All you need is 2 or more players or teams and a die for this game.
The idea is that each player or team is a caravan heading to Bethlehem to be counted in the census, and the roll of the die determines how your journey goes. The player or team with the most Health & Wellness points at the end wins. When I play this with a group of kids at the church, I keep track of the points on a white board.
First Turn:
Mary & Joseph would likely have traveled in a caravan.
We sometimes see pictures of Mary riding on a donkey, but this probably never happened. IF Mary & Joseph had a donkey, they probably would have used it to carry stuff, not people. Nobody really knows. – Each group roles the die once to see how many donkeys they get on their journey. Each donkey is worth 100 “Health & Wellness” points.
Now it is the first night of your journey. Each night, your caravan is going to be in a different, strange place. You will need to figure out where you’re going to sleep. Roll the die – number rolled shows where your group sleeps & how many H&W points you’ll receive or lose:
1: You are in a town where relatives live, and you stay in their home - +200 H&W points
2. You are lucky! You find a cave to sleep in. - +100 H&W points
3: You are able to make simple tents for everyone, and it is a warm night - +75 H&W points
4: You make simple tents, but the weather is cold and damp - +50 H&W points
5: You have no shelter, but you have warm blankets and good weather - +25 H&W points
6. You have no shelter, and it rains. Some of you get ill. - -50 H&W points
There were many dangers when traveling long distances in Mary & Joseph’s time. Each day, you never knew whether you encounter danger or catch a lucky break in some way. Roll again – this number will determine your luck for this day of travel:
1: Lucky You! A donkey that wandered off from another caravan has found you. The donkey needs caretakers, and you can always use another donkey! - +200 H&W points
2: Good Stuff: You come across a stream loaded with good fish to catch & eat. - +100 H&W points
3: Nothing much happens today – just miles and miles of walking up the mountains. – 0 H&W points.
4: One of the donkeys in your caravan gets sick and dies. -100 H&W points
5: Your caravan crosses paths with a wild animal. You all get away safely, but you have to leave behind some of your food and supplies. -100 H&W points.
6: Your caravan is attacked by bandits who steal most of your food, supplies, and even some donkeys. -200 H&W points.
To Finish the Game:
Nobody really knows how long it took for Mary & Joseph to travel to Bethlehem, but most scholars agree that it would have been at least 5 days, and some think it would have been up to 10 days. We’re going to assume that your caravan is moving steadily enough to make the journey in 5 days, so let’s see what happens for the next 3 nights and 3 more days of traveling… Roll dice 6 more times, alternating sleep points with traveling points. See which caravan arrived in the best health & condition. (Of course, you can always decide before playing to play more or less days)
