 | A board game for those Roman Catholics to good old days of the church, when it was much more strict, filled with rules and utterly out of touch with the modern world. Is The Pop Catholic!?! Sub-titled the Catholic Nostalgia Game, was the brainchild of two brothers from Boston, who wanted to make a tongue-in-cheek take on the church before the Vatican II. |
Released in 1986, the game tests players knowledge of pre-Vatican II doctrine. The game is a sort of Catholic combination of "Trivial Pursuit" and ''Monopoly". Players mark their progress around the board laid out in the likeness of a rosary by advancing up the "church hierarchical ladder" from altar boy to pope, by completing "a six-decade rosary". Being a Catholic is obviously an advantage when playing!
| The introduction to the game reads, "This game is dedicated to the "survivors" of the Catholic Church and the Catholic educational system which existed prior to and shortly after Vatican II. This game offers practicing Catholics, "fallen away Catholics," and those Catholics somwehere in between, the opportunity to re-experience those "golden years" of pagan babies, May Crowining processions, sin, Saturday afternoon confessions, meatless Fridays, sin, Baltimore Catechisms, ruler-battered knuckles, and sin... all of which led us to become "soldiers of Christ and heirs of heaven." Although the stated goal of this game is to become the "Pope," the underlying purpose is to look back, resurrect a memory or two, and perhaps find some humor and healing for that period in our lives." The brothers spent four years and $50,000 developing the game with the priests from Indiana advising them. Despite enlisting church help, as the brothers, "wanted to come across as basically respectful of the church", the game caused controversy among conservative church members, on its release. |
