Adventist Review Online | Adventist Board Game Will Focus on Mission and Church Planting

June 27, 2019

“GoYe” has been designed to highlight Adventist identity and member involvement.

By: Maryellen Fairfax, Adventist Record

If you’ve ever dreamed of playing an Adventist board game, then your wish might be granted by Christmas 2019, because North New South Wales Conference (Australia) ministerial intern and events coordinator Kyle Morrison has created a board game tailored to Adventists.

He has called it “GoYe.”

Pairing strategic gameplay with Seventh-day Adventist history, identity, and mission, Morrison believes he has created a game that all Adventists will love.

“This game has the potential to change the future of Saturday night socials,” he said. “It’s genuinely fun and keeps you guessing until the final count.”

Gameplay involves spreading the gospel across a world map of 58 conferences and 10 divisions and collecting Total Member Involvement (TMI) points by investing resources in mission trips, spiritual gifts, churches, and offices. Once every conference has a church, the Second Coming ends the game, and the player with the most TMI points wins.

“You collect resources, go to work, church, and prayer meetings. It’s a bit like the Game of Life board game,” Morrison said. “Everything is an analogy for something, intentionally built to resemble the Adventist Church in real life.”

The board game was developed by Morrison over three years, with the help of some of his friends.

“Adventist young adults built the game for teens and youth, but I have played with 7-year-olds and 67-year-olds, and everyone really enjoys it. [But] the level of strategy involved makes it more fun for 13-plus ages.”

Morrison said that although anyone can play the game, the references built into the gameplay are very “Adventist.”

“Subconsciously, the game is meant to make Adventists more excited about being involved with the church,” Morrison said. “If a child grows up playing this game, they will already have it in their minds that going to prayer meeting or serving others adds value to their faith.”

Adventist Media Commercial manager Jean Tiran has played the game with Morrison and said it’s a lot of fun.

“It’s fiercely competitive — at its core, it’s just a really good game. But there’s also Spirit of Prophecy quotes on all of the cards, so you can discuss questions of faith as you go along. Kyle is so creative; he’s done an incredible job.”

Morrison traveled to one of the world’s biggest toy fairs, held in Hong Kong in February 2019, to find the highest quality materials and workmanship for his game. He is currently in the final stages of securing a manufacturer and contract for production but stresses that without funding, the game won’t make it to Adventist homes by Christmas, if at all.

“The only way to get your hands on the game is to make a pledge through Kickstarter,” Morrison said. “If the campaign isn’t successful, the game won’t be produced.”

Morrison said he has been interested in creating content for the Adventist Church for a long time. His exposure to international pastors and evangelists while being an administrator for ARISE Australia gave him a broader perspective of the Christian faith and inspired him to create content based on Adventist values.

As well as producing GoYe, Morrison also hosts a podcast called Adventist on Fire, where he interviews notable Adventist personalities. He also plans to release a card game called “Catch Canaan,” based on the 12 tribes of Israel, in the near future.

“Adventist content fosters loving communities and a strong identity,” Morrison said.

The original version of this story was posted by the Adventist Record.

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