

We don't save your readings or the cards you choose, and we don't keep records of them.
Your reading exists only on your screen. When you close the page, it's gone. To keep one, use Share.
There are no ads, no trackers, and no accounts.
The app remembers two things on your own device: that you've already seen the welcome screen, and which reflection question you saw last, so it doesn't offer two of the deepest questions in a row. It never keeps your answers.

Talk to someone

If you're struggling, or something here brought up more than you expected, you don't have to sit with it alone.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Call, text or chat 988, anytime. It's free, confidential, and caring support for anything that's weighing on you: stress, relationships, substance use, loneliness, or thoughts of suicide. You don't have to be in crisis to reach out.

Chat: 988lifeline.org
Veterans: call 988 and press 1, or text 838255
En español: call 988 and press 2, or text AYUDA to 988
Deaf or hard of hearing: use your preferred relay service, or dial 711 then 988

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911.

A trusted friend, a doctor, or a licensed mental health professional can also help.

Give feedback

This is an early test version, and your experience shapes what comes next. [Feedback form link]

If you're willing, you can paste or screenshot your reading into the form. It helps us see whether readings land the way they should. Sharing it is entirely up to you.

Who made this

Shame: The Game was created by [Paul J. Chamberlain / Cerebral Itch Labs LLC — confirm].
Contact: [email]