Illuminati Card Game?

[Garb]

Yeah I was looking at some comments on PrisonPlanet I believe, discussing the Minnessota bridge collapse.

Apparently the government was planning the attacks all along and printed it all on cards. And decided to distribute it for a few extra bucks.

http://www.cuttingedge.org/articles/ICG.html

Who believes this crap?

[steve s]

Why do his cards predict the appearance of Antichrist and the Rapture as the last two events of the Illuminati Plan?

Wow! The Illuminati can control god and satan. I'm impressed.

Steve S.

[Drudgewire]

So we revealed our plans to the world, but wanted to be stealthy about it so we did it in a card game nobody would buy since it was a sad rip-off of Magic: The Gathering (or so I assume. Never played either but at least that led to an incredible Jay Pinkerton (http://www.jaypinkerton.com/2005/04/sin_city_an_investigative_repo.php) bit).

"You want to play?" asked Andrew, who was more giving in the friendliness department then Neil. This was more like it. Before I could stop myself, the craving to gamble hit me like a radio kneed into a bathtub.

"You bet your [whole phrase is a rule 10 violation] I want to play," I said, lighting a cigarette. I grabbed Neil's deck and, ignoring his mewling protests, began shuffling it. "What's the betting limit? This like Texas Hold 'Em?" I queried, palming a few cards up into my sleeves while shuffling.

"Um. You don't play Magic: The Gathering for money."

I paused in mid-shuffle. "What the hell are you talking about?" I began to suspect I wasn't not the only one there who was incredibly drunk. There followed a long explanation I didn't even attempt to understand, while I flipped through cards with fruity names like Ravenous Baloth and Tribal Forcemage.
:dl:

[R.Mackey]

Ah, good old Steve Jackson Games.

The original "Illuminati" was from the 80's. Brilliant game. I haven't played the update (http://www.sjgames.com/inwo/), but later on they decided, for fun, to morph it even closer to the weird and idiotic things that crazy people believe.

What we're seeing here is nothing more than a kind of circular reasoning. The game is based on the outbursts of paranoid lunatics, and unsurprisingly, when those same paranoid lunatics get hold of it, there is a reinforcing effect.

Fortunately for the rest of us, it was this game, and not the Douglas Malewicki classic Nuclear War (http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/nucwar.htm), that became prophetic. :D

[Brainster]

There was a Play-By-Mail version of this game as well; a company with the rather unique name of Flying Buffalo, Inc., marketed it. It was pretty entertaining; you had to do periodic purges of your cadres for example, to make them more fanatical and less likely to become controlled by other factions.

[Bell]

Anyone know where to obtain a Duck of Doom?

[defaultdotxbe]

* That one tower was going to be struck first; this picture accurately depicts the moments between the first tower strike and the second.except theres no indication on the card at all that the second tower would be hit at all* The card accurately depicts that the place of impact is some distance from the top of the twin towers. The plane hit in this approximate area of the first tower. How in the world could Steve Jackson know this fact?except that its descibed as a nuke, not a plane, and it would have to be in the top half of the tower just to make a good picture* The card accurately depicts the Illuminati leadership by showing on the building to the extreme left of the card the Illuminist pyramid with an all-seeing eye in the middle.illuminati symbols, in a game called "the iulluminati card game?" couldnt POSSIBLY be a coincidence... * The caption at the top properly identifies the perpetrators of the attack as "terrorists"those same rascals who attacked those same towers 2 years before the game was released, whodda thunkit!

[dudalb]

I had a lot of fun playing that game in college. I was always fond of the Orbital Mind Control Lasers Myself.
Trust the CTers to take a Card Game poking fun at Conspiracy Kooks as proof of a conspiracy.

[The Pig]

Prince Philip in the study with the lead piping.

[Alareth]

Fortunately for the rest of us, it was this game, and not the Douglas Malewicki classic Nuclear War (http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/nucwar.htm), that became prophetic. :D

I still play Nuclear War on a regular basis at http://gametableonline.com/.

They are working on adding the Nuclear Escalation and Nuclear Proliferation expansion cards as well.

