‘Illuminati Card Game’ Analysis
Part III: Existing Coverage and Analysis
Previously in this series:
Part I – Introduction and Overview
Part II – Some Well-Known ‘Coincidences’
Contents – Part III
5 – Existing coverage by ACT bloggers/YouTubers
6 – Why are the existing analyses so poor?
7 – The importance of context
Is there a reason why so few people take these ‘coincidences’ seriously? Are the ‘truthers’ actually discrediting the work of legitimate researchers?
In Part III of this series we are taking a look at the existing coverage and analysis of the ‘Illuminati card game’.
5 – Existing coverage by ACT bloggers/YouTubers
The games are occasionally referred to by alternative/conspiracy/truth (ACT) outlets/individuals, usually due to what seem like eerily-accurate ‘predictions’ of various events which have taken place since the games were released.
If you conduct a websearch on the matter you will find numerous blogs, personal websites and forums discussing the games. Generally these discussions seem to follow the standard ACT narrative:
-The games were released by the ‘Illuminati’ (or, alternatively, whoever released the games is a member of the ‘Illuminati’)
-It is a form of ‘predictive programming’ and/or ‘putting the truth in plain sight’
For just one example of the latter line of argument, see this page from ‘Cutting Edge’, which spends some time analysing various cards and then concludes with the following:
This role-playing game called the “Illuminati — New World Order”, or “INWO” is smoking gun proof that the Illuminati plan to produce Antichrist was well known in certain circles in 1995, when the game was distributed. Too many details are presented by these cards too close to the actual event to be accidental. The game depicts the events of 9/11 quite accurately and it depicts the planned events of bio-terror that are filling our daily news.
If ever you doubted that a global conspiracy could or did exist, you can doubt no longer. This game demonstrates both the existence of the conspiracy and its main details.
Unfortunately the author of this Cutting Edge piece concludes by suggesting that the Illuminati card games are proof that one needs to accept Jesus and seek salvation.
Few analyses of the games focus on the company behind the games, but there do exist some. See for example this this 2012 piece by ‘Global Report 2010’, which is probably the best review I have found so far. Unfortunately the article does not go into any real detail about the history of the company which produced the games, its founder, or his/their philosophies.
In terms of video content, there are plenty of videos on YouTube which focus on either one or a handful of cards. I won’t waste space listing them here; you can perform a search for ‘Illuminati card game’ in the YouTube search bar and see for yourself.
Chances are that you will notice a pattern among such videos: terrible production values, and only superficial analysis of each card.
Some of these videos may be interesting (and in some cases are even well-produced) but, as with the written reviews available, they fail to address the most interesting and important elements which any serious analysis of the games ought to explore:
The history of Steve Jackson Games
The founder of Steve Jackson Games
The philosophies of Steve Jackson Games
Without this context, any reference to the game or its cards can never be anything more than trivial or perfunctory.
In short: The games have been referenced in countless blogs and YouTube videos but these analyses are almost always superficial and lacking context.
6 – Why are the existing analyses so poor?
Consider how many times the games have been referenced in ACT videos on YouTube alone. Chances are that you have already seen the following cards more than once:
Why is it that so many people refer to these games but so few (if any) ACT content creators have taken the time to perform a serious analysis of them?
The answer is every bit as obvious as it is bleak: the ACT audience doesn’t want or demand serious research. Since serious research takes serious time to conduct, the typical ‘truth’ blogger/YouTuber will not bother, because they can get more clicks with less effort by churning low-quality material i.e. superficial analyses.
The typical ‘truther’ consumes ‘truth’ material for titillation and entertainment, not to seriously challenge their own ideas or develop as thinkers. Therefore a reference in passing to the ‘Illuminati game’, the pointing out of an apparent connection between a single card and a recent media event, is all they desire.
Want to believe in Flat Earth? There’s an ‘Illuminati card’ for that! Figured out that the ‘moon landings’ were bogus? There’s an ‘Illuminati card’ for that!
It is titillating, and it is entertaining, to watch videos about some game called ‘Illuminati’ and how it apparently ‘predicted’ the future, or ‘put the truth in plain sight’.
I am not claiming that there is anything necessarily wrong with this. As humans we seem to crave entertainment and titillation.
In short: Existing ACT coverage of the games is poor because the typical ‘truther’ wants only entertainment and titillation.
7 – The importance of context
Context allows true understanding.
Would you judge a book by its cover? Would you judge a film by its promotional poster?
Of course not. Therefore, before learning about:
The history of the company which produced the game
The founder of the company which produced the game
The philosophies of the people who created the game
…why would any intelligent person judge a game?
By the end of this series you will know more about all of these things and more. You will therefore have a better understanding of the context behind the ‘Illuminati card game’ than any of the countless ACT bloggers/YouTubers who want to tell you what to believe about the game.
As a result of this context, you may come away with a very different opinion to that which you held before beginning the series.*
In short: This series will focus on not only the cards themselves but also the context behind the games.
Notes – Part III
*The vast majority of people alive today detest changing their minds, and will go to great lengths to avoid even reconsidering their preconceived notions.
If you are somebody who bases his/her opinions on the evidence, rather than the other way round, then proceed onto Part IV and enjoy!
Summary – Part III
5) The games have been referenced in countless blogs and YouTube videos but these analyses are almost always superficial and lacking context.
6) Existing ACT coverage of the games is poor because the typical ‘truther’ wants only entertainment and titillation.
7) This series will focus on the cards themselves as well as the context behind the games.
Up next
In Part II we looked at some well-known ‘coincidences’ involving the ‘Illuminati card game’ and events in ‘real life’:
In Part IV we are taking a look at some recent examples of life apparently imitating (game) art.
Click HERE to continue on to Part IV.
Page updated 26-Aug-2022 due to interest on reddit.