Gospelgames: games portal for Christians
GospelGames.de is all about Christian games. Johannes Fähndrich launched the website, and Gaby Orymek reviews games there. We spoke to them about the Ten Commandments, unusual review criteria and playful devotions.
GospelGames has been online since October 2020. The site presents Christian games and gaming sessions. It also recommends games for pastors and church groups. Devotional texts on games and faith round off the offering. The team receives technical support from AK Internet. These are volunteers in the ‘Bund Evangelisch-Freikirchlicher Gemeinden’ who mainly help churches create and maintain websites.
At the gaming table, everyone is equal, whether manager or refuse collector, Buddhist or atheist. So why does the world need a games portal just for Christians?
Johannes: God’s wish for us humans is: respect and value one another. Playing together supports this. Games involve community. Even though many churches and youth groups have been playing for a long time, Christianity has rarely been a topic in its own right in the gaming scene. This is where GospelGames offers an important new point of contact, for example by networking Christian gaming groups in churches. In addition, we publish devotions related to games. Interested visitors can also find, in one central place, games that convey Christian content. Visitors are invited to submit their own reviews or suggest games. This way, over time, we are building an exciting collection around ‘games and Christianity’.
Why do you recommend Evolution, a game that contradicts the biblical creation story?
Gaby: Evolution is a classic example of bridging the gap between atheism and belief in God. It’s interesting to experience what kind of creatures would emerge if we humans were the creators. We explore these thoughts in a devotion about the game. We also provide links for further research and reflection. If we were to create an Earth with our human means, we wouldn’t get far. After all, the Earth’s system has existed for a very, very long time and it still works. By chance? Because of us humans? Thank God, no.
There are already numerous sites that recommend games. So why should youth leaders or church groups still visit GospelGames?
Johannes: With us, you can see at a glance a unique mix of games that are well suited for church groups. It’s also about content: we review games that are directly related to God, church or faith, or where a connection can be made to life’s themes.
How did GospelGames come about?
Gaby: I’m a founding member of the Altenburger Spieletage and a reviewer at Spielkult. I’d had the idea for GospelGames for a long time. At SPIEL 2018, I told Pastor and game designer Johannes Fähndrich about it. Through various connections, in 2019 Pastor Kai Buch contacted Johannes and offered to write reviews. This led to the idea of bringing together people from all over Germany and different churches to create a Christian games platform in 2020.
There are also an author and an authoress in the team. Their games are reviewed by other team members. How critical and independent can these reviews be?
Gaby: The idea for the Christian games site came before the two games. People with shared interests often connect in networks. It’s natural that interests can overlap or intersect. We deal with this openly and transparently, and anyone can see on our homepage that authors are active with us. Our principle is that games are not reviewed by the authors themselves, but by other team members. These live all over Germany and are active in different gaming circles. We also explicitly welcome reviews of existing games from outside to gradually build a broader and more neutral range of opinions.
You rate games based on body, soul and spirit. What’s behind these criteria?
Johannes: There are different views of humanity. We humans are not just matter. It’s only with soul and spirit that we can create something as brilliant and creative as board games. With our classification, we want to represent different human areas: for body, the visual and tactile aspects are in the foreground. What does the game look like? How does it feel? For soul, it’s about heart and mind. What impact does the game have on the community? Do you need to think strategically? For spirit, the connection to God is shown. Does the game convey biblical knowledge? Does it promote spirituality?
Do you recommend a game with a Christian theme even if it’s not fun?
Gaby: We want to be fair and at the same time well-disposed in our reviews. We would review a game that isn’t fun, but we wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. You can tell from the 1 to 7 stars we award. The text also lists strengths and weaknesses, so everyone can decide if the game is interesting. We’ve learned that there’s a game for every person; you just have to find it. Every game finds fans, sometimes in a more limited way or as a niche game.
You also rate games based on ethical standards. What does that mean in concrete terms?
Johannes: Ethics is the study of correct behaviour. We learn a lot through playing: getting along with each other, communicating, patience, weighing things up, frustration tolerance, right down to dealing with victory, defeat and schadenfreude. We take a special look at whether a game supports the individual in their personality, including their spirituality, and whether it’s good for the community. What’s the focus? Do I have to attack others, or can I play alongside them in competition? Specifically, the Apostles’ Creed and the Ten Commandments are our ethical standards. Games that contradict these will not be found on GospelGames.
What does a game need to be interesting for a pastor? What about for a church group?
Johannes: The interests of pastors and church groups are diverse. What makes a game interesting for church life isn’t always special material. The game gains its value through an appealing theme and a functional mechanic for a suitable group. Often, it also needs a good game leader. For centuries, children have played games in Sunday schools, children’s services and Christian education classes around Christian and life-important themes. For adults, the focus was often primarily on ‘serious’ biblical teaching. Increasingly, however, the potential of games is also being discovered in the church context for adult work.
Gaby says: ‘Many friends from the board game scene have already found Jesus through playing.’ So are board games just a means to an end for you, to get people excited about Christianity?
Gaby: No. Board games are a creative way to bring people into contact with faith or to strengthen them in their faith. But games are also a way to make friends. Over the course of a friendship, you share more of your life, thoughts and questions. Where do I stand? What’s important to me? It also leads to confrontation with life’s questions. Who am I? What am I? What am I here for? Not everyone could answer these questions for themselves. Whoever asks receives answers. What they then do with them is in their own and God’s hands, not ours. One person doesn’t bring other people to faith. Only God can do that.
Evolution-Andacht von Gabriele Orymek
…And God saw that it was good!
Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good!
God’s workweek is over. Weekend is here. A well-deserved break. Just before that, a look back. Heaven and earth created – done. Light in the darkness – sorted. Air separated from earth, land from water – all set. Plants and trees designed. A lot of work… but done… complete with fruits and seeds. Sun, moon and stars… beautiful to look at and good for marking time. Time for whom? OK, fish and birds… and all kinds of animals. Truly fascinating, each perfect in its own way. But something’s still missing… something special…?!!
Here I’ll stop with the introduction to the creation story. It’s exciting to read – and controversial to discuss. But for me, there’s an important connection to the game Evolution: I invent new creatures.
Seriously? That’s presumptuous! Am I God? No! Absolutely not: NO! Because every time I look at the creatures in front of me at the end of a game, I know… it’s all made up and in this combination not viable. Often I have to laugh when I imagine what’s randomly come together. A long-necked dinosaur wearing armour, climbing trees, the size of a mammoth? Or a self-fertilising swimmer that lives in caves? And then my neighbour comes along, as a carnivore, and devours my peace-loving animals, only to starve himself from lack of food. No, my dinosaur world isn’t perfect. In no time at all, it’s clear to me: I probably couldn’t create a perfect world. It would be patchwork, without sense or reason. Even the greatest scientists of today, who’d love to tinker a little with our genetics, ultimately don’t know what problems they’re causing for our human future. Plastic was an impressive invention… until we now discover that microplastics are finding their way into our bodies and could be causing unknown harm. It’s patchwork that humans, as the crown of creation, come up with. And God?
On the sixth day, he looks at his work, including humans: “And it was very good!” Flawless! The next day was free
…a day for God.