[PhantomWolf]

What we're seeing here is nothing more than a kind of circular reasoning. The game is based on the outbursts of paranoid lunatics, and unsurprisingly, when those same paranoid lunatics get hold of it, there is a reinforcing effect.

And the real classic, the loon jobs don't even realise that the card game was taking the preverbal out of them, ROFLMAO.

:dl: :dl:

[R.Mackey]

I still play Nuclear War on a regular basis at http://gametableonline.com/.

They are working on adding the Nuclear Escalation and Nuclear Proliferation expansion cards as well.

I have all three, dead-tree edition. Cut my teeth on Nuclear Escalation in junior high school. The original has the Spinner and therefore rules. Escalation brought about the Spies, by far my favorite part of the game. Proliferation is kinda strange -- the Stealth Bomber in particular is excellent, but subs are awfully clumsy, and some of the special country mats just don't play that well.

I wrote a reasonably playable port for the Apple ][ in 1987. Not sure how to get it off of 51/4" diskettes, or if it's worth the trouble.

Oh, by the way, you're all a bunch of nerds. ;)

[OldTigerCub]

Do the Illuminati cards come with bubblegum?:drool:
I need something sweet to chew on to keep me from biting my tongue....:p

[hellaeon]

Is this a joke? They actually believe this? I reckon this would be one of those 'realisation' moments over there where you either believe it and become ever more dumb or stand back and go what....huh? (and then apply that to everything else)

[defaultdotxbe]

I wrote a reasonably playable port for the Apple ][ in 1987. Not sure how to get it off of 51/4" diskettes, or if it's worth the trouble.

Oh, by the way, you're all a bunch of nerds. ;)
ahem...

[Alareth]

ahem...

Doesn't the fact that Ryan actually is a "rocket scientist" automatically set him in the upper levels of nerddom without any other supporting evidence needed?

[defaultdotxbe]

Doesn't the fact that Ryan actually is a "rocket scientist" automatically set him in the upper levels of nerddom without any other supporting evidence needed?
yes, but working knowledge of a programming language is +10 nerd (and using a phrase like +n trait is +2 nerd)

[Unfit4Command]

After viewing this website a bit, I decided to search for the cards on Amazon, and guess what I found when I typed in, "terrorist nuke card (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/102-7513978-3688164?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Terrorist+Nuke+card&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go)."

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z80/911pictures/Other%20Stuff/terroristnuke.jpg

That's right! The 9/11 Commission Report.:jaw-dropp Coincidence?! You decide!

[negativ]

Steve Jackson games published a Subgenius (http://subgenius.com/) edition, too.

If being published in a set of playing cards (http://www.sjgames.com/inwo/SubGenius/) means it's ALL TRUE, then I'm one happy yetinsyny.

[Graham2001]

Do the Illuminati cards come with bubblegum?:drool:


No, but they do come with a Miracle Diet Plan (http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n213/Bloodwyche/MiracleDiet.png), which qualifies you for membership in the Semiconscious Liberation Army (http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n213/Bloodwyche/Semi.png):boggled:(aka '911 Troof Movement') who might be able to tell you where the fake Terrorist Nuke (http://tinyurl.com/2388zn):eye-poppi was hidden on the day.

[Graham2001]

Is this a joke? They actually believe this?

I don't think so, back in February someone claimed an advert for Command and Conquer: Red Alert was proof that the US govt planned to blow up the WTC. (Original link no longer exists, but it was commented on at Screw Loose Change (http://tinyurl.com/yoh6c2)

As for the card game Illuminati was great fun, until you realize that the principal vulnerability of Princess Di in the game was to media cards...:eek:

[Rolfe]

Oooh, I remember sitting up till 4 in the morning playing Illuminati some time in the mid-80s. In the end a few people ganged up to allow someone to win, so that we could all get to bed. If only I'd known!

Rolfe.

[Hellbound]

I loved that game! I actually bought the Strategy Guide book for it, had some interesting ideas.

One of my favorites was the "confusion" deck. You load several different Illuminati cards, along with several "Unmask" cards (which allows you to change which Illuminati group you are). Then you continually change identities throughout the game.

[Graham2001]

Oooh, I remember sitting up till 4 in the morning playing Illuminati some time in the mid-80s.

