BookofMormonBattles.com

A few weeks ago I talked with James H Fullmer about his games and his experiences designing them and getting them published (link). Today I wanted to talk a little about his website: www.bookofmormonbattles.com.

Jay has put a lot of stuff up on his site. The first link goes to a page of games. It highlights his 2 games, Book of Mormon Battles and Warriors of the Promised Land, and also shows off his Book of Mormon chess set that he designed! Below that though, he has several games that you can play online or print and play on paper. The Book of Mormon Match Game is a nice online matching game created using his artwork from Book of Mormon Battles.

Weapons of War (link)
This section of the website is pretty cool. Jay goes through, step by step of how to make padded weapons (swords & shields currently, with more weapons to come). He does this both in written format and via video. Here's the video of how to create a padded sword (looks pretty fun)!


Watch Making a Level 1 Foam Padded Sword in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

He also has an "interactive" (interactive because you can move around and look at things and even zoom in) map of the Promised Land. Jay says that the map is based on the book Mormon's Map by John L Sorenson. It would be cool to add in some 3d buildings for the cities and stuff like that (a la Google Earth).

All in all, it's a great site to learn more about Jay Fullmer and his work, what he thinks, what he likes to do, etc. I'm sure that kids out there would highly enjoy putting together some padded weapons to use on each other.

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)?

Bi-Weekly Poll & BoMToons

I've decided to attempt to solicit ideas and opinions from any who read this glorious blog. To accomplish this I'll put polls up for about 2 weeks at a time. The first one asks about your favorite Mormon themed game. If your favorite isn't listed please let me know and I'll revise the list so that it is included. Let me know what you think!

BomToons (link)
I came across the BoMToons website quite a while ago but have finally decided to write a little about it (it fits here now that this site is about games in general not just board/card games). Anyway, it is a website that hosts flash format games based on Book of Mormon stories and LDS/Mormon culture. From their site: it was "started as the crazy idea of a few returned missionaries who wanted to feature some of the funnier things from the Book of Mormon and Mormon culture."

They have several games. I found that I enjoyed playing BoM Battle Beat and LDS BMX.

They also have a section with flash animated short cartoons. Very interesting stuff. And you can even order 2 different t-shirts with their logo and games on them!

Logo Contest Update: I've already received 2 entries in the contest!! And I've decided that I'll post the entries and then let everyone vote on the one they like the best. That way we can get a look that everyone likes, not just me.