In 1993, Wizards of the Coast released the first trading card game Magic the Gathering, which quickly took over hobby stores and school playgrounds all over the nation. Many Christian parents were rightly concerned, both about the fantasy content and the financial burden. Rob Anderson, however, saw new potential in this genre and soon started his own card game based on the Bible. In a few months, Redemption will celebrate its 30th anniversary, now the 2nd oldest TCG still in print. I had the good fortunate to interview Mr. Anderson about his creation and its potential for the future.
1. “It’s
been 30 years since Redemption premiered back in the summer of 1995.
Take us back to that time. What was going on in your life in the years leading
up to the game?”
In
1989 I went to work for Cactus Services, which had just begun to develop a new
division to help inventors get their new products to market. With my
involvement, we put more focus on new toys and games. The first game Cactus
Marketing licensed was Scattergories® to Milton Bradley. We then licensed toys
and games to other companies. Some we created in house; others came to us from
outside inventors. Between 1989 and 1994 we licensed games to Parker
Brothers, Pressman Toys, Ravensburger, Mayfair Games, Talicor and others. I was
concurrently working on two master’s degrees at Regent University in Virginia
Beach.
2. “Explain
the origins of Redemption. How did you get the idea for the game?”
Late
in 1993 and early 1994, I was working on a trading card game proposal for Fleer
based on the Marvel Universe. That game
divided characters into heroes and villains.
My heroes would fight your villains, and your heroes would fight mine. Alas, Fleer never picked up the game. In the summer of 1994, I was on a long drive
with my family when I believe the Holy Spirit inspired me to develop a biblical
trading card game. I adapted the game I
had been working on based on the Marvel universe for Redemption.
3. “What
was it like in Redemption’s first few years? I remember playing the game in
Middle School during recess around 1998-1999 and saving quarters to buy packs
at the local Christian book store.”
In
1995, most people outside the hobby game market were not yet familiar with
trading card games. However, in that
space, just about any trading card game would find shelf space. That greatly helped with the launch of Redemption®. In 1995, we sold significantly more
Redemption cards in the hobby game market than the Christian retail market. Frankly, many Christian stores were reluctant
to carry it. Two things changed
that. First, I focused on getting
opinion leaders in the Christian community to review and recommend the
game. I was a guest on “The 700 Club,”
twice. Focus on the Family, the Baptist
Sunday School Board, the Salvation Army and Campus Crusade for Christ also
reviewed and recommended the game. The
second thing was advertising in Christian publications for pre-teens and
teenagers, including Brio and Breakaway that were published by Focus on the
Family. This drove our audience to the
Christian stores asking for the game.
That got the attention of the retailers. The endorsements gave the store buyers a comfort
level to stock it.
Thankfully,
the Christian stores were supporting the game by the end of 1996. In 1997, the hobby game market reached a
saturation point with trading card games.
I decided to stop competing for shelf space and players in that space. Instead, I focused on the Christian stores
where the other games could not go.
4. “How
has the game evolved overtime? I’m thinking of the format switch with the text
underneath the picture.”
The
original game from 1995 to 1999 was less complex. We exhibited at many Christian music
festivals in the 90s. We even needed to
teach twelve year olds how to shuffle cards.
Updating
the card face design was long overdue.
We should have done it sooner. We
also have added levels of complexity and variety over the years. We even got to a point where the game was too
complex. We have been walking back the
complexity a bit in recent years. Moreover,
we keep the starter decks approachable for new players. The expansion packs introduce more variety
and complexity.
Up
through the Warriors expansion, I was developing cards and game mechanics on my
own, though I listened to feedback from players. At that time, in 1999, I believed Warriors
would be the last set. I was wrong,
thankfully. That was the year Pokemon started to get big. Many Christian parents who never heard of
Magic: the Gathering were discovering Pokemon.
They wanted a Christian alternative.
Because of that, 1999 was huge for Redemption® sales. In 2000, I recruited additional people to
help develop the content and expand the game play.
The
game did well for another few years before dropping off again as it had prior
to the release of Warriors. Print on
demand for playing cards was becoming a viable option at this point. The Early Church was our first small, print
on demand’ set. Now we can print what we
need without tying up too many dollars in inventory.
5. “The
Bible is an endless well, but it has been thirty years of new sets. Do you
struggle to find new characters and concepts? Is it possible the game could
branch out into Church history, the apocrypha, or something else? I’d love to
see a Church Fathers set, Billy Graham hero, or Pope Leo XIV promo.”
Our development
team (Redemption Elders) continues pulling from Sacred Scripture. One of the things that truly appeals to our
fans is that the game is biblical. We
have run some promo cards based on characters not recorded in the Bible. However, our focus continues to be on books
of the Bible that all Christians recognize as Sacred Scripture.
We
have subtly included some mini-themes such as the Seven Joys of Mary and the
Seven Sorrows of Mary in Gospel of Christ set. The cards weren't titled that
way but were all present except for the 7th Joy which we thought probably isn't
appropriate for a multi-denominational game. The Woman with Child from Revelation
of John set was about as close as we thought we should come to Mary's 7th joy.
These
days, my role in the game is more of manager than developer. We have a good team in place. The people are much smarter than I am. By God’s mercy, the game is in good hands.
6. How
has Redemption contributed to your own spiritual mission and that of Cactus
Game Design? Do you think it has been a good evangelical tool? I use the game
in my classroom as a teaching tool several times a year.
The
first significant impact occurred when developing the Women of the Bible set. We had four children at the time and believed
we were finished having children. As I
worked on the set, I saw that every time a woman conceived, it was a
blessing. Examples include Eve, Sarah, Leah,
Rachel, Ruth and especially Elizabeth and Mary. I asked God, “What are You
showing me?” A few days later my wife
came to me nervously and said, “I feel like I feel when I am pregnant.” I quickly responded, “This baby is from
God. He has been preparing my heart for
the last week for this news.” God has blessed us with six children in total.
The
openness to life was not stressed in my upbringing as an evangelical Protestant.
The Lord used my research of Scripture for Redemption® to question many theological
issues for which I found my Protestant explanations insufficient biblically,
historically, and logically. That is not
to say that my wife and I were not sincerely in love with the Lord Jesus as Protestants.
Our yearning for truth further led us on the narrow road to the Roman Catholic
Church. We needed the Sacraments and the
divinely protected teaching authority of the Church Jesus himself established
in 33 AD.
Redemption®
itself is not specifically a Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran or other denomination
game. It’s biblical yet careful to stay
Catholic friendly. For my part, I don’t
think I would be Roman Catholic without reading all the Scripture I was reading
to develop the game, including the King James translation.
I am
truly grateful for the game and how it is bringing the body of Christ
together. Many of my best friends have
grown from being personally involved in this. The denominational differences between us do
not hinder our love of one another or the fun that we have together.
I want
to thank Rob Anderson for the opportunity to hear about his experience. You can
learn more about Redemption at cactusgamedesign.com or at your local
Christian supply store.
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