So you've been to SF conventions too, I can remember a few times going without sleep for two or three days, just to finish playing Nuclear War or to catch something good during the video stream...

[grmcdorman]

yes, but working knowledge of a programming language is +10 nerd (and using a phrase like +n trait is +2 nerd)I'd hate to think what geek level I am then :D: working knowledge of too many programming languages (including several I've forgotton); first programming language was APL (programming language), which is considered weird by virtually all other programmers (aside from joke languages like white space (programming language)); wrote significant applications in PDP-11 Assembler and UNIVAC 1100 Assembler; and more.

On the other hand, I didn't do much gaming - D&D in university, but not much after that. I don't even do online gaming now.

By the way, on a PDP-11 (especially the low-end ones without stack checking) if you place this instruction at location zero: CALL -(PC), set the stack to the highest address, and disable interrupts, you end up with the machine halted with all memory set to zero and the stack pointer containing 0. :cool:

[SpitfireIX]

Yeah I was looking at some comments on PrisonPlanet I believe, discussing the Minnessota bridge collapse.

Apparently the government was planning the attacks all along and printed it all on cards. And decided to distribute it for a few extra bucks.

http://www.cuttingedge.org/articles/ICG.html

Who believes this crap?


The US Secret Service, unfortunately. From a Steve Jackson Games web page (http://www.sjgames.com/SS/):


On March 1 1990, the offices of Steve Jackson Games, in Austin, Texas, were raided by the U.S. Secret Service as part of a nationwide investigation of data piracy. The initial news stories simply reported that the Secret Service had raided a suspected ring of hackers. Gradually, the true story emerged. . . .

On the morning of March 1, without warning, a force of armed Secret Service agents . . . occupied the offices of Steve Jackson Games and began to search for computer equipment. The home of Loyd Blankenship, the writer of GURPS Cyberpunk, was also raided. A large amount of equipment was seized, including four computers, two laser printers, some loose hard disks and a great deal of assorted hardware. One of the computers was the one running the Illuminati BBS.

The only computers taken were those with GURPS Cyberpunk files . . .

The next day, accompanied by an attorney, Steve Jackson visited the Austin offices of the Secret Service. He had been promised that he could make copies of the company's files. As it turned out, he was only allowed to copy a few files, and only from one system. Still missing were all the current text files and hard copy for this book, as well as the files for the Illuminati BBS with their extensive playtest comments.

In the course of that visit, it became clear that the investigating agents considered GURPS Cyberpunk to be "a handbook for computer crime." They seemed to make no distinction between a discussion of futuristic credit fraud, using equipment that doesn't exist, and modern real-life credit card abuse. A repeated comment by the agents was "This is real. . . ."

The raid, and especially the confiscation of the game manuscript, caused a catastrophic interruption of the company's business. SJ Games very nearly closed its doors. . . .

Why was SJ Games raided? That was a mystery until October 21, 1990, when the company finally received a copy of the Secret Service warrant affidavit - at their request, it had been sealed. And the answer was . . . guilt by remote association.

While reality-checking the book, Loyd Blankenship corresponded with a variety of people, from computer security experts to self-confessed computer crackers. From his home, he ran a legal BBS which discussed the "computer underground," and he knew many of its members. That was enough to put him on a federal List of Dangerous Hoodlums! The affidavit on which SJ Games were raided was unbelievably flimsy . . . Loyd Blankenship was suspect because he ran a technologically literate and politically irreverent BBS, because he wrote about hacking, and because he received and re-posted a copy of the /Phrack newsletter. The company was raided simply because Loyd worked there and used its (entirely different) BBS!

The one bright spot in this whole affair was the creation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. . . . The EFF provided the financial backing that made it possible for SJ Games and four Illuminati users to file suit against the Secret Service.

In early 1993, the case finally came to trial. . . .

And we won. The judge gave the Secret Service a tongue-lashing and ruled for SJ Games on two out of the three counts, and awarded over $50,000 in damages, plus over $250,000 in attorney's fees. [emphasis added]

[SpitfireIX]

Oooh, I remember sitting up till 4 in the morning playing Illuminati some time in the mid-80s. In the end a few people ganged up to allow someone to win, so that we could all get to bed. If only I'd known!

