Journey to the Holy Land and In the Footsteps of Jesus are two card games that actually come from the Holy Land! Both games are appropriate for anyone age four or older and are made for two to five players. They are available in English or Spanish.

Journey to the Holy Land is a memory game consisting of 30 pairs of beautifully photographed sites from the Holy Land. Along with the photographs, each card contains a sentence or two describing the scene as well as a Scripture reference. Besides the traditional game of memory, uses for the cards include simple matching with younger children. Our three-year-old was able to make matches and feel like he was part of the game. My own suggestion is to use the cards as a fun trivia time during Bible study. Draw a card, look at the picture, and then read the description and the Scripture passage to learn more about various places related to Jesus.

In the Footsteps of Jesus is a "Go Fish" style game that requires players to make sets of four cards relating to one geographical place. I learned a lot from this card game! There are 15 sets of cards with a different geographical theme. Within each set are four specific places that go with that theme. For instance, the theme "Jesus' Jerusalem" contains cards for Siloam Pool, Pools of Bethesda, Steps to the Temple Gates, and The Temple. Once you collect all four cards from a set, you lay them down in front of you and continue trying to collect sets.

Like the cards in Journey to the Holy Land, these cards include beautiful photographs, a small description of each place, and a Scripture reference. They are clearly marked with colors, titles, and the four cards you're trying to collect, making it very easy to play.

I have to admit that the product packaging, although attractive, is not very functional. In fact, the boxes were so hard to get into and put back together, we decided to keep our cards in a baggie instead. Another frustration for us is the sturdiness of the cards. Most times, I would be singing the praises of sturdy cards, but with cards that you're supposed to shuffle, sturdiness isn't a plus. In fact, a few of the cards are now bent from our trying to shuffle them.

My children and I enjoyed playing these traditional style games with the flare of Biblical history and geography. You'll be hard pressed to find any other products that put this kind of Bible information into a game format.

Product review by Cindy West, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, December 2009