ZayZayEM - kickin' moron ass since 2002: Action Packed Bible Strategy Card Game

Taking Magic:The Gathering/Yu-gi-Oh! style battle carding to the highest of highest levels is Redemption: the Card Game.

"Redemption is an action-packed collectible trading card game based on the Bible, for two or more players, ages 7 and up. Players send their Heroes into battle against their opponents' evil hordes in an attempt to rescue Lost Souls"

I'm glad my Mother doesn't do internet shopping, this might make it's way into a Christmas stocking. (What, you mean now I'm 21 and don't live at home I won't get a Christmas stocking?)

The idea of a Christian strategy card game brings out the negative sociopathy inherent in a superiofascist monotheistic "one-true-faith" religion, and highlights the the positive tolerence encouraging facets of other card games. In M:TG, while using the 5 colours to create factions, no faction is truly "good" or "evil". Arguably, white is "good", but only in a similar sense to Warhammer 40K's Imperium of Man - it's xenophobic, take-no-prisoners harsh justice. While evil, "black", while dealing with corruption and plague etc. is also a metaphor for survivalistic tendencies, and a dark mirror of all the negative attributes of the other factions. Blizzard eliminated it's good races vs evil races with Warcraft III - a great move, both for marketing and just being plain socially responsible.

With this Christian card game you are faced with two dilemnas. One, is that a player must be relegated to the demonised role of the "evil hordes", even games like Cowboys and Indians didn't have such a severe dichotomy of good and evil. The second, is that how exactly is this deck setup? Usually strategy card games allow you to use all cards available in any deck. Sometimes house rules are in play, and hardcore roleplay gamers may try to customise their decks to be colour specific. (In Magic, I had a red/goblin no-black deck - given goblin's weak stats, and the awesome power of a black deck, not a smart idea). Will an "evil hordes" player be able to play a Moses card, similarly can a "holy forces" player play a Beezlebub card? Then you just get into all sorts of moral purity dilemnas.

I'm also getting really worried about American conservative christian attitudes towards certain taboos in modern society. Look at the booster packs: Angel Wars, Apostles, Patriachs, and Women. Not only do men get the significant title of patriach, and women miss its feminine alternate, Matriach; but women are really regarded as something "special" by Fundamentalist Groups. And it's not always in a good sense. The Tribulation video game (can't remember it's exact name) had a similar facet, by labelling all female units as "Woman nurse" or "Women preacher" and such. I don't think the stats changed (though only women could become nurses, and only men could be construction workers), and men didn't receive the same nomenclature. It's whickety whack mac.

I think John Safran says it best when he said "Do not trust anyone who updates religion for the kids" (actually it was about shakespeare). Take this Simpson's quote instead (I couldn't find a clip).