Blossom is a conversation card game designed by Open Future Lab to help couples and (future) parents have more open, meaningful conversations about their everyday life, financial well-being, and parenting, while growing a tree together.
Why we created Blossom
Research conducted by ERSTE Foundation and the University of Tartu (Beyond Money) shows that financial well-being is not one-dimensional. It is shaped by three essential elements: security, freedom, and pleasure. Supporting people across all three dimensions is key to helping them build stronger and more resilient lives.
Becoming a parent is one of life’s most transformative stages. It brings joy and deep fulfilment but also new responsibilities, shifting priorities, and complex decisions about the family’s future. At the heart of these changes lies money, influencing everything from daily routines to long-term plans.
However, our research project, Navigating Parenthood, revealed something striking: many parents rarely talk openly about money. Cultural taboos, emotional stress, and the mental load of caregiving often make financial conversations feel too personal or overwhelming. Yet this is precisely the stage of life when open dialogue matters most. Honest and reflective conversations about money can strengthen not only financial stability but also emotional connection and shared understanding.
Blossom was created in response to this need: to help break the taboo around money talk and make these conversations accessible, enjoyable, and emotionally safe.
How the game works
Blossom turns money talk into a shared experience of play, reflection, and connection.
To play Blossom, couples go through a set of “Who is more likely to…” questions, along with a few open-ended reflection prompts. Each card invites the two players to reflect on who is more likely to act in a certain way or face a particular situation. As they discuss and decide together, their answers gradually form a visual pattern: a blossom tree that grows and takes shape as the game progresses. If the players tend to agree, their tree grows with blossoms. If they see things differently, the pattern branches in unique ways. This visual outcome turns conversation into a shared creation, offering a playful reflection of how the pair perceives their financial well-being and everyday life.
The questions explore five main areas:
- Parenting – how parents talk with their child about money: savings, spending, making choices and learning through everyday life.
- Invisible work – how couples share the often unseen household and childcare tasks that keep family life running.
- Financial roles – how couples divide financial responsibilities from daily expenses to major decisions.
- Future planning – how parents think about their children’s needs, your goal as a couple, and your own future security.
- Financial values – how personal values shape everyday choices and actions.
At the end of the game, the reflection card invites players to notice what has blossomed, where things feel harder, and how they want to grow together as a couple and (future) parents.
Developed in collaboration with a family psychologist, the Blossom manual also includes gentle guidance to help players stay connected if the conversation becomes tender or emotionally challenging. Through these conversations, Blossom helps couples connect more deeply, turning financial dialogue into something natural, playful, and human.
Our development journey
Blossom’s development began in early 2025 and unfolded in two main phases. The first phase focused on research, question design, and early testing. Developed by Open Future Lab’s cognitive scientists, Blossom 1.0 was tested with several couples to observe how gameplay supported real-life conversations.
The second phase, launched in mid-2025, expanded the game’s scope and emotional depth. The team validated the questions with 50 parents via Prolific, reorganised the themes to better reflect family life, and collaborated with a family psychologist to ensure the content felt realistic, safe, and engaging. The finalised analogue version, Blossom 2.0, was completed in August 2025.
To understand how Blossom influences couples’ communication over time, we launched a four-week longitudinal study in September 2025 with families from across Europe. The study explores whether and in what ways, conversations sparked during Blossom extend into everyday life, and whether they inspire reflections or concrete actions related to financial well-being and everyday life.
Why it matters
Money is not just about numbers; it’s about emotions, relationships, and values.
By transforming financial discussions into moments of connection, Blossom helps families strengthen their emotional and financial foundations. When we talk, we learn. And when we learn together, we grow stronger, just like the tree that blooms at the heart of the game.