Iago' s desires do shift from "religious" to playful. By religion of war, I would guess that Harold Bloom means that when war is religion it is practiced with viglilance, concern, purpose, and thought. When religion is a game, the opponents only want to win without particular reasoning but for the sake of winning and watching the opposition crumble. Iago's obsession with his war against Othello starts with simple contemplation of what could happen if only this or only that. I would not quite agree with Bloom as far as his claim that Iago worships Othello, but rather that he thinks him a worthy opponent, for he has everything Iago feels should rightfully be his. Both his religion and game stem from jealousy that grows and twists into other feelings such as lust and control.
While Iago practices the religion of war he plans and thinks of ways to bring down his opponent strategically so as to better himself. When Iago is given the opportunity to actually utilize his tactics is when war becomes his game as well as when he becomes the "moral pyromaniac". While Iago plays his twisted game of war using all the people around him as his pawns he loses all sense of what is right or wrong and what consequences may arise from his actions. As he witnesses casualties of the happy lives of others lapped by the flames, he seems to feel no remorse. He is so consumed by the game that he feels he is winning, he loses his grasp on the real world that is burning all around him as well as scorching him.
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