The papal election (which begins this week) has even made its way into the gaming world, as speculation mounts over who the next pope might be.

On Wednesday, the College of Cardinals will lock themselves in the Sistine Chapel to determine who will be the next pope. This process is known as a conclave, from the Latin for “with a key.” More than a hundred cardinal-electors and multiple voting rounds are needed to select the new pope. It may take some time, but in 2013 it didn’t take long for white smoke to rise from the chapel’s chimney.

In an online game called Fantapapa, over 75,000 people have cast their own votes in a kind of Catholic fantasy football. Players form a team from the likely candidates to win the vote. According to Pietro Pace, co-creator of Fantapapa, speaking to Euronews, players choose 11 cardinals (including Péter Erdő, who is considered a potential pope), “the ones we think are the most papal.”

Your team’s captain is the one you think has the best chance of becoming pope. The goalkeeper is the cardinal you believe has the least chance. In a way, this fantasy football game is a return to older traditions of papal selection. Before the conclave’s locked-room process was introduced, popes were chosen via election in which ordinary citizens of Rome could vote—and considering the position’s influence and power, it kind of made sense. Of course, that’s history now.

Mauro Vanetti, the other creator of Fantapapa, says they understand that religious hierarchies are part of power structures in this country (not just in the Vatican but in Italy as well) and internationally, so this is a historic moment. They found it interesting to approach the topic from a lighter, yet data-driven angle. And honestly, it’s not a bad idea at all…

Source: PCGamer