Interview with Bruce Hammond of Missionary Novelty Company

I recently spoke with Bruce Hammond of Missionary Novelty Company. He was kind enough to share his experiences of running a company and publishing LDS themed games.

You can download the interview here (if you would prefer).

We discussed several games that are currently available and others that are coming out next year. He was very open to discussing his games and his experiences. Thank you Bruce for your time and insights!

Video Reviews Coming Soon

I've already said that I'll be posting a video review of Settlers of Zarahemla, as it received the most votes as the favorite. But I've decided to do as many video reviews as LDS themed games I can get my hands on. One of the guys from our little group of locals (here in Logan; we get together to play-test each others designs) is a frequent DI (Deseret Industries) shopper. Anyway, he's agreed to picking up LDS themed games from DI for me whenever he sees them. Last night he brought 3 for me!!: Warriors of the Promised Land, Missionary Impossible, and Building the Kingdom. So, look for reviews of these games soon.

Missionary Novelty Company

In my search for LDS themed games and places to find them, I came across the Missionary Novelty Company (link). It looks like they have a lot of games to offer: Build the Kingdom, Greatest Mission in the World, LDSopoly, etc. (I think I saw LDSopoly in Deseret Book here in Logan the other day.) They have both English and Spanish version of pretty much all their games.

As I looked over their games, it seemed to me that a lot of them are very much like remakes of already published games; I'll take Build the Kingdom as an example. Here's a quote from their website about the game:

You’ve been called to the “Greatest Mission in the World”, Earth. Your duty is to build the Kingdom of God by placing Books of Mormons (BoM), gaining converts and building ward houses. First player to gain 10 Celestial points wins. You gain Celestial points by placing the most BoMs, obtaining Principals of the Gospel cards-Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Prayer, “Preach My Kingdom”- which produces the most converts, and building the most ward houses with prayer and baptisms. Principal cards can be traded in to produce BoM, converts and ward houses. Beware of Satan who can slow your progress.

There is also a short video that describes the game that you can watch:



Sounds and looks interesting. From this description and images though, it does sound a little bit like Settlers of Catan (we've even got Settlers of Zarahemla that has been done LDS style). I wasn't sure so I looked at the rules which they have up on their site (link). I have to say, this is a great idea. I like it when I can find the rules for a game. It helps me know a little more what I'm getting into before I buy.

Anyway, after looking over the rules, I would have to say this game is very much like Settlers of Catan. Converts and Books of Mormon are used, as opposed to settlements and roads, and Satan is referred to instead of the robber. It was very easy to read the rules and understand the game. That is definitely important.

After looking over their site and the games they have to offer, I am stuck with two questions. 1) Does anyone have any experience with any games from Missionary Novelty Company? and 2) Why are so many of the LDS themed games available remakes of games that have already been published (without the LDS theme of course)?