A die resting on a small green-and-cream checkered board, with a green pawn beside its edge.

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Wyrd Sisters

Terry Pratchett

In fact, no gods anywhere play chess. They prefer simple, vicious games, where you Do Not Achieve Transcendence but Go Straight to Oblivion; a key to the understanding of all religion is that a god’s idea of amusement is Snakes and Ladders with greased rungs.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker jokes that gods dislike subtle strategy and favour brutal games of chance where players fall straight into oblivion. Divine amusement resembles a rigged board game with slippery rungs. The satire says religion's key is that higher powers treat human fortunes as sport.

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