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I was raised Catholic, and I’m not Catholic anymore. But every so often, I get sucked into a rabbit hole of Catholic lore (did you know that saints who are generally depicted carrying their own severed heads are called cephalophores and that there is spirited debate about where to put their halos?) and it brings me right back to the matches-and-incense scent of my childhood church.

This game resulted from a deep dive into the lore of clergymen’s hats, and a realization that Catholic rites and rituals are not unlike roleplaying games.

This game is about adherence to ritual at any cost. It’s about men who cling to any scrap of power they can grasp with all of their might. It’s about how quickly insiders can become outsiders.

This game is mostly a joke.

I hope you enjoy it.

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Behold My Grand & Glorious Hat And Weep is a party game for 3-6 players who portray various clergy of the Catholic Church. During this game, you’ll construct elaborate hats out of craft materials and pray the Rosary, and, God help me, you will take this seriously.

To play, you’ll need craft supplies: cardstock, construction paper, ribbons, glitter glue, pompoms, and pipe cleaners may all be helpful for constructing your hats. Color is a very important signifier of hierarchy; you’ll need materials in white, scarlet, amaranth, green, gold, and black.

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This game is an experiment! It has not been playtested; it might be edited further, or it might not. If you play it, please let me know how it goes!