Rolfe.


Back in the day my cronies and I played Illuminati! quite a bit. It was often a popular choice because it scales well from 3-8 players, everyone knew how to play, and we always laughed at the group names. And just for the record, Rolfe, Illuminati! is a short game by the standards of gaming geeks. :p

[ponderingturtle]

Yeah I was looking at some comments on PrisonPlanet I believe, discussing the Minnessota bridge collapse.

Apparently the government was planning the attacks all along and printed it all on cards. And decided to distribute it for a few extra bucks.

http://www.cuttingedge.org/articles/ICG.html

Who believes this crap?

So that explains why the Secret Service raided Steve Jackson Games.

[ponderingturtle]

I have all three, dead-tree edition. Cut my teeth on Nuclear Escalation in junior high school. The original has the Spinner and therefore rules. Escalation brought about the Spies, by far my favorite part of the game. Proliferation is kinda strange -- the Stealth Bomber in particular is excellent, but subs are awfully clumsy, and some of the special country mats just don't play that well.

I wrote a reasonably playable port for the Apple ][ in 1987. Not sure how to get it off of 51/4" diskettes, or if it's worth the trouble.

Oh, by the way, you're all a bunch of nerds. ;)

They put out a new expansion recently, weapons of mass destruction.

[ponderingturtle]

I loved that game! I actually bought the Strategy Guide book for it, had some interesting ideas.

One of my favorites was the "confusion" deck. You load several different Illuminati cards, along with several "Unmask" cards (which allows you to change which Illuminati group you are). Then you continually change identities throughout the game.

That was in Stupid INWO tricks in Pyramid magazine. My favorite was "Talk to your cards, encourage them when they do well, threaten them when they do badly. If you lose destroy your deck in the most extreme way local ordinances allow. Then pull out a new deck and shuffle and calmly ask who wants to play again."

[ponderingturtle]

The US Secret Service, unfortunately. From a Steve Jackson Games web page (http://www.sjgames.com/SS/):

Technically that was about the "computer crime" book they where going to publish GURPS Cyberpunk not Illuminati.

[Hellbound]

That was in Stupid INWO tricks in Pyramid magazine. My favorite was "Talk to your cards, encourage them when they do well, threaten them when they do badly. If you lose destroy your deck in the most extreme way local ordinances allow. Then pull out a new deck and shuffle and calmly ask who wants to play again."

Ah, cool. They had both of those reprinted in the Illuminati Card Game Strategy Guide. I suppose that's where they got all of them from :). Although, in the guide they added "Pull out the new deck. Point to the remains of the old deck and scream 'See!? See what happens to failures?!' Then calmly shuffle and ask for another game..."

I'll have to look around and see if I still have my cards, now.

[SpitfireIX]

Technically that was about the "computer crime" book they where going to publish GURPS Cyberpunk not Illuminati.


Yes, I know. The point was the Secret Service's failure to understand the difference between a game and reality.

[ponderingturtle]

Yes, I know. The point was the Secret Service's failure to understand the difference between a game and reality.

Or return property when they had the difference explained to them by a judge.

[SpitfireIX]

[shameless plug]While we're on the subject of games, , I'd like to urge anyone who enjoys George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series to check out the collectible card game based on it, A Game of Thrones (http://www.agameofthrones.com/). I've been a hard-core gamer for 30 years ([expletive deleted], has it really been that long??), and before I tried AGoT I wouldn't have touched any CCG with a 305 cm pole, but I really love this one. I'm especially looking for players in or near Indiana.[/shameless plug]

Side note: I did a Google search to try to find people around Fort Wayne who are fans of the books in order to try to recruit them. I found one 40-year old guy who had the series at the top of his list of favorite books, but he also had Loose Change and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon listed under his favorite movies. :faint: Just my luck! Needless to say I won't be trying to recruit him!

