P+ is a game of associations, a corpus of possibilities in which prospects and projects can form storyboards, narratives, scripts, events and exhibitions. It is a toolbox, a database stemming from a theoretical strategy first meant for teaching: to sketch 100 projects a week.

In two words: Oblique Strategies, the cards of Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt.

P+ stands for Projects Prospects Possibilities +, a designation similar to units of measurement such as miles per hour (mph) or to protocols such as peer-to-peer (P2P) and the World Wide Web (www). It can be seen as a fictional and subjective method for quantifying or qualifying the emergence of ideas and conceptions as blueprints.

P+ is a series of editions made of collections of both text and images. The content of the images gives each collection its title, from photography to drawing to objects. The compendiums first spread digitally through social media, then generate collections of cards on this website, which serve as a template for real playing cards. Using these different mediums places P+ in collective and open-source contexts.

P+ has nine decks: P+ N, from 2012, then P+ I to P+ VIII, from 2024 to 2026.

A project can be done, poorly done or not done. It can be self-censored, too large or too small to be done, too idealistic or unrealistic to be done.

A prospect can evolve into a work, a series of works, a presentation, a representation, a utopia or a dystopia.

A possibility can be linked to another possibility, become one with multiple possibilities or evolve into a universe of possibilities, ever-transforming and ever-realising.

COMPONENTS

Six decks of 60 cards — 360 in all — drawn from the P+ corpus.

Setup. Shuffle the decks and lay them face down in a row between the two players.

OBJECT

Over six rounds, pair cards to build a shared set of twelve — a project, a prospect, a possibility. In each round, both players choose a card in secret, reveal them at once, and talk: what does this pairing mean, what could it become?

ROUNDS 1 & 2

Each player takes a deck of their choice, chooses a card, and both are revealed. Players then swap decks, choose again, and reveal.

ROUNDS 3 TO 6

Set used decks aside; each player takes a new deck, chooses a card, and both are revealed. Players swap, choose, and reveal. Repeat once more, until twelve cards are in play.

VETO

Each player has one veto, used during play. Use it to remove any card in play — your own or your opponent’s — and replace it with a card from your own current deck.

JOKER

Each player has one joker, played once all twelve cards are revealed. Shuffle the unused cards and draw a fresh deck of 60. Search it card by card, setting aside those that don’t speak. A card that improves the set replaces one of the twelve. The twelve cards then form a project, a prospect, or a possibility — one that may or may not be realised.