Games are a ton of fun! While there are plenty of games using the Bible Quest Review Card game in the Bible Quest curriculum, here are a few more to add fun and interest to your review endeavors.
MYSTERY OF THE DIG
My daughter, Lydia, gave me the idea to put this review game here on the forums... enjoy!
You and your companions are Biblical archaeologists... A mystery surrounds the identity of a person that once lived in the place you are digging. Searching for clues and good investigation may lead you to discover the identity of the person, but your fellow archaeologists may beat you to the prize and find the answer to the question, “Who is the mystery person?”
SETTING UP THE GAME
✣ Make a 'suspect sheet' that includes the names of each person you are investigating, then ensure that only those cards you wish to investigate are in the game's draw deck. We recommend at least five cards per player be in the deck.
✣ Give each player a suspect sheet, and remember to hide your suspect sheet from everyone else!
✣ Shuffle the mystery person cards, and place one, face down, in the middle of the table. This is the mystery person, whose identity players will compete to discover.
✣ Deal three mystery person cards to each of the players, then place the remaining cards in the middle of the table.
✣ Have each player roll a six-sided die to see who goes first. Play continues clockwise around the table.
✣ Have each player select a 'pawn' to represent them (could be a coin, plastic token of some kind, whatever). If you choose to use the game board, place all of the pawns in the 'base camp' space.
You are now ready to explore the archaeological dig and solve the mystery!
OBJECT OF THE GAME
Each person in the mystery deck (the Bible Quest Review Card Game) has several characteristics.
- WHO - the detailed clues for each person are listed under the picture, both of which are potential places that clues can be found about each person.
- WHAT - the lower left-hand corner provides a verse reference for that week's Bible Quest material, and also provides a clue for investigation!
- WHERE - the lower right location for each week is yet another clue for the person's identitiy.
Each investigator’s job is to carefully question the other players to accurately uncover the specific characteristics (WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE) and the name of the mystery person.
Players accumulate victory points for accurately revealing the mystery person's specific characteristics (WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE) and name.
They lose points when making an incorrect revelation or solution. The revelations and solutions are recorded throughout the game; the corresponding victory points attributed and totaled at the end of the game, once the mystery person has been seen by everyone.
The winner is the player with the highest number of points. (often, but not always, the one who found the mystery person).
A GAME TURN
Players play in successive turns, clockwise, starting with the first player of the turn. Each turn consists of the following:
1. Move Pawn -Move your pawn one step in any direction on the board. Each black-outlined space on the board is a 'step,' regardless of its size. The move is mandatory so that no one can stay in the same room. from turn to turn.
2. Encounter - If your pawn ends its move in a space already occupied by another player’s pawn, you must ask that player a question. (See The Questions, below).
3. Action - Proceed with any actions relevant to the room your pawn now occupies.
QUESTIONING OTHERS
If your pawn ends its move in a space already occupied by another player’s pawn, you must ask that player a question. If multiple pawns are present, you may choose to question whichever player you want.
The questioned player may either:
1. Choose not to answer by putting his finger to his mouth, thus declining to answer; or
2. Answer your question, in which case he will then also get to ask you a question in return. You are then bound to answer that question.
All players are truthful followers of Jesus, so all questions must be answered truthfully, to the best of the players’ knowledge or recollection.
You may ask any kind of question, as long as it can be answered without giving a potential mystery person's name. You may, however, supply one or more names as part of your question.
Examples of questions:
— “How many cards with the Early Earth time seal do you have in your hand?”
— “Do you have the ‘Adam and Eve’ card?”
— “How many Kings have you crossed out from your suspects’ list?”
— “Have you eliminated ‘John the Baptist’ from your list of suspects?”
— “Are you going to Base Camp?” (Obviously, your opponent is then bound by his answer).
PLACES TO GO
Different activities take place in various places in the dig. Below is a description of the places and what takes place in each of them (scroll down to the end of the post for a picture of the game board).
• BASE CAMP
The BASE CAMP is where all players start the game. This is also where the archaeological team meets and makes their reports. You may make a Revelation or bring a Solution. You have no obligation to do either.
• SUPPLY TENT
The SUPPLY TENT is a great place to restock and research materials, revealing some secrets! Randomly draw a card from the hand of the player of your choice.
• THE DIG
New clues can be unearthed at THE DIG. If there are still cards in the draw pile on the table, draw the first one and add it to your hand.
NOTE: The game board isn't necessary if you simply allow people to draw one card per turn (while they are there) and ask one question per turn that others MUST answer. It's a quicker, less complicated method.
✣ If there are no cards remaining, you may ask the player of your choice to show you a card. You must specify one or two (no more) characteristics of the card you want to see (i.e. “Show me a king” or “Show me a New Testament woman”). If the questioned player has one or more cards of the specified type, he shows you one (and only one). If he has none, he may say so and does not have to reveal any cards. Honesty still applies here.
Revelations
Players can go to BASE CAMP to make a revelation. A revelation is a public announcement to all the players that you have discovered one (and only one) characteristic of the mystery person.
All revelations are written down on a piece of paper, and verified at the end of the game, once the mystery person has been revealed. Each correct revelation is worth +2 points, each false revelation –1 point.
