Can a 1980s Creativity Deck Still Deliver a Whack to the Brain?

While reading Disruption by Jean-Marie Dru, a classic on shaking up convention, I stumbled on a curious reference to an old-school tool: The Creative Whack Pack by Roger von Oech.

That brief mention immediately lit me up. As someone who loves digging into enduring ideas (especially those not drowning in tech), I had to know:
Does this vintage creativity deck still have something to teach us in today’s hyper-digital world?

Spoiler alert: yes, it does.

What Is the Creative Whack Pack?

Created by Roger von Oech, The Creative Whack Pack is a 64-card deck designed to provoke lateral thinking and challenge your assumptions. Each card features a creative strategy, anecdote, or mental prompt aimed at unlocking a new way of looking at a problem.

The cards are divided into four suits, each reflecting a different mode of thinking:
• Explorer (Blue): Helps you roam widely, question deeply, and discover new perspectives.
• Artist (Orange): Break conventions, twist ideas, and imagine ‘what ifs’.
• Judge (Green): Critically assess ideas and avoid blind spots.
• Warrior (Red): Push through resistance, take action, and bring bold ideas to life.

Think of it as a creativity engine with personality, complete with quirky illustrations, unexpected quotes, and a wry sense of humour.

A Taste of the Cards

To test it, I drew one card from each category at random (what I call an “oracle draw”):
• Explorer: Ask Why – inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s curiosity, this card urges you to question everything.
• Artist: Ask What If? – challenge your default assumptions by reimagining your scenario in wild ways.
• Judge: Ask a Fool – channel the court jester and poke holes in sacred ideas with silly (but revealing) questions.
• Warrior: Get Rid of Excuses – confront the real reasons you’re not acting and push forward.

Each card combines anecdote, philosophy, and a prompt—sometimes playful, sometimes profound.

How to Actually Use It

Here’s where this deck shines: it’s endlessly adaptable.

You can use it:
• Solo: Draw a card to spark an idea or challenge your own thinking.
• With Teams: Assign cards to teammates to evaluate a project from different creative lenses.
• In Workshops: Break creative deadlock, shake up ideation sessions, or reframe problems.

You can focus on a specific suit (e.g., Artist for ideation, Judge for critique) or use all four to fully cycle through divergent and convergent thinking.

And there’s a hidden bonus: creative license.
Using these cards gives you permission to ask awkward questions or play devil’s advocate—without making it personal. “It’s not me being difficult, it’s the card!” is a surprisingly effective way to shift team dynamics.

CX + Innovation Applications?

While the Whack Pack isn’t a CX-specific tool, it’s a valuable companion during early-stage journey design or ideation sprints. It helps teams break out of default pathways and see customer challenges from angles they wouldn’t otherwise consider.

For example:
When mapping an onboarding flow, draw a Warrior card like Fight For It—it might provoke a team to push harder for simplicity or a bold change the business is hesitating to make.

Final Thoughts

I’ll be honest: I really like this deck. It’s not precious. It’s not digital. It doesn’t overpromise. But it works—by getting your brain out of ruts and nudging you toward the unfamiliar.

And it’s fun. The illustrations are cheeky. Some cards feel like they were drawn by a cartoonist after a double espresso (and that’s a compliment).

Roger von Oech built something enduring—and that’s no small feat. I hope to someday create a tool that stays relevant for decades like this one has.

In this review, I explore the Creative Whack Pack—a 64-card deck created by Roger von Oech that’s designed to provoke creative thinking, challenge assumptions, and spark innovation.