Race to the Shamrock Game

Here’s a game you can make especially for St. Patrick’s Day, for 2 to 4 players ages 9 and up. The players might help to make the game, too. This is a fun way to provide some exposure or additional exposure to some verses from the Bible. It may inspire some curiosity about the Scriptures. Players will draw cards with Scripture verses that mention certain colors. The number of spaces that the players will move will be based upon the color(s) mentioned in the Scripture. Since it is a St. Patrick’ Day game, the verses mentioning green will enable the players to advance the furthest, or to move the exact number of spaces needed to finish. Scriptures are quoted from the World English Bible version. Be sure to shuffle the cards well the first time you use them. A game played by two will probably take approximately 15 minutes. A game played by four should take longer.

If you don’t have access to a printer in your home, maybe a friend or family member could bring up the website and print the copies you need. Or maybe there is someplace like a Fed Ex, UPS, or Staples store that can enable you to make copies from the website through a computer, for a fee. Be sure you will have the 8-1/2 x 11 card stock needed. (Click on “Instructions to Assemble the Game” below and check the list of “What You Will Need.”)

Below are the rules of the game, so you can see just how the game works:

(1) Shuffle the cards. Place them face down on the board as a draw pile.

(2) Give each player a marker.

(3) The player whose first name comes first, when placing the first names of all the players in alphabetical order, is the first to play.

(4) The first player draws the top card. He reads the Scripture out loud, then moves his marker the number of stepping stones indicated by the color mentioned in the Scripture he read. (If the Scripture mentions the same color more than one time, the player may only use the color once in counting the number of stepping stones he should move. If more than one color is mentioned, the player must choose one of the colors and move according to the value of that color.) Player to the right is next.

(5) Players proceed until someone wins by reaching the shamrock. A player must have the exact number needed to get to the Shamrock. If he has too many moves, he must skip his turn. A card that mentions green can be used to move the exact number needed to win. If the player forgets he can use it for that until the next player has already moved, it will be too late to use it. (If a player lands on a stepping stone already occupied by another player, the player on whose stone he lands must move backwards 3 stones. If the player who moves backwards 3 stones lands on another player’s stone, the player on whose stone he lands must also move backwards

6.) If you should run out of cards, reshuffle them.

NUMBER OF STEPPING STONES MOVED FOR EACH COLOR:

GREEN (reminds us of Ireland) – Move forward 5
WHITE (reminds us of purity) – Move forward 4
BLACK (reminds us of evil) – Move backwards 4
[If less than 4 past “Start,” move backwards as many as possible]
GOLD – Move forward 3
SILVER – Move forward 2
PURPLE – Move forward 1
RED – Move forward 1