There’s so much in here. The whole “moral allegory” angle really caught my eye. It’s wild how much effort has gone into retrofitting games like chess and tarot with deeper meaning—especially when that meaning feels more like post-production than original design.
It reads like the medieval version of “make it sound educational so no one yells at us”—because, apparently, games were only allowed if they taught a moral lesson (and didn’t look too fun).
From where I sit—deep in my own card-by-card spiral—I keep wondering: how much of this was ever truly “there,” and how much was added in later to justify the fact that people liked it and wouldn’t stop playing?
There’s so much in here. The whole “moral allegory” angle really caught my eye. It’s wild how much effort has gone into retrofitting games like chess and tarot with deeper meaning—especially when that meaning feels more like post-production than original design.
It reads like the medieval version of “make it sound educational so no one yells at us”—because, apparently, games were only allowed if they taught a moral lesson (and didn’t look too fun).
From where I sit—deep in my own card-by-card spiral—I keep wondering: how much of this was ever truly “there,” and how much was added in later to justify the fact that people liked it and wouldn’t stop playing?