Unicorn Steed vs Magnificent Hat

[FritoJay]

So this came up in a recent Munchkin match. Words were shouted. Tables were flipped. Things got heated. Here's the scenario:

I had the Unicorn steed equipped. Another player had the Magnificent Hat equipped. The Unicorn card says that the unicorn protects the user from any curses played on them. The Hat says the hat reflects curses onto all other players. The point of contention is with the words "played" vs "reflects".

Does the Unicorn protect from reflected curses or does it only protect from curses that are "played" (i.e., when the curse card is drawn from the deck or played from someone's hand)? Ultimately it was decided that the Unicorn did not protect me from the curses reflected by the hat because those curses weren't actually "played", they were "reflected". I strongly disagreed with the decision but I was outnumbered by the rest of the table. So here I am, seeking justice and vindication from the Munchkin forum.