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Genesis: A Game of History Creation
03.02.2010
01:45 am
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The following card game, meant to be played with a pack of Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot cards, was invented by Anders Sandberg. Sandberg holds a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience from Stockholm University, and is currently a James Martin Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University. He’s a leading transhumanist and is quoted extensively in Ray Kurzweil’s “The Singularity is Near.” Back in my day, however, we knew him as the guy who ran the most wicked “Mage: The Ascension” fan page on the Internet. If you know what this game is (aka “Dungeons and Dragons wasn’t enough to corrupt you brats into the occult? Here, have this.”) (aka “Nothing in this game is true, but it’s exactly the way things are”) you are already doomed. If you don’t, it’s too late to explain now.

The card game can be played by anybody without any previous knowledge of any other system, including Crowley’s deck. Looks very keen.

The game is played with a deck of tarot cards and a few ten-sided dice. There is nothing magical about the use of tarot, except that it is good for bringing up associations. I have used the Aleister Crowley Thoth deck, and would recommend it because the cards both have a rich symbolism and (in the case of the suits) written names giving helpful suggestions for their uses (four of disks is “power”, two of cups “luxury”). It can be run using other decks of course, but often the images are less helpful and the meanings more psychological. Knowing the symbolism and meanings of the cards makes the game far more entertaining and flexible, but just looking at the images can give inspiration. The knight of wands is riding a black horse and carrying a huge torch – a violent warlord. The fool is carrying a sack of coins – an opportunity to swindle.

The basic system is simple. Each player represents one group, society, organisation, person or something different. There may or may not be a GM with a final say, although it is useful (as is having somebody as a note-taker if the results are to be used later). Over the span of the game players may join or leave depending on whether their sides are removed or new sides of the story appear (temporarily removed players make good note takers). Unused players may act as “fate” or “chance”, playing cards that represent outside forces.

(Anders Sandberg: Genesis)

(Thoth Tarot Deck)

(Wiki on Mage: The Ascension)

Posted by Jason Louv
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03.02.2010
01:45 am
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