Talk Tower: A Therapy Block-Stacking Game About Feelings

Pull a block, answer the question its color picks, and stack it on top. Kids and teen question sets; the tower wobbles, then falls.

Kids Teens Name feelings Play therapy Games

10–20 minutesIn person and on video

Free interactive tool

Link copied – paste it to your client

Made with care by Mentalyc

No sign-upNothing you type is storedIn a Play together room, moves pass through our server only while the room is open.

Use with care

Questions can surface disclosures of harm; keep a clinician involved for deeper questions.

How to play

Pull a block from lower down the tower.
Its color picks the question: answer it, swap it or pass.
The block goes on top, then it's the next player's turn.
Play until the tower falls or you press Finish.

About the technique

Block-stacking question games adapt a familiar tower game for therapy: each block pulled carries a question, often chosen by color, ranging from light to more personal. The approach belongs to therapeutic game play, where the rules, turn-taking and suspense of an ordinary game lower defenses and give children and teens a reason to answer that does not feel like an interview (Schaefer & Reid, 2001). It has no single originator.

The value comes from the questions and the therapist’s follow-up, not the stacking. Games give the therapist a chance to build rapport and to observe how a young person handles turn-taking, frustration and losing, while the client controls the pace of self-disclosure (Schaefer & Reid, 2001). Play therapy as a whole showed a large average effect across controlled studies in a meta-analysis (Bratton et al., 2005), but block-stacking question games have not been studied on their own, so the evidence is practice-based.

It suits children and teens, individually, in groups or with families, mainly in engagement and early phases or as a lighter session after hard work, and it works on video as well as in the room. Choose question sets that fit the client’s age and stage of treatment, and let clients pass on any question. Questions can surface disclosures of harm, so keep deeper sets for sessions with a clinician present and follow up as you would any disclosure, including any mandated reporting duty.

For therapists: how to run it

Goal

A reluctant child or teen talks about feelings, relationships and coping while the game carries the pressure.

In session

For a teen, open Settings and choose Teens. Turn off any pile the client isn't ready for. Steady tower (the default) gives more questions before it falls; Wobbly falls sooner.
On video: share this tab and press Full screen. You tap the blocks; the client names one ("third row, the gold one on the end"). In person: hand over the tablet.
Read the question aloud. Say "you can pass or swap any question" before the first pull, and take turns answering.
When the tower falls or time is nearly up, press Finish: the question list appears. Ask which was easiest and which to come back to, then copy it for your notes.

As homework

Not given as self-guided homework. Use it together in session.

With a group

Press Play together and paste the link in the chat (or show the code). Each person joins on their own phone or laptop with a first name or initials.
In a group of children or teens, hide Family & friends (kids) or People and Stress (teens) in Settings before you start. Disclosures belong in individual time, not in front of peers. If something comes up anyway, follow it up privately after the game, and follow your reporting duty.
Turns go round in join order, starting with you. Only the person whose turn it is can pull a block; every screen shows whose turn it is and the question.
The player answers, swaps or passes. Keep it to 3 to 8 players so turns come round quickly.
When the tower falls, everyone sees the question list. Ask which question to come back to.

Mandated reporting

Exercises like this can lead to disclosures of abuse, neglect or risk. Know your reporting duties before you start, and pause if one comes up.

Good to know

A block-stacking take on a long-loved play therapy idea: every block you pull comes with a question. The questions are the same banks as our kids' and teen question cards. The color key above the tower shows which color asks what.

Worksheets that pair with this tool

Sentence Completion for Children Worksheet

Ten unfinished sentences that move from favorite places to what a child is proud of.ChildrenGroupsDepressionSelf esteemCBTPerson CenteredPsychodynamic+4Free PDF 1 page

About Me: Self-Esteem Sentence Completion Worksheet

A 5-prompt version for children with space to draw, and a 10-prompt version for teens and adults.Adults and teensGroupsDepressionSelf esteemCBTPositive psychologyPsychoeducational+42 worksheets 1 page each

Sources & credibility

Method: Therapeutic block-stacking question game
Developed by: No single originator; therapeutic game play collected by Charles Schaefer and Steven Reid
Approach: Play therapy (game play)
Evidence: Practice-based (limited trials)A common engagement game in child and teen therapy. The value comes from the questions and the therapist's follow-up; the game format itself has little outcome research.

References

Schaefer C. E. & Reid S. E. (Eds.) (2001). Game Play: Therapeutic Use of Childhood Games (2nd ed.). Wiley.
Bratton, S. C., Ray, D., Rhine, T., & Jones, L. (2005). The efficacy of play therapy with children: A meta-analytic review of treatment outcomes. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36(4), 376–390. Source

How it was made

Built by the Mentalyc team from the original method and the published sources listed here. Nothing you enter is stored.

Questions people ask

What are good questions for a therapy block-stacking game?

Good questions for a therapy block-stacking game are short and open: feelings ('What makes you feel proud?'), coping ('What helps you calm down?'), family, school and friends. This game includes ready-made question sets for kids and teens, sorted by block color.

How do you play a block-stacking game in therapy?

Each block color links to a question type. The player pulls a block, answers the question that goes with its color and stacks the block on top, so talking feels like part of the game.

Can you play a therapy block-stacking game on telehealth?

Yes. This online version runs in the browser, so you can share your screen or send the client a link and play over video without a physical tower.

Why use games in therapy with kids and teens?

A simple game lowers pressure: the turn structure keeps hands busy while the child answers, and a question picked by a block color feels less direct than being asked outright. Games work best for building rapport and opening topics, with the clinician following up on what comes up.

Keep exploring

Problem or idea? Tell us (opens in a new tab)

Your game designer

Michael Thompson, MSc

Michael's background combines doctoral training in clinical psychology with research on motivation, learning, and emotional regulation.

More about Michael Thompson, MSc →