Back when we homeschooled on purpose, games were a big part of our time together. I quickly learned that it is one thing to read about a subject, another thing to discuss it, and still another thing to play a game about it. Something about moving actual cards or pieces around with our own two hands made the lessons stick in a different way (and the games often reduced us to giggles, which is always a win).
We collected math games and logic games; we bought decks of cards illustrated with pictures of local birds and flowers; we played games with words and language. Despite not being much of a game player before that (which is a gentle way of saying that I was strongly averse to anything with a dice, cards, or board), playing games with my daughters quickly became one of my favorite parts of our school day. In the years since, we’ve found many games we love (our current favorite? Star Realms), but only a handful that would feel at home here, on a blog about books.
But these games from Bible Games Central fit right in, focused as they are on teaching players to recognize the way Scripture fits together. They are designed to help players build their foundational knowledge of the Bible, but let me tell you: if they had been of the “Match Daniel with the lion!” variety, I wouldn’t have given them a second look. But they are not.
Bible Memory
By using cards color-coded according to which genre they belong to, this Bible Memory game helps players (young and old) identify the way the Bible fits together. This is a huge deck of cards, and it comes with a list of variations for the game—play with only the New Testament books, for example, or with only the prophets—so this is really a handful of games in one box.
Bible Bingo
You know what I love? Games my kids can play on their own while I sit nearby with tea, listening to them giggle (and perhaps giggling a little myself when the youngest tries to pronounce “Ephesians”). This is a version of the classic bingo game, but with books of the Bible on each bingo card as well as illustrations that point to a main theme of the book.
(Christmas Bingo is solid fun, too.)
Parable Parade
While the other two focus on teaching familiarity with the books of the Bible, Parable Parade introduces some of the stories of Scripture by challenging players to collect cards and put the storyline of a parable in order. This game digs deeper, too, and encourages discussion about the parable’s meaning.
Disclosure: I did receive copies of these games for review, but I was not obligated to review them or compensated for my review in any way. I share these games with you because our family enjoyed them, not because I was paid to do so.
