God’s got game

The key to winning Logan Knight’s new card game is really no different from the lessons he teaches his kids: Read the Bible, avoid Satan’s snares and remember to keep Jesus by your side.

An avid gamer, the Coeur d’Alene resident had grown wary of “Magic,” “Harry Potter” and “Yu-Gi-Oh!” – popular trading card games that some Christian fundamentalists describe as corrupt and replete with occult influence.

So Knight, a born-again Christian, came up with an alternative: The Bible Trading Card Game.

Instead of magic, you get miracles. Instead of gore, you get God.

Knight spent more than a year developing the Bible card game – a wholesome pastime that he says encourages kids to memorize the Bible, attend Sunday school and “get the word of God into the hands of the saved and unsaved.” With financial support from North Country Chapel in Post Falls, the first 1,000 sets of these cards were printed last week and distributed to hundreds of North Idaho children. The first Bible TCG tournament also has been scheduled for the end of the month.

“The kids were excited to get the cards,” said Chris Setty, youth and young adult pastor at North Country Chapel, a congregation of more than 2,500 members. “Logan has taken something that kids are clearly interested in and added the truth of Jesus Christ and God’s word.”

While religious-themed games make up just a small fraction of the multimillion-dollar collectible card game industry, the market is expected to expand thanks to the rising appeal of Christian video games and the popularity of faith-based books and movies.

Knight’s Bible TCG now joins a growing list of card games that approach gaming from an evangelical Christian point of view. Covenant Games, based in Minnesota, is one of several companies nationwide that sells Christian comic books online, as well as card, video and board games. Its offerings include titles such as “Redemption,” “Noah’s Quest” and “The Mission.” In the realm of Christian video games, several software corporations have developed alternatives to the wildly popular Xbox games “Halo 2” and “Grand Theft Auto.” There’s “Catechumen,” in which the player must fight through catacombs and free others from demon-possessed Roman soldiers; “Eternal War: Shadows of Light,” a challenge to help a suicidal friend by journeying into his personal hell and leading him into a God-centered life; and “Saints of Virtue,” in which the gamer assumes the role of a young Christian doing battle with the “personified tendencies of the flesh.”

Although heavily endorsed and promoted by some churches and Christian ministries, these Bible-based video and card games likely will never surpass the Harry Potter mania that has struck worldwide. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth of J.K. Rowling’s fantasy series, sold about 9 million copies in Britain and the United States in its first 24 hours. The only book in publishing history to open nearly as well was the series’ fifth book, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

And, although condemned by some fundamentalists, Harry Potter also has been embraced by many devout Christians. Christianity Today, for instance, published an editorial in 2000 titled “Why We Like Harry Potter.” Three years later, in a weblog, the magazine once again declared: “Most Evangelicals Like Harry Potter. Really.”

Knight, however, aspires to more than just mere entertainment, he said. As the former owner of Game Masters and other gaming stores in Coeur d’Alene, he knows what kids like to play. But as a Sunday school teacher and the father of four with another on the way, he also wanted to invent something that encouraged children to read the Bible and learn more about their faith.

“I wanted to do something that kids would like and that parents won’t throw out of the house,” said Knight, pointing out how some Christian schools have banned everything with a “Harry Potter” logo as well as books that deal with magic and sorcery. “The Lord just put it in my heart to do this.”

Each card in Bible TCG – a total of 240 in the entire collection – contains a Bible verse that kids must have memorized in order to score points. The game consists of different types of cards. Character cards have the picture of someone found in the Gospels or Acts of the Apostles, as well as a list of his or her attributes and a verse that’s central to that individual. Jesus, of course, is the central character and comes in various forms including “Baby Jesus,” “Young Jesus” and “Jesus the Healer.” Location cards provide information on cities such as Damascus, Bethlehem and other biblical sites. And “snare” cards – leprosy, tempted by evil spirit, die by the sword – force opponents to either lose points or a turn.

The player who has the most Bible verses memorized usually wins, although other strategies can be used, according to Knight.

In addition to teaching kids about the Bible, the cards are designed to encourage church attendance: The only way to acquire some of the cards in the collection is by going to Sunday school. Most of the cards, however, can either be purchased at the Bible TCG’s online store or at North Country Chapel’s store. (A starter theme deck of 40 cards costs $8.99.)

“It’s a great way to learn Scripture,” said 11-year-old Kirk, Knight’s oldest son and the current “memory Bible verse” champion at North Idaho Christian School in Hayden.

Kirk and his 8-year-old brother Luke spend at least an hour or two a day playing Bible TCG. The boys helped their father choose some of the characters and scenes portrayed on the cards. Now they’re encouraging him to start a series by developing additional games based on Exodus and other books of the Bible.

“The Bible is history and there are lots of good lessons in there,” said Knight, who’s 38. “Memorizing Scripture will give you an advantage – not just for the game, but in life.”