It recently charged past the video game behemoth known as “Madden NFL ’07″ to the number one spot in sales on Amazon.com. But could “Who Rules?”: The Almighty Edition be enough to cause a group of 30 somethings to huddle around the television for trivia night? And Christian trivia, at that?
It took several tries, but eventually we achieved a willing quorum to play and review this Cannery Row DVD production. Instructions are minimal at best, but gameplay is super simple for anyone familiar with toggling through DVD menus.
Featuring three different levels of difficulty, categories range from “Cross Culture,” which has questions about Christianity in pop culture, to “Finish This,” where players finish famous songs and phrases, to scandalous scripture in “Gospel Gossip.” The graphics are colorful, the background music suitably cheesy, and the voiceover work is wonderful. The word “spin” is so vital in the right hands.
One reviewer noted that “the production values were better than the quality of the questions.” Indeed, it often took longer to figure out the murky intent of the question then it did to actually answer it–thanks to some screwy grammatical constructions. On the other hand the semantic antics led to some delightfully creative answers from our group. When asked, in a somewhat obtuse manner, to name the Pharisee who visited Jesus in the night, one player blurted out “The Tooth Pharisee!”
Overall the categories are fun and engaging, and the range of questions is impressive. All players did feel that there needed to be a way to correct the score tally, and that teams should be allowed to split points if they answered correctly at the same time. After all, it’s only Christian.
While some players found the game’s entertainment value mediocre, most felt it would be great for family game night. And while you don’t need to be Christian to play the game–since many of the referenced songs and verses are found throughout Western cultural canon–it certainly helps if you are. Then again, one of the most entertaining aspects of the game is discovering “closeted Christians” amongst your urbane friends.
Interested in other faith-based games, check out Beliefnet’s reviews of spiritual boardgames.
