The Bottom Line
Pros
- Great questions that eliminate superficial chatter and start meaningful conversations.
- Conversation from just one question can last an hour. It takes a long time to work through one cube.
- The question cards are made of a sturdy cardboard, so they'll stay nice a long time.
- There are nine available versions, and more on the way.
- The acrylic cube looks modern, and maybe a bit hip, sitting on your coffee table at home.
Cons
- Each cube costs $25, a little hefty for some wallets.
- If you're a traveling trainer, the cubes are on the weighty side. Two pounds each.
Description
- Four-inch clear acrylic cube.
- 135 conversation-starting questions.
- Nine plus different versions, with more on the way.
Guide Review - Table Topics Product Review
- What would you most like to do for someone else if you had the money and time?
- What fashion trend you followed was very cool then, but now looks ridiculous?
- If you could have any view from your back porch, what would it be?
Tim and I still talk about the conversations that were inspired the first evening we opened the cube. He talked about his most memorable meal at Mother's in New Orleans. We're heading back soon to recreate that experience.
Since then, I've purchased the Gourmet and Spirit cubes. The Gourmet cube is fun if you're a foodie like Tim. It's full of questions like:
- Do you have a food philosophy?
- To what degree do you eat local, organic, sustainably grown food?
- Which cooking shows do you watch?
Some people can talk about food forever. This cube is for them.
The Spirit cube has more questions that I would consider religious rather than spiritual, so there are some I put back without answering, which is usually against my own personal rules, but there are also some very good ones:
- What makes something sacred?
- Is there value in suffering?
- Would you like to know how and when you'll die?
The Original cube is clearly my favorite. It's scope is broader and it's topics are ones more appropriate for a general group of people, especially those who are strangers. In the classroom, unless you're teaching a specific topic covered by Table TopicsTM, I'd go with the Original cube.
