Human Quest · Personal growthLog inHuman Quest · Personal growthLog inA family of games and contemporary adaptations, exploring wisdom traditions, the great frameworks of psychology, and the language of science.
Explore their histories, names and world map →Historical game traditions and contemporary adaptations, each with its own teachings and visual world.
Gyan Chaupar
A 72-square Leela path through states of consciousness, inspired by the Indian game of knowledge and its modern presentation by Harish Johari.
Gyan Chaupar
The Jain adaptation focusing on the path to omniscient knowledge through strict ethical discipline and non-violence.
The Tibetan Game of Liberation
A 104-square adaptation inspired by Tibetan Buddhist rebirth games, explored in the published study by Mark Tatz and Jody Kent. Traditional attribution to Sakya Pandita does not establish the dating or authorship of every edition. This board ascends from the Vajra Hell, up through the six realms and the three vehicles — the Disciple, the Solitary Buddha, and the great Mahayana — and the swift Tantric path, to Nirvana and full Buddhahood. Every square is both a cosmological station and an inner state of mind the player passes through in the play (lila) of liberation.
Vaikuntapali
The South-Indian Vaishnava ascent — a 100-square climb of devotion to Vishnu, played through the all-night Vaikuntha Ekadasi vigil, from bondage in samsara across the river Vaitarani to Vaikuntha, the supreme abode.
An adaptation based on Taoist principles of balance, flow, and harmony with nature.
The Chess of the Gnostics
A 100-square adaptation of the game focusing on the mystical journey within Islam and Sufi traditions.
The Ladder of Divine Ascent
A 72-square contemplative ascent through the Christian mystical tradition — from the soul asleep in the world, through repentance and the purgative and illuminative ways and the dark night, to theosis: union with God.
Kabbalah
The Kabbalistic ascent of the soul up the Tree of Life — a 72-square climb through the ten sefirot, raising the holy sparks from the kingdom of Malkhut, across the Abyss, to the crown of Keter and union with the Infinite (Ein Sof).
The same ascent mapped through the language of the mind — the great frameworks of psychology.
Carl Jung
A 72-square journey of individuation — through persona, shadow, and soul-image toward the integrated Self, Jung's symbol of wholeness.
Abraham Maslow
Climb Maslow's hierarchy as an inner ascent — from raw survival through belonging and esteem to self-actualization and self-transcendence.
Erik Erikson
Erik Erikson's eight psychosocial stages lived as one ascent — each crisis, from trust to integrity, forging a lasting virtue.
IFS · Attachment · Polyvagal
A trauma-informed synthesis of IFS, attachment, and polyvagal theory — from nervous-system safety to compassionate Self-leadership.
The natural order read as an inner ascent — physics, life, and mind as contemplation.
Lila of the Wavefunction
A 72-square contemplative ascent that retells becoming through the language of quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and cosmology. You begin as the unmeasured wavefunction seething in the vacuum and climb toward full coherence in the unified field. Every square is a real, correctly-used physics concept read as an inner station of consciousness at play (Lila).
