Preparation
Download and print the Bible Train Hub.
Cut along the doted lines.
Download, print and cut up the Bible Train Cards.
There are 66 cards, corresponding to the 66 Books of the Bible.
You may also like to download and print the following optional resources for your reference during the game or for your discussion thereafter.
Books of the Bible Chart
Sections of the Bible Overview
How to Make a Proper Train Connection
There are 10 sections on the Bible Train Hub, corresponding to the 10 sections of the Bible.
There are 66 Bible Train Cards, corresponding to the 66 books of the Bible.
The Bible Train Cards must be connected sequentially to the correct section of the Bible Train Hub.
For example:
As illustrated below, these 13 Bible Train Cards must be connected to the New Testament Letters from Paul section of the Bible Train Hub in this order: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon.
Note that Bible Train Cards can “snake” around the play area, as long as they are connected in the proper order.
To facilitate game play, each section of the Bible is identified by the same color on both the Bible Train Hub and Bible Train Cards.
To further help you along, prompts are printed on the Bible Train Hub and Bible Train Cards:
– The first book of each section of the Bible is printed on the Bible Train Hub.
– The name of the next book is printed at the bottom of each Bible Train Card, unless it is the last book of that section.
How to Play
Place the Bible Train Hub in the middle of the play area.
Shuffle the Bible Train Cards.
Optional: Place the Books of the Bible Chart where everyone can easily refer to.
For 2 to 6 players, deal 10 cards to each player.
(You may like to consider variation 1 below if you are playing with fewer than 4 players.)
If you have more than 6 players, distribute all 66 cards to the players as evenly as possible.
Players should hold these cards in your hands.
(For younger players, place these cards face up in front of you.)
Place the remaining cards neatly in one stack: this forms the draw pile.
The objective of the game is to be the first player to get rid of all the Bible Train Cards in your hand.
Players take turns to play, starting with the youngest player.
During your turn, you can play 1 Bible Train Card that connects to any section of the Bible Train Hub, provided it makes a proper connection (i.e. the correct section and order, as explained in the “How to Make a Proper Train Connection” section above).
If you do not have any card in your hand that can make a proper connection, you must draw a card from the draw pile. The turn passes to the next player.
Note: You cannot choose to draw a card if you have a card in your hand that can make a proper connection.
The first player to get rid of all the cards in your hand wins; the remaining players carry on playing.
The game ends when the Bible train is fully completed, i.e. when all 66 Bible Train Cards are properly connected to the Bible Train Hub.
If all players have finished playing all the Bible Train Cards in their hands but the train is not yet fully completed, distribute the remaining Bible Train cards to the players as evenly as possible and continue playing.
Variation 1: Play with Fewer Cards
If you are playing with fewer than 4 players, this game can be slightly slow-moving and each player may end up with many cards in your hand, which can be difficult to handle.
Consider playing with Old Testament and New Testament Bible Train Cards separately:
In one session, you can play with only the 39 Old Testament Bible Train Cards.
In another separate session, play with only the 27 New Testament Bible Train Cards.
Variation 2: Cooperative Play
Place the Bible Train Hub in the middle of the play area.
Spread out all the Bible Train Cards on the play area, facing up.
Players take turns to play, starting with the youngest player.
During your turn, pick any 1 Bible Train Card from the play area and connect it to any section of the Bible Train Hub, provided it makes a proper connection (i.e. the correct section and sequence, as explained in the “How to Make a Proper Train Connection” section above).
The turn passes to the next player.
The game ends when the Bible train is fully completed, i.e. when all 66 Bible Train Cards are properly connected to the Bible Train Hub.
Bible Lesson – Books and Sections of the Bible
Discuss
1. Did you enjoy this game?
2. Was it easy to connect the Bible Train Cards sequentially to the correct section of the Bible Train Hub? What were some difficulties you encountered?
Say
In addition to an image and the name of the book, Bible Train Cards also feature a color bar which indicates which section of the Bible Train Hub they belong to. This helps players know where to place the Bible Train Cards.
Let’s play a different game right now.
Instead of connecting Bible Train Cards, we will look for a specific Bible passage in our Bibles.
(Ensure that everyone has a hardcopy Bible.)
Let’s see who can be the first to locate 2 Timothy 3:16-17 in the Bible…
Discuss
3. (Ask the fastest person.) Tell us how you managed to find these verses so quickly?
4. (Ask a volunteer who struggled to locate these verses.) What can help you find these verses quicker the next time?
Say
The Bible is not one single book, but a collection of 66 smaller books that tell one unified story.
Just like the Bible Train Hub is divided into sections, these 66 books of the Bible are organized into sections.
Being familiar with how the Bible is organized helps us quickly find specific passages in the Bible.
Discuss
5. The Bible is divided into two main parts. What are the names of these parts?
6. What are some differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament?
7. How are the 39 books of the Old Testament organized?
8. What are the 5 sections of the Old Testament called?
9. How would you describe each of these 5 sections?
10. How are the 27 books of the New Testament organized?
11. What are these 5 sections called?
12. How would you describe each of these 5 sections?
13. How important is it for us to know the organization of the Bible into the various sections that we have just discussed?
Conclude
Being familiar with the 66 books of the Bible and how they are organized helps us more quickly locate specific passages in the Bible. More importantly, knowing which section of the Bible a passage is taken from gives us an idea of its genre and helps us understand the passage better.
