On nights when we’re not dashing off to various activities, we like pulling out a board game to play together. We have some family favourites that all the girls can play together, and a few that my older girls or younger girls prefer. This summer, I’m super excited to have fun playing games and learning more about our faith through two new board games from Sophia Institute Press: Know Thyself and Journeys of St. Paul.
Know Thyself!
This board game is similar to the classic Apples to Apples game. Last time we played Apples to Apples, my girls all wanted to keep a list of what words they won during the game, claiming this described them. I rather rolled my eyes at this tradition, started by their friends, as I didn’t see that a randomly-won word during a board game really described their personality. But with Know Thyself, they can find out more about themselves!
This fun and enlightening game reveals players’ temperaments – the personal qualities that make them who they are! Ancient philosophers identified four basic temperaments that wise thinkers through the ages have used to understand human nature. Know Thyself! The Game of Temperaments is the first game to help you identify, understand, and appreciate your own temperament, and those of your friends and family.
Know Thyself is created by Laurie Bennett, author of The Temperament God Gave You: The Classic Key to Knowing Yourself, Getting Along with Others, and Growing Closer to the Lord. She also helped create the popular TemperamentQuiz.com.
This game is recommended for ages 12 and up. It is designed for 4 players. The game includes 450 cards that will help you identify different aspects of your personality and know more about who you are.
I read Laurie’s book many years ago and often think about re-reading it, now that my kids are older and becoming more defined in their personalities. I’ve had discussions with my older girls about being introverts and extroverts, as we have a mix of both in our household, which affects how we interact with each other and with friends.
We had so much fun playing this game. There was a lot of laughter as we each played our cards and then tried to state why we thought a specific card was the best one for the person. It really was interesting to see how the kids saw each other (and me!) and what words we picked to describe ourselves and others. Sometimes, there wasn’t a good card in my hand for the person being described that round, and other times, as soon as I drew a card, I knew who I’d play it on.
One thing I’d change about this game would be to include a brief description on each card. Some descriptions (like thoughtful) are pretty obvious, but others (like irrepressible) left me struggling to explain them to my kids. Pearl (age 6) was able to play because she can read really well, but she had to ask us what many of the cards meant, so then we knew what cards were in her hand. Now, the board game is meant for ages 12 plus, but even my older girls and I were sometimes guessing about what certain words meant.
Journeys of St. Paul
Fans of Settlers of Cataan (like us) will love Journeys of St. Paul, a missionary adventure game based on the apostle’s travels. St. Paul didn’t spread the gospel alone. In fact, the book of Acts refers to numerous individuals who played key roles in his ministry. Each person had a different critical part to play, including those who delivered St.Paul’s letters to the newly established churches.
This was a dangerous and arduous task. Messengers braved harsh wilderness, barren deserts — even the deadly Roman Legion! — to help St. Paul get his Epistles to Christian brothers and sisters in need of guidance and encouragement.
In Journeys of Saint Paul, you will be one of several messengers dispatched to deliver one of St. Paul’s momentous letters. Your mission: Be the first to cross the city gate and deliver St. Paul’s letter to its secret destination. But beware! The Romans are intent on seeking and destroying all Christians, so the chase may be on! This adventure requires cleverness, courage, and tenacity — with billions of souls at stake.
This game is recommended for ages 8 and up. It is designed for 2 – 6 players. The box includes a gameboard, 6 messenger pawns, 200 challenge cards, 18 Roman Legion Tokens, 30 Keys (six of each color), and a manual. Maybe it can double as a history lesson for our homeschool!
I was surprised at how hard some of the challenge cards are. I’ve read my Bible a few times through so I thought I knew the story of St. Paul really well. The questions on the cards are based on the book of Acts and St. Paul’s epistles, as well as historical trivia about Rome and the world Paul lived in. Each card has two questions (an easier one and a harder one, so you can adjust for each member of your family as you play). Some were really easy while others were really hard, so it was a good challenge—as it should be!
This is also the first time I’ve played a board game without a set path. Players can move in any direction on the board to get to where they want to go. It was rather fun to move about the board collecting the tokens we needed, trying to avoid each other and the Romans, and make it to the gate. This is definitely a family-friendly game; I played it with all my girls, ages 14 to 4. While Pearl (the youngest) needed some hints for a few questions, she knew some other answers quite easily.
If you want to see what the board game looks like, check out my unboxing video:
For more about both these games or to order them for your family, drop by the Sophia Institute Press website.
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