✣ These are valid revelations: “The mystery person has an EXODUS time seal”, “The mystery person is a king”, “The mystery person was from Bethlehem”.
✣These are invalid revelations: “The mystery person is a king from Jerusalem” (you must specify only one characteristic), “The mystery person was not in the Garden of Eden” (you must positively specify a characteristic, the negative declaration doesn’t reveal whether it is someone from a specific location).
You cannot make a revelation that has already been made, but you can make a revelation that contradicts a previous one. If another player revealed that the mystery person is a king you cannot make the same statement, but you may announce that she is a queen.
Accusation
No accusation can be made as long as there are still cards to be had from the middle of the table.
To make a Solution, a player must visit the BASE CAMP and publicly name the mystery person he suspects.
If the mystery person’s card is in another player’s hand, this player must show it to all to disprove the Solution. The player who made the false solution loses 2 points.
If no player has the solution card in hand, the mystery person has been discovered! (confirmed by the card face-down on the table). The game ends and the player who correctly named the mystery person scores 4 points.
Calculate each player’s score. (See Scoring below) The player with the highest score is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the player who found the mystery person is the winner.
Scoring
The winner is the player with the most points (not necessarily the one who found the mystery person). When the mystery person is discovered, players calculate the score as follows:
• Each right revelation+2
• Each wrong revelation -1
• Discovery of the mystery person (correct solution) +4
• Each false solution -2
In the event of a tie, the winner is the player who discovers the mystery person. Players may decide to play multiple games and add the total number of points to determine the overall winner!
The game rules are modified from the game Mystery of the Abbey by Days of Wonder, a great clue-like game.
EXTRA NOTES
Here's an example suspect sheet that could be used specifically for the time from Saul to the Fall of Judah. I didn't put individual WHO information on it because 1) I didn't have much room and 2) that could be the stuff I want them to remember and make notes on while we play.
Also note that I put each week's verse on this set. That could be too complicated for younger players.
Bible Codes!
GAME SETUP
First, divide four or more players into two opposing teams and designate a team ‘leader’ for each side. One side will be the ‘X’ team, and the other will be the ‘O’ team.
Second, make the game ‘map.’ To do so, draw a five by five grid on a piece of paper, so that there is a large square full of 25 smaller squares. Write 9 X’s and 8 O’s randomly into any empty squares in your grid. Place 25 Bible Quest™ Review Card Game cards onto the table in a five card by five card grid on the table. Your paper grid now serves as a ‘map’ of the cards on the table. So, if an ‘X’ appears in the up-most, left-most square in the grid, then it corresponds to the card in the up-most, top-most position on the table. The team leaders for each side will be the only players able to see the game ‘map,’ and they ought to be in agreement which direction the map is to be held.
EXAMPLE:
X O O - O
X X - - O
O - X X O
- X - - X
O X - X O
GAME PLAY
The ‘X’ team goes first. The ‘X’ Team Leader will say a single word, followed by a number. The word is the ‘code’ for the cards that the team leader is trying to get their team to guess. For instance, if the code is ‘apostle,’ then the ‘Peter,’ ‘John,’ and ‘Paul’ cards on the table could all apply. The number that the team leader states is the amount of cards on the table the team leader believes that their code applies to. The team leader may ONLY state one code word and ONLY state one number – they should not say ANYTHING ELSE (or wink, or gesture, or anything!). Once the code and number are stated, the team leader’s teammates must try to guess which cards their intrepid commander has tried to lead them to. Note that it is entirely possible that the team leader could make a mistake and give a clue that could apply to a card that they do NOT want their team to select! Shhhh!!! Once the code and number is stated, the team leader needs to be blank-faced and silent!
Cards are selected ONLY by physical touch, not by questions or ‘almost touches’ or anything of the sort. If a current team’s teammate touches a card with their finger, it is counted as a ‘final answer,’ and their team leader may look at the game map and then tell them, “Yes, that card is one of ours,” “No, that card is one of the other team’s,” or “No, that card is neither team’s.”
If the card belongs to the team leader’s own team, the teammates turn over the card (to indicate it had already been selected) and give their team a point. They may then guess again!
If the card belongs to the opposing team, then the card is still flipped, but the opposing team earns a point and the current team’s turn is OVER! Play passes to the opposing team.
If the card belongs to neither team, the card is flipped over, no one gets a point, and the current team’s turn is OVER! Play passes to the opposing team.
The current team may continue guessing, provided that they keep getting accurate cards, until they have guessed a number of cards equal to the ‘number’ that their team leader called out at the beginning of their turn. As long as all of their guesses that they have made so far have scored their own cards this turn, the current team may make ONE MORE GUESS. So, the maximum number of guesses any team can make in a turn is the number that their leader calls out, plus one more. After all of their guesses have been used, the current team’s turn is over, and play passes to the opposing team.
WINNING THE GAME
Play continues until one side or the other successfully scores all of their cards on the game map.
MODIFICATIONS
The game can be made more challenging if team leaders are not allowed to make code words based on physical descriptions of people on the cards or their timeline seals. Maximum learning can be achieved by reading each card’s clues every time it is guessed by either team.
This game was based on the fantastic party game of Code Words, which I highly recommend.