Students and children like games, especially when it means more fun together. Education and catechism can often suffer from the scourge of Dry Rote, not to mention Boredom and Short-Term Memory loss. How do we fix that?
A lot of research today shows that gamification (adding gaming elements) goes a long way toward increasing student interest and participation in education.
In this blog, we want to share with you Super Saints, a new Catholic card game by a Saintnook team member designed to keep the Fun and the Faith together!
Super Saints: A New Catholic Card Game
Enter Super Saints, from Monica McConkey at Equipping Catholic Families! With a new twist on the holy card genre, these are decks of saints that you can play with. They come pre-built with dates, facts and original hand-drawn art. What’s exciting about them is their flexibility; use them in any game you can imagine! In fact, send Monica your ideas. She says:
“These cards are my own version of Top Trumps…a cool card game available for all the most popular movie and book characters, animals and wonders of the world! The numeric data on each card can be compared and contrasted…similar to the way I suspect Pokémon and YuGiOh cards are played… The quantifiable facts about the Saints are compared and contrasted in a fun “war” or Top Trumps style card game. The cards can also be used as enticing quizzing cards with different levels of difficulty.”
Before much more is said, watch their video:
What I can’t get over is the artwork; all hand drawn by Kelly, Monica’s 16 year daughter, digitally traced, reprinted and watercolored, then rescanned and laid out into a deck. They’ve been working on them for years, Super Saints™ comes with an instruction kit with lots of ways to play.
Seen enough?
Playable & Flexible!
Unlike the Holy Traders, a beautiful, collectible and educational pack, Super Saints is meant to be played. They even come with a cool ‘Vocation Index’, something Monica invented for the quantifiable facts part. It was her attempt to categorize the Saints by the rarity of their vocation and/or spiritual gifts.
One reviewer, Samantha from ‘Homeschooling: The Journey not the Destination‘ said:
“My kids almost immediately started coloring them. Well… no trip to Staples for color copies! We laminated them at home and they were in “play” immediately. Each card has the name of a saint and a great deal of information. [Equipping Catholic Families] has a suggested game list, but the kids created their own rules to fit every little learner into the game. They each chose a favorite. They each asked questions and gave clues. After an hour, I joined in. We pulled out the Headbandz. We each placed a saint card in the front, and asked questions in order to guess who it was. I was ASTOUNDED by the information that my kids already knew and the amount they’d gleaned in just the little time they’d used the cards.”
Project Super Saints: The Challenge
To print them in time for the World Meeting of Families.
Ending in 2 days, you can show your interest and support through Monica’s Flowerfund Drive.
If you donate at any level, you can get a printable PDF where you and your children/students can start playing today!
With greater generosity, you can receive a perfectly printed, first-run deck of Super Saints, and other gifts from Monica’s amazing craft hoard.
“This Cathletics Craft Kit comes with templates for all 54 Cards along with the official Super Saints back cover template, along with printing instructions and instructions on various games to play.”
These can be printed at home (and laminated if you have your own awesome laminator!) or the file can be taken to Staples for them to print on heavy card stock… maybe even glossy! The crop marks are all in place so you can have Staples cut them as well! This is not an affiliate link for Staples…most print shops will be able to do an awesome job of producing these cards for you!
About Equipping Catholic Families
Since 2000, they have been creating and publishing books, paper craft kits and quizzing cards to help teach and celebrate the Catholic Faith through the Liturgical Calendar. Their Catechism, Prayer, Saint and Sacrament products are designed to engage kids in families and classrooms to learn more about the Catholic Faith in fun new ways.
They like to take activities, crafts and games that appeal to kids… and infuse them with Catholic Teaching so that kids learn while they play! Their latest product is a deck of 54 Super Saints cards. Each card is delicately illustrated and formatted with our own daughter Kelly’s drawings and quick facts about the Saints.
Visit the official page with the Super Saints Craft Kit!
