Saturday, March 7, 1998

Bible trivia games growing in popularity

By Scott Smith / The Gazette

A quick quiz -- and no fair peeking in the nearest Bible:

A) On what day of creation did God make Adam? B) What kind of celebration was Jesus attending in Cana when he changed water into wine? C) What animals did the ships of Tarshish bring to Solomon?

Answers: The sixth day. A wedding. Apes and peacocks.

Congratulations if you aced the triumvirate of Biblical trivia. But don't feel bad if you stumbled on No. 3 -- not everyone is that familiar with 2 Chronicles 9:21.

Of course, that's just another reason why you might be interested in playing the Bible Brain Quest game (Workman Publishing Co., Dan Penwell), the newest entry in the burgeoning area of religious-oriented children's games.

Biblical trivia games and children's materials represent a significant part of the $3 billion-plus Christian and inspirational retail publishing industry, which also includes the sales of books, music, videos and stationery, according to the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Christian Booksellers Association.

Bible Brain Quest, a collection of 1,000 trivia questions and answers of varied difficulty, targets a family audience 6 years and older; My First Bible Brain Quest (Workman, Melody Carlson) is geared toward children ages 2-5 and features more pictures than words.

Expect to see those games, first published in December, on the shelves of bookstores (both secular and religious) in the near future. They'll join an assortment of religious games such as Bible-opoly, Bible Tribond, Bible Pictionary, Bible Trivia and Bible Brainbusters.

The Bible Brain Quest line is Workman's first foray into children's religious games; the company has had success selling Brain Quest games designed to educate students in mathematics, science, geography and English.

"Our slogan is: ÔIt's OK to be smart,' " says Meghan Rowe, a publicist for Workman. "We want kids to take the same kind of pride in learning as they would in other activities, like music and sports.

"What makes these new games great is that the whole family can play - there are questions to challenge everybody. And it doesn't matter what your particular religious beliefs are. You can use the questions to refresh your knowledge or to introduce your kids to the Bible. Plus, the Bible is so important to us culturally -- whether you believe in it or not, you can learn from it."

Although she hasn't seen the new Brain Quest games yet, Linda Ramsey says trivia is an effective way to learn about the Bible. "I love 'em and so do my kids," says Ramsey, who works at the Lord's Vineyard store in Colorado Springs. "Sometimes, it's easier for them to learn if it's in a game form, and they can learn little by little instead of somebody reading stories to them."

Ramsey says trivia games, especially the kinds with bound-together cards (like Brain Quest), are especially useful because they are portable. They can be played anywhere, any time -- not just in Sunday-school class or in the family room at home.

"They're good car games for vacations -- that's where we use them the most," Ramsey says. "It gets the whole family discussing things that we never would have otherwise. It really gets things going."

Bible Brain Quest and My First Bible Brain Quest can can be ordered from Workman Publishing Co. (800) 722-7202, $10.95.

---

(c) 1998, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

Visit GT Online, the World Wide Web site of The Gazette, at http://www.gazette.com

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.