Seth's Blog : The new Kickstarter is live

The new Kickstarter is live

More than ten years ago, we broke records with my previous Kickstarter. Now I’m back with a suite of AI-powered cards.

For the last five months, I’ve been in full sprint mode, and this is what I’ve been building.

We launched the Mentor Deck in beta two weeks ago, and I was thrilled and delighted to see how deeply it resonated with people. And now the Mentor Deck is updated, and joined by two other decks that are fun, inspiring and surprising. I think they’ll make great gifts, but they’re also worth keeping a set for yourself as well.

It takes a long time to print a deck of cards, and we’re timing this launch so we can get the decks to everyone in time for the winter holidays–and we want to make sure to print enough. Early birds save a bundle, and folks who were in the beta group can get a special deal.

How the decks work:

The most famous AI platform is chatGPT, but my daily favorite is Claude, from Anthropic. Anthropic recently launched a platform they call artifacts. An artifact is an elegant, complex, pre-written prompt that can be shared with others. I ended up building 150 of them…

Each of the cards in the three decks has a QR code on it. Scan that and it launches an artifact that you can interact with. I used the tactile, analog power of playing cards to create juxtapositions and combinations that bring delight to our very human interactions with the AI.

While it was complex to build, it’s really easy to use. And the combination of cards and AI is pure magic.

The Infinite Adventure Deck lets you choose your own text adventure. There are fifty worlds to explore–Alice in Wonderland, Cyberpunk, Noir PIs and even Al Capone.

The Modern Divination Deck unlocks fifty kinds of ancient and modern soothsaying. Our future is not pre-written, it’s up to us. This neo-tarot deck leads to deep conversations and insights about taking responsibility and taking action in creating a future we’d like to be part of.

And the Mentor Deck is a series of focused prompts that create a coaching conversation. Each coach has ‘read’ what Claude knows about an idea or author and then talks you through your issues, your challenges and your potential. You’re not talking to the person who coined the ideas, but to a coach who understands them.

All three decks are designed to amplify our humanity. Instead of pushing ourselves to be nothing but a more productive cog, these sorts of open-ended conversations can push us to stop waiting for instructions and start taking responsibility instead.

You can try a sample Mentor conversation here. In addition, there are three samples from the Infinite deck on the Kickstarter page (at the bottom).

PS If you’re around Wednesday, I’ll be doing a live Q&A with Oriana Leckert, the head of publishing at Kickstarter. We’ll be taking your questions about how Kickstarter has evolved and how it might help you with your project. Register in advance if you can.

There’s a FAQ and regular updates and more information at promptdecks.com

Also… beta supporters of the Mentor Deck should check the free bonus page for details on the private link for the extra decks. You’ll need the password that came with your deck.