The Old Perception
There are some old Perceptions of Bible Board Games…
- Question and Answer Games that Test Your Knowledge
- Clones of other games with a Bible veneer added
First I’ll start by saying these 2 types of games have a place, but if we consider ‘Bible Board Games’ as a Genre, these should only be considered 2 categories among many, not the entire genre.
There are some people that like pure Question and Answer bible games. If you are a student and have a choice to listen to a teacher talk for an hour or instead play a game to learn, the student will likely pick the game. If it is used as a test, maybe less.
Most Adults don’t like Q&A Bible games.
The Problem with the Old Way
A Q&A game often gives a distinct advantage to someone who knows more about the subject. This might appeal to someone who knows a lot about the Bible, but for most adults, this reduces the fun knowing one person has the advantage from the start. It also reduces replayability when the questions are repeated.
Someone who does not know much about their faith or about the Bible could feel embarrassed missing questions while playing with others who know more. A few people might look at it as a fun learning experience, but most adults will not.
Many Bible games are just not fun. Some are simply clones of existing games with the word Bible thrown on top. Others are simply not fun. In a genre where there is not much competition, some of the bad ones make it through and we have all probably played one or more of those.
Those are some reasons why people run away when they hear about playing a Bible board game.
Theme-driven Games
A newer way to make games is Theme-driven games. What I mean by this is that the games are driven by a theme first (like around a specific time, place, and location) The art is derived from the time period and culture with some of the game mechanics also working with that theme. It can be a more immersive and fun experience when done well.
Theme-drive is not a hard fixed definition. There is a lot of flexibility to make great games with good themes.
The initial Approach impacts how the Game is made.
If you starting with the game mechanic first such as making a Q&A game, the rest of the game is limited by that decision and you get a lot of similar kinds of games that way.
When you start with the outcome first, such as educational, this impacts the game design as well. It may be difficult to change a Q&A educational game into something people will voluntarily play for Fun.
If you start with Fun and Entertaining as the initial approach, you are more likely to have a fun game because that is your focus. If you want to have an Adult Bible board game group, you need to make it fun and entertaining.
Starting a Bible Board Game Group
So are you thinking of starting a bible Board Game group or just a one time get-together to see how it will work. Then do not pick a Q&A game. In fact, you will likely have to convince people it is not a Q&A game.
Pick a game that does not require any prior Bible knowledge.
Then you can invite anyone into your group without pressure. Everyone will feel like they have a chance to win. This way you have a much better chance of having a fun evening that people will want to come back to.
If You Still Can’t Convince Then send them to this page.
Prepare Yourself
Finally, the last chance you have to help change the Old Perception of Bible board games is to pick games that are fun and be prepared to explain them to others. These days you can watch YouTube Setup and How-To-Play videos. You need to read the instruction manual well ahead of time to see how complex the game is. You may need to do a self-play with the minimum number of players to get the concepts.
Not all game manuals are written well, so don’t sit down with your visitors and expect to learn on the spot from the manual. (I warned you).
Some games don’t make sense until you have fully played them at least once. Be prepared ahead of time and do that yourself so that when your company arrives, you can explain how to play succinctly and answer common questions. If you are unprepared and it is a complex game, your visitors may not enjoy the experience.
If you are the one most interested in wanting a Bible Board Game group, you will be the best person to change people’s perceptions.
Have a Mix
It is good to have a mix of games. Most people like variety. Get to know your group, what they like, and how quickly they can learn a new game. This will impact what games you use. Here is a starter list
- Search for Salvation (Good Starting Game)
- Apples to Apples Bible Edition – A Clone but easy and a good filler.
- Portals and Prophets (Entertaining, Medium difficulty – good replay value)
- Commissioned – (Fun Cooperative. Challenging for GameMaster to learn)
- Pillars of the Earth (Challenging setup, for more experienced gamers)
