Christian Parlor Games

Bible Trivia

• Participants can divide into groups to compete against each other, or a leader can ask questions of the entire group. Most groups of Bible facts will do and you can either have people call out answers or write them down. Participants can match up Bible couples such as Adam and Eve or David and Abigail, or they might match parents with their child such as Mary and Joseph with Jesus or David and Bathsheba with Solomon. Birthplaces of Bible characters are also an option -- Abraham was born at Ur, David in Bethlehem, and so on.

Observation Games

• Hide a cross, religious icon or Christian symbol in the room while everyone is out of the room. Bring everyone back in and have them look for item. When someone finds the item, he takes a seat. The last one standing becomes the next person to hide the item.

  Another observation game gives each person a name tag with the name of a Bible character. The person who is "it" observes who is wearing which name tag. While the person designated "it" is blindfolded, game players switch name tags and then allow "it" to remove the blindfold. She must rematch the person with the original character. If she does so correctly, she chooses another player to be "it."

Guessing Games

• Each participant receives five or six small pieces of paper and writes one famous Bible character on each piece. Someone collects all the pieces and the first player draws a name and provides clues to the identity of the character. The one who guesses chooses the next slip of paper.

  Players sit in a circle with "it" in the center, blindfolded and holding a timer. The players pass around a religious symbol, such as an angel or dove, for about 45 seconds. When the timer goes off, "it" must guess who holds the symbol within three guesses. If she guesses correctly, the person holding the symbol becomes "it" and the game continues. If she doesn't guess correctly, she remains "it" for the next round.

Toss Games

• Start with a ball of yarn and hold the yarn end. Toss it to someone who must stand up and name a Christian character trait. He holds onto a segment of yarn and tosses the ball to another participant, who names a different trait. Play continues until your run out of traits or yarn. Check the pattern of the yarn and observe that all players were important to the making of the whole.

  Another option is to name a favorite verse or tell a parable before tossing the yarn to the next person. The game's complexity will depend on the age of the participants.