| Board | Goal | Virtues (Ladders/Arrows) | Vices (Snakes) | Philosophy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Leela (लीला) – The Game of Divine Play vedic | Square 68 – Cosmic Consciousness (Moksha) | Faith, Knowledge, Devotion, Asceticism | Ego (Ahankar), Greed, Anger, Attachment (Moha) | Represents the journey of the soul through the cycle of birth and rebirth (samsara) toward ultimate liberation. |
Jnana Bazi (ज्ञान बाज़ी) jain | Square 84 – Mukti — the Siddha-śilā (Liberation) | Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Brahmacharya (chastity), Aparigraha (non-attachment) | Krodha (Anger), Mana (Pride), Maya (Deceit), Lobha (Greed) | The soul's ascent through the four gatis and the fourteen stages of purification (guṇasthāna): by stopping the inflow of karma and shedding it through the great vows and austerity, the jīva attains omniscience (kevalajñāna) and the perfected, isolated liberation of the siddha. Faithfully reconstructed from historical 84-square Jaina charts (Schmidt-Madsen 2019). |
Chataranj al-'Ārifīn (شطرنج العارفين) sufi | Square 96 – Subsistence in God (Baqāʾ billāh) | Tawakkul (trust in God), Ikhlas (sincerity), Zuhd (detachment) | Kibr (pride), Riya (showing off), Ghaflah (heedlessness) | Symbolizes spiritual progression through Sufi stations (Maqamat). |
Rebirth tibetan | Square 104 – Nirvana / Buddhahood | Generosity, Morality, Patience, Meditation, Wisdom | Ignorance, Attachment, Aversion, Pride, Jealousy | All beings circle the six realms by their own karma; the game maps three Buddhist vehicles and the Tantric fast-path, showing that only the great vehicles, rightly practised, carry one all the way to liberation — while abuse of the highest path opens the deepest hell. |
Tao Leela tao | Square 68 – Harmony with the Tao | Balance, Flexibility, Simplicity, Non-action (Wu-wei) | Rigidity, Complexity, Excess, Forced action | Based on the principle of Wu-wei (non-action) and harmony with natural flow. |
Scala Paradisi — The Ladder of Divine Ascent christian | Square 68 – Theosis — Union with God | Faith, Hope, Charity (Love), Humility, Repentance, Stillness (Hesychia) | Pride, Avarice, Lust, Wrath, Acedia (Sloth), Vainglory | The soul's ascent to God through the threefold way — purgation, illumination, and union — climbing by grace, humility, and prayer toward theosis, the restoration of the divine image in humanity. |
Paramapada Sopanam — The Ladder to the Supreme Abode vaikuntapali | Square 100 – Vaikuntha — Vishnu's Supreme Abode | Bhakti (devotion), Prapatti (surrender), Nama-smarana (the holy name), Seva (service), Satsanga (holy company) | Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (delusion), Mada (pride), Matsarya (envy) | The Vaishnava path of loving surrender (prapatti) to Lord Vishnu — ascending the ladder of devotion, service, and the holy name, crossing the river Vaitarani by the Lord's grace into Vaikuntha, the deathless abode beyond samsara. |
Etz Chaim — The Tree of Life Ascent kabbalah | Square 68 – Keter — Union with Ein Sof | Devekut (cleaving to God), Kavanah (intention), Tzedakah (charity), Teshuvah (return), Bittul (self-nullification) | The Qlippot (husks), Gaavah (pride), the Yetzer Hara, Ye'ush (despair), Imbalance of the pillars | The mystic's ascent up the Tree of Life — raising the holy sparks scattered at the shattering of the vessels, balancing the pillars of mercy and severity, and cleaving (devekut) to God until the soul, nullified before the Infinite, is reunited with Ein Sof in Keter. |
The Jungian Path — Individuation psych-jungian | Square 68 – The Self | Insight, Integration, Active Imagination, Wholeness | Persona-identification, Ego inflation, Projection, Repression | Individuation: the lifelong work of integrating the unconscious — persona, shadow, and soul-image — so the conscious 'I' and the deeper psyche unite in the Self. |
The Humanistic Ascent — Maslow's Hierarchy psych-maslow | Square 68 – Self-Transcendence | Growth motivation, Authenticity, Peak experience, Courage | Deficiency, Fear, Scarcity, Regression | Human motivation as an ascent through deficiency needs into growth, self-actualization, and finally self-transcendence beyond the ego. |
The Eight Stages — Erikson's Journey psych-developmental | Square 68 – Integrity (Wisdom) | Hope, Will, Purpose, Fidelity, Wisdom | Mistrust, Shame, Inferiority, Stagnation, Despair | Life as eight psychosocial crises, each a tension whose healthy resolution forges an enduring virtue — from hope to wisdom. |
The Integrative Path — Parts & Healing psych-integrative | Square 68 – Self-Leadership | Self-energy, Unblending, Co-regulation, Repair | Blending, Dysregulation, Avoidance, Rupture | Healing as befriending our protective and exiled parts until the calm, compassionate Self can lead — synthesizing IFS, attachment, and polyvagal theory. |
Quantum Leela — The Game of Wave and Collapse quantum | Square 68 – Unified Field | Coherence, Superposition-tolerance, Entanglement, Resonance | Decoherence, Premature measurement, Dephasing, Observer bias | Coherence is not a possession but a practice: you do not conquer collapse, you learn to measure gently, entangle wisely, and phase-lock into the larger wave — recovering the coherence the vacuum never lost. |
