Ottawa’s Scott Annan has launched a social enterprise aimed at replacing surface-level interactions with genuine connections through a new team-building card game.

He recently co-founded How’s the Water? It’s named after the metaphor for asking how someone is doing — like, really doing. Forget the how-are-you-I’m-fine routine.

The game is the flagship product under the Soulbound banner, designed to create safe spaces for mental health-related conversations, whether at work, at home, or in the locker room.

As a father of four, Annan has weathered the challenges of parenting teenagers.

“I think the one thing that people who are struggling have in common is they feel alone, they feel isolated, they feel no one understands them,” he said during an interview at Drip House coffee shop in the Glebe.

He’s looking to take the attention away from the “me” and shifts it to the “us”. “There’s not a lot of opportunity for people to feel seen and heard. As a parent, you can ask your kids all the time, ‘How are things going? How are you?” And you get ‘Fine’ and ‘Good’. ”

The game’s origins go back to a series of gatherings hosted by Age of Discovery international best-selling co-author Chris Kutarna. He brought together a global network of visionary thinkers, from Nobel Prize winners to prominent musicians to philanthropists, all known for challenging conventional thinking. Annan, who’s done considerable work supporting Ottawa’s startup ecosystem, was invited to participate. The uOttawa alumnus is currently founder and CEO of GUIDES.CO and CEO and founder of Mercury Grove.

The first UnConference was held in Toronto, followed by London, England (a third scheduled for Tokyo was cancelled due to the pandemic). Through these events, Annan met Amsterdam-based entrepreneur Casper Jorna, with whom he co-founded How’s the Water?

The pair did extensive research, contacting psychologists and sports therapists.

“That’s how we came up with the concept of soulfulness. Rather than mindfulness to try to calm your mind, we chose soulfulness because it’s about replenishing your soul — and you can only do that with other people,” he said in the context of making personal connections by being curious, being kind and believing (like in the Ted Lasso kind of way).

How’s the Water? was originally conceived as an app, but the founders discovered, after testing the prototype with professional sports teams in Europe, that the activity worked better as a physical card game. Players reportedly preferred the tactile experience.

How’s the Water? is a new card game co-founded by Ottawa entrepreneur Scott Annan. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The game has shown to improve team performance and individual well-being, not just for athletes, but also in family settings and workplace settings, said Annan. In one instance, an employee who was grieving over the loss of his mother reached out to a former colleague who’d gone through the same thing. He only knew this because it had been revealed during a workplace exercise game of How’s the Water? “It was really neat to see that just through playing this one game the one time he was able to find somebody who could help him through a tough time,” said Annan.

The colour-coded card game opens with a check-in question to summarize how a player is generally feeling. Once everyone is warmed up, the game moves into thoughtful reflection, followed by questions that encourage positive acknowledgment and celebration.

Collective celebrations help to build unity and lead to better psychological health in team sports, said Annan. “It used to be when someone scored a goal, they’d face the fans, so that they could admire them for just scoring a goal. What’s changed in the last decade or so is that you will now see players turn toward their teammates, turning it into a team celebration rather than an individual celebration.

“That physical connection and celebrating together, that action builds strong team cohesion. It can also apply to families and work families. We need to celebrate every small win. It actually creates an environment that’s a lot more supportive.”

The game also helps to create non-judgemental spaces for children and parents to talk, said Annan. “With cell phones and social media and global events, these pods in our lives – our families, workspaces and sports team — play an increasingly important role in our mental health. It’s not just about looking inward and thinking, ‘I’m going through this, I must be messed up, I need to get help to fix me’ but about having these anchors, knowing the ground isn’t falling out beneath me, and that I’ve got people who I can talk to, who are going through similar things, and having these safe spaces.”

Of course, there will always be the cynics and eye-ball rollers, Annan recognized. “We were playing with friends, and there was someone like that, but then a question came up, asking him to share something that he was really proud of, and he said, ‘My kids. Actually, I’m not sure if I’ve ever told them that, maybe I should’. I saw him a week later and he said, ‘That game actually did something that I didn’t expect’.”

Annan said he’s sold roughly 20,000 sets of How’s the Water? since first launching the game this past October. He’s looking to expand to publications and merchandise, donating at least 20 percent of all the profit revenue back to local community groups, amateur sports teams, and other organizations.

To learn more about Soulbound and its How’s the Water? card game, check out trysoulbound.com.

This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WCPD, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Infinity Convention Centre, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel and RBC.

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