The Christian Gamers Guild has many facets to its ministry, as we seek to reclaim the imagination to be conformed to the image of Christ through the use of gaming as a creative art form.
One of those aspects is support for Christians involved in gaming. Much of that support is realized through our interactive e-mail group, as Christians from around the world who are gamers share their thoughts and experiences with each other. But the mission goes beyond that. This section of the web site contains articles and links geared to edify and challenge Christians as they live their faith in their games.
Questions about any of this can be directed to the Christian Gamers Guild Board of Directors; some of the authors of individual articles have also included e-mail addresses in their biographical materials, linked from their articles individually.
This is Faith in Play #13: The Evils of Monopoly®, for December 2018. It is perhaps almost a joke, that whenever uninformed people begin talking about the evils of role playing games a gamer will respond with the notion of the evils of the game Monopoly®. I mentioned it myself in my 1997 article Confessions … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #12: Aphorisms, for November 2018. One of the hardest aspects of creating worlds is creating cultures. Different cities, different countries, different peoples all have differences in everything from dress to architecture to courtesy. The elves of Lothlorien have a different culture from those of Mirkwood. One article is not going to serve … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #12: Fiction and Lies, for November 2018. I once encountered someone who held the view that all of Jesus’ parables were literally true, that they were recountings of real events of which He in His omniscience was aware. There really was a Good Samaritan, a Prodigal Son, a woman who … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #11: Scared, for October 2018. Every once in a while I will surprise someone, that is, my abrupt appearance causes them to jump. Usually they say, “Oh, you scared me.” I always think, and sometimes say, “No, I startled you.” I always say that when the situation is reversed, if I jumped … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #11: Halloween, for October 2018. One of the unofficial “traditions” of the Faith and Gaming series was that in October we always talked about something related to magic. It happened entirely by coincidence (and we have discussed that recently) the first year, and thereafter I looked for topics for October. … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #10: Labyrinths, for September 2018. In game terms, a labyrinth is a geometric puzzle, a system of passable and impassible spaces solved by the discovery of a consecutive path of passable spaces connecting some number of points, commonly the entrance and the exit. A maze, usually, refers to a type of labyrinth … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #10: Goodness, for September 2018. Back in May I introduced the notion that in the original Dungeons & Dragons game, alignment was the True Religion of the game, what the characters ultimately fundamentally believed. I did not at that time delve into what those religions were, but promised to return … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #9: Three Doors, for August 2018. Probably over a decade ago now there was a big debate in the community of people who enjoy logic puzzles when Marilyn Vos Savant published her solution to one, and many disagreed with her. I was belatedly dragged into the argument by my father, who sent … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #9: Clowns, for August 2018. When I thought I was reaching the end of the Faith and Gaming series, Christian Gamers Guild member Lynette Cowper (who wrote GURPS Rogues) suggested that I address Archetypes. It was a challenging suggestion for me—I had never thought about characters in terms of archetypes. … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #8: The Illusion of Choice, for July 2018. Last time we talked a bit about the power of the referee, how it can be abused, and the principles that should prevent that abuse. This time our focus is on how to use that power in a way that will enhance the game … [Read more…]