[ihaunter]

The US Secret Service, unfortunately. From a Steve Jackson Games web page (http://www.sjgames.com/SS/):

The site in the OP quotes part of that as well in order to prove the government were worried about this game. But I noticed something interesting in their quote:
"On the morning of March 1, [1990] without warning, a force of armed Secret Service agents - accompanied by Austin police and at least one civilian 'expert' from the phone company - occupied the offices of Steve Jackson Games and began to search for computer equipment. The home ... the writer of GURPS Cyberpunk, was also raided. A large amount of equipment was seized, including four computers, two laser printers, some loose hard disks and a great deal of assorted hardware. One of the computers was the one running the Illuminati BBS."
They left out Loyd Blankenship's name. Kind of key to understanding what the raid was about. But I'm sure they were just concerned with protecting Loyd's privacy and not trying to hide anything. Ugh, that sounded a little CTish. Could someone send a black helicopter my way for pick up?

[CptColumbo]

I was never a fan of the card game.

[cj.23]

I played the original mostly plastic boxed version. Can I still remember the groups? The Network, Servants of Cthulhu, Bermuda Triangle, UFO's, Gnomes of Zurich, Bavarian Illuminati, and expansions included the Assassins and ??? Agggh! Too long ago. I have the later collectible card version sitting in front of me on the windowsill. Steve Jackson Games are of course still going strong - but it's years since I played OGRE, Awful Green Things from Outer Space or even Car Wars! I did have a book reviewed in Pyramid though. :)


Go, buy stuff - http://www.sjgames.com/ourgames/
:D

And as I write mainly for Chaosium and Atlas Games, no benefit to me!
cj x

[Rolfe]

So you've been to SF conventions too, I can remember a few times going without sleep for two or three days, just to finish playing Nuclear War or to catch something good during the video stream...


Oh yes, lots. However, the Illuminati game was at the home of a fellow-fan, in an organised gaming weekend, separate from the con circuit. Obviously, however, from Spitfire's viewpoint, we were all wimps!

Rolfe.

[Alareth]

Yes, I know. The point was the Secret Service's failure to understand the difference between a game and reality.

The Secret Service are CT's?

[Graham2001]

I sent an email to SJ Games letting them know about this site and today I got a reply.

Apparently it wasn't the first time that someone has sent them a link to this guy and they think it's worth a laugh or two...

[stilicho]

Ah, good old Steve Jackson Games.

The original "Illuminati" was from the 80's. Brilliant game. I haven't played the update (http://www.sjgames.com/inwo/), but later on they decided, for fun, to morph it even closer to the weird and idiotic things that crazy people believe.

What we're seeing here is nothing more than a kind of circular reasoning. The game is based on the outbursts of paranoid lunatics, and unsurprisingly, when those same paranoid lunatics get hold of it, there is a reinforcing effect.

Fortunately for the rest of us, it was this game, and not the Douglas Malewicki classic Nuclear War (http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/nucwar.htm), that became prophetic. :D

Sounds like you're a gamer after my own heart, R Mackey. I own both those games although they collect dust these days. We even modified the Nuclear War spinner so there was a slender chance that launching the 100 MT warhead could result in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Beer & Pretzels!!!

Did you ever own a game called Naval Warfare where you dealt and drew cards for the ships and the ammunition? Nothing more frustrating than launching the Italian 15" gun battleships armed only with 16" shells!

Gnomes Of Zurich Unite!!! :boxedin:

[stilicho]

I played the original mostly plastic boxed version. Can I still remember the groups? The Network, Servants of Cthulhu, Bermuda Triangle, UFO's, Gnomes of Zurich, Bavarian Illuminati, and expansions included the Assassins and ??? Agggh! Too long ago. I have the later collectible card version sitting in front of me on the windowsill. Steve Jackson Games are of course still going strong - but it's years since I played OGRE, Awful Green Things from Outer Space or even Car Wars! I did have a book reviewed in Pyramid though. :)


Go, buy stuff - http://www.sjgames.com/ourgames/
:D

And as I write mainly for Chaosium and Atlas Games, no benefit to me!
cj x
I wrote a little for Iron Crown Enterprises, years ago, with the Champions series--great GURPS-style.

You forgot The Discordians.

Another oft-forgotten game: The Creature That Ate Sheboygan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creature_That_Ate_Sheboygan