Why do we throw coins in a fountain?

For good luck, obviously. We've all done it. But here's a funny thing: the Romans did it too. I've just got back from a trip to Bath (Roman city in South West England). Archaeologists found thousands of coins that Romans tossed into the hot springs. If you go to the Trafford Centre (modern shopping mall in North West England) you'll find a fountain with hundreds of coins in it too.

So why are we still acting out the same rituals, two thousand years later? My theory: we can't help making a fetish of physical objects.

Eh? No, not fetish in the kinky sense. I mean devotion to an inanimate object as if it's magical. We like the feeling of throwing a tiny coin and hearing the splash. We hope the physical sacrifice will bring good luck.

Here's another example of a fetish (also not in the kinky sense). One Workshop Tactics customer told us he doesn't like actually letting go of his deck and seeing other people handle the cards. It's like there's a magical power in the cards (the power to run great workshops) and it'll be diminished if the cards get bent or dirty. This is why Charles is making vegan leather cases for our card-nerds.

This secret love is also the answer to the question we often get asked: why cards? Why not an app? The answer is... it's the same reason we still throw coins in a fountain: there's magical power in a valuable physical object. So, when your physical decks of Storyteller Tactics arrive, enjoy the moment. Open the box and handle those lovely cards.

And then go tell some stories!