Who says Chaucer is dead? Game designer Alf Seegert has created a board game inspired by The Canterbury Tales, which thrusts each player into the role of a Chaucerian pardoner-pilgrim “whose goal is to tempt and ‘save’ as many Pilgrims as possible. If those pesky Pilgrims aren’t being sinful enough, phony Relic Cards will help encourage them to stay the unrighteous path.” Though the game isn’t written in inscrutable Middle English, it does maintain the humorous tradition of the original work infused with a bit of Monty Pythonesque flair, with ‘relics’ like “The Knickers of Saint Nicholas” and “The Scrambled Eggs of Saint Benedict.”
From two descriptions:
Perhaps you can persuade the Knight that his pride must be forgiven? Surely the Friar’s greed will net you a few coins? The Miller’s wrath and the Monk’s gluttony are on full public display and demand pardoning! The Wife of Bath regales herself in luxury, the Man-of-Law languishes in idleness, and that Prioress has envy written all over her broad forehead. And the naughty stories these Pilgrims tell each other are so full of iniquity they would make a barkeep blush! Pardoning such wickedness should be easy money, right?
…
There is one big catch. The Seven Deadly Sins live up to their name: each sin that a pilgrim commits brings Death one step nearer, and a dead pilgrim pays no pardoners!
Seegert and business partner Keith Blume II are currently promoting the project on Kickstarter; even if you don’t particularly care about helping make it come to fruition, the absolution of all sins that $1 contributors receive sound like a pretty good deal.
Box art:
Description video:
(Kickstarter Blog via @brainpicker | Project page, BGG page)
Published: May 10, 2011 02:48 pm