Click on "Install Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@Oblique Strategies MCP Servergive me a random strategy from the programmers collection"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
Oblique Strategies MCP Server
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides access to Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt's Oblique Strategies - a collection of prompts designed to help overcome creative blocks through lateral thinking.
Why?
Why not?
No, seriously, why?
Because I've built Oblique Strategies thingies for various devices & platforms and I wanted to make another one to play with the MCP protocol.
This is a very silly project and you should just go buy a real deck of cards.
Quick Start
No installation required, if you have uvx and you trust my code from github. (Weirdo.)
Run directly from GitHub using uvx:
For Claude Desktop, add to your config file:
For Claude Code:
Features
Get random strategies from multiple editions (1975-1982)
Search strategies by keyword
Choose from 7 different collections including programming-specific adaptations
Default: Edition 2 (1978) with 128 strategies
MCP Tools
get_strategy- Get a random strategy (optionally specify edition)search_strategies- Search strategies by keywordlist_editions- List all available editions
Available Collections
Edition 1-4: Original Oblique Strategies (1975-1982)
Condensed: Comprehensive collection (195 strategies)
Programmers: Programming-specific adaptations (96 prompts)
Do It: Action-oriented prompts (32 strategies)
Installation
For Development
Running the Server
Development Mode
From the project directory:
After Global Installation
Configuration
For Claude Desktop
Add to your Claude Desktop config file (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):
Development Setup
Note: Replace /path/to/uv with the full path to your uv executable (typically ~/.local/bin/uv or use which uv to find it).
Global Installation Setup
For Claude Code
Development Setup
Using Wrapper Script
Global Installation
After adding, restart Claude Desktop or reconnect in Claude Code.
License
MIT
Acknowledgments
Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt for creating Oblique Strategies
Strategy collections sourced from: https://github.com/zzkt/oblique-strategies