Maps Were a Joke Film/Television Excerpt June 5, 2024 Tags: commentary, James Burke, maps, Medieval, realism, RPGs, television, video This bit of realism is likely unwanted in most roleplaying games. 🙂 “…What you don’t know is if you’re in the right place or not. Because [in 16th century Europe,] maps were a joke. Look, this is all you’ve got: the rivers you were going to cross; a few bridges where there was a bridge; and if there was a town that would give you something to eat, you got a little box with a steeple on it. That’s all you had. No wonder so many people got lost.” — Connections, Episode 9 (1978)