Hobbies And Interests
Missionaries and Cannibals
The goal of this logic puzzle is to determine how three missionaries and three cannibals can successfully cross a river using a small boat. The boat can only hold two people at a time, and it cannot cross the river without at least one occupant. The cannibals will kill and eat the missionaries if they ever outnumber them on a particular side of the river.
One solution is to put one missionary and one cannibal in the boat, and drop the cannibal off on the other side. The missionary takes the boat back. Then two cannibals board the boat, and one cannibal takes it back. Two missionaries then take the boat across the river. One missionary gets off, and one cannibal gets on. They return to the other side of the river, and the cannibal gets off while another missionary gets on. The two missionaries travel to the other side of the river, and both leave the boat. The one cannibal on that side of the river boards the boat, and can ferry the other cannibal across.
Venetian mathematician Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia proposed the essential parts of this logic puzzle in the 16th century. Husband and wives take the place of missionaries and cannibals in the original version. The substitution of missionary and cannibals dates from the 19th century and reflects the prejudices and stereotypes of that era.
The Missionary Game
The Missionary Game is an online game developed by Kommunion. Players take on the role of a missionary who has only 30 days to start as many churches as possible. Players accomplish this by bringing villages Bibles and supplies. Much of the challenge comes from obstacles faced along the way to the villages. Players must cross mountains, deserts and rivers to reach their goals, while at the same time avoiding predators such as lions and snakes.
Simulation
It is possible to simulate the general experience of missionary work in a group setting. Play requires three to five people, one die and four stacks of cards colored blue, green, red and pink. Each player takes the role a missionary, with the objective being to baptize as many people as possible. The people are represented by the cards, with the color of the cards indicating how close they are to being baptized. Players must bring all of their people through all four levels. Their first level is "interested," represented by the blue cards. The second level is "excited," represented by the green cards. The third level is "ready," represented by the red cards. The fourth level is "baptized," represented by the pink cards.
Each player rolls the die in turn and determines the result from a prepared list. Die rolls determine how many people each player is working on and progressive results for each person.
Civilization IV
Civilization IV is a turn-based computer strategy game intended to simulate the rise and fall of civilizations throughout history. Missionaries are one of many units that players can build. Their main purpose is to travel to an enemy city and preach a particular religion. There is a chance of establishing that religion in the city with each missionary sent. The probability of this happening increases with each city in which the religion becomes established. Players reap a number of benefits from spreading religions that they have founded.