Christian trivia
games can expand players' biblical knowledge.
Bible Trivia, manufacturer of one of the original Christian trivia games, coined the advertising slogan, "The game where trivia is not trivial." All 5,400 questions in their game were based directly on the Bible, and to devout Christians, nothing in the world could be less frivolous. While Christian trivia games are often played in the same manner as the classic Trivial Pursuit, this distinction between revered subject matter and inconsequential facts sets Christian trivia games apart from all other versions of trivia games and fundamentally alters the playing experience.
Types
Christian trivia games can be divided into two types. The first is patterned after Trivial Pursuit. Using a board, playing pieces and question cards, players compete, individually or in teams, to correctly answer the most questions and be the first to enter "heaven." The second type of Christian trivia game is a quiz or test in which players answer a series of multiple-choice, true-or-false and fill-in-the-blank questions. Although this type of trivia game can still be played competitively, its primary focus is instruction rather than entertainment.
Categories
The Bible is an almost exhaustive resource for trivia questions, ranging from simple to mind-bogglingly difficult. In addition to obvious categories, such as Old Testament, New Testament, parables, psalms, books of the Bible, prophets, gospels and epistles, there are numerous other angles from which questions can be posed. A linguistics category can include questions regarding the spelling or definition of obscure biblical terminology. A geography category can focus on the countries of ancient Palestine, the Roman Empire into which Christ was born or the missionary voyages of St. Paul. Questions can also be centered around biblical references to popular topics such as marriage, death, birth or resurrection.
Availability
The board game versions of Christian trivia games can be purchased at Christian bookstores or from online retailers. People well versed in the Bible can also create their own trivia games, centering the difficulty level around the groups with whom they will be playing. For those who wish to play Christian trivia games without a group, many websites such as crossdaily.com, holybibletrivia.org and biblestudygames.com offer free trivia games which can be played online. These games are the second type of trivia games in which the experience is comparable to taking a test. There is no winner or loser, only a final score. Some websites also offer printable trivia quiz sheets.
Considerations
The playability of traditional trivia games is based on the premise that different players will excel in different categories, making for a balanced and competitive game. This is not the case with Christian trivia games. Players who are avid readers of the Bible will likely excel in almost all categories, while players who are less so may find the game unplayable. People who choose to play Christian trivia games are usually devout, and because the trivia questions center around their deepest held beliefs this can inhibit the joking and banter which turns trivia from a mental exercise into a true game. For these reasons, the purely recreational value of Christian trivia games is not equivalent to their secular counterparts.
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