Classics + Cards Against Humanity

An ancient Roman windchime. Seriously.

Last night, a bunch of people from my program here in Rome got together to eat food and play Cards Against Humanity. I was responsible for creating the CAH set, and unfortunately the print shop I tried to go to was closed... which meant I had to create a game by hand. As a result, some of the cards changed along the way. 

While I am not going to tell other people how to enjoy their games, there are a few cards in the original CAH set that I prefer not to play with—"a robust mongoloid" is not something I find funny. So I altered a few of the cards to incorporate references to ancient history, while also retaining the inappropriate fun of Cards Against Humanity.

Some of the additions were:

- hiding inside of a wooden cow and hoping that a bull has sex with you (go read about where the Minotaur comes from)
- penis windchimes (see photo above)
- vomiting up your dinner to make room for more food
- Hadrian's gay sex dungeon (research: Antinous) 
- being kicked to death while pregnant (the rumored fate of Nero's second wife, Poppaea)
- Catullus 16 (NSFW!) 

We got some fantastic combinations, which included a "haiku" that made me cry because I was laughing so hard. There is a famous scene from Roman literature called the "Dinner of Trimalchio," in which a former slave who is now a rich freedman throws an amazingly tacky dinner party. Our haiku artist accurately captured it: 

Vomiting up your dinner to make room for more food
Trimalchio
Domino's Oreo Dessert Pizza 

Other good combos included "Recovering the Eagle from the Parthians + Erectile Dysfunction = The Res Gestae" and "Assless chaps + a winged penis sculpture = the rapture."  We also got, "That's right, I killed masturbation. How did I do it? Eunuchs." Someone even combined having sex with a bull with "the big bang." 

While Cards Against Humanity has its detractors, I've actually come to appreciate the game more after tinkering with it myself. Its cathartic properties are enhanced when you're poking fun at yourself and your own work. Plus, its flexibility can lead in a lot of fun directions if you're willing to put in some extra effort. I would love to see (or make) a version of this game that is 100% classically inspired—perfect for grad students who need to unwind or for Latin teachers who are hiding from their students at the state convention. 

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