Saint Mary's Press: Good News! Card Game

Today at Stuart's Study, we are taking a break from books to review a deck of cards published by St. Mary's Press called Good News! Card Game. Even I need a break from books and reading every now and then. And I like to keep things interesting on my blog; I am always looking for different types of products to review. It's like I tell people all the time, "If it's Catholic, I'll review it."

Good News! Card Game is a deck of 92 cards divided into nine different categories:

• Apostles
• Gifts of the Spirit
• Fruits of the Spirit
• Corporal Works of Mercy
• Sacraments
• Parables
• Beatitudes
• Miracles
• Woman Disciples

On each card is description of the person or item and where it is found in the Bible, as shown in the picture to your left. There are several games you can play with this deck, but the main one is called "Proclaimer of the Good News!" Each player is dealt 9 cards, and the rest of the cards are put in a draw pile. The objective is to be the first one to collect one card from each of the above categories.

Overall, the concept of this deck of cards is awesome! Your kids get to learn about important people in the Bible and different aspects of their faith all while having fun! With the Scripture references on each card, the winner can pick a card from their winning hand, break open the Bible, and read the passage on the card to deepen their faith. The possibilities to learn with this game are numerous.

However, there is one BIG negative associated with this game that I must warn you about. The paper quality the cards are printed on is really bad. It's super thin and not like your traditional deck of cards. This makes shuffling the cards a challenge because they will bend or tear in no time. You would think a product designed for kids would be more durable, but this game will not survive one child, let alone multiple.

Unfortunately, I have to give this product 3 out of 5 stars. The idea and concept is top notch, but the execution of the idea was lacking and made me wish the product quality had been better. If the games sounds too appealing to you to pass up, I would recommend you gain access to an inexpensive place to laminate the cards, as that will be the only way to keep the game intact for more than one child.