Thank you Animo Games for providing us with a couple of decks and booster packs to review!

The Animo Bible Verse Card Game was successfully Kickstarted in 2018. It can be played with two players or as a group. No matter how you play it, you’re bound to learn scripture along the way!

Trading Card Games (TCG) or Collectible Card Games (CCG) have been around for decades and been massively successful thanks to Magic the Gathering in the 1990s. Instead of magic, the creatures in the Animo series are powered by faith, hope, and love. The formula is the same where you begin with a strategy pack and expand upon it with booster packs to make your deck more powerful. The strategy decks have between fifty and sixty cards in them along with the game board and various pieces/tokens. We were provided with a couple Fearless series strategy decks and per the maker, these decks are balanced, though my husband would disagree after I defeated him. The booster packs come with twelve cards with at least one of them being a foil/powerful card.

There are guidelines on how to play and the deck construction rules that are available here. Decks can’t contain fewer than fifty cards and can have no more than sixty. More than three identical cards are not allowed and the Sinnies in it must all be unique. Sinnies are the creatures that you use to cripple your opponent.

Between two and four players ages seven and up can play at a time and they will each need their own deck. Once you are familiar with the rules, matches should last about thirty minutes. Triple that when you’re playing for the first time and reading all of the guidelines. I like how each strategy deck has a reference card describing the turn phases, and what to do during each phase.

A match is won by completing any of these three conditions:

- Defeating 6 Sinnies
- Scoring 60 Virtue Points
- Your opponent not having enough cards in their deck to draw the required amount during their turn

When setting up a game you get to choose your character/Truth Seeker. These characters have abilities such as allowing you to search your deck for a level 1 Animo per turn or search for a power card if you don’t have any.

After establishing who gets to go first, it’s time to start taking turns. Each turn has three phases.

1. Draw Phase
Remove and reset previously used power markers if needed. The player must draw enough cards to ensure that they have at least five in their hand.

2. Setup Phase (The following actions can be completed in any order)
- Place any level 1 virtuous Animo into your small group (maximum of four). Be sure to take advantage of any abilities they offer!
- You can level up Animo in your small group by placing the stronger version on top of the lower leveled one.
- Play a power card (you can add one per turn)
- If your opponents are not dealing with a Sinnie, you can deploy one
- You can add equipment cards to your Animo or hindrance cards to Sinnies in play
- You can play a story card and perform the actions it calls for
- Enable your Truth Seeker’s ability
- Discard unwanted cards

3. Scoring Phase
- Activate your Animo by using the power cards and abilities from your Truth Seeker
- Once activated, your Animo can attack Sinnies in play by subtracting their value from the SInnie’s. Alternatively, you can recite the bible verse from memory if you have the Animo they’re weak against.
- If you have no Sinnies to battle, you can add the Animo points to your Virtue Points balance. There’s a handy score keeper gadget to make this easier!

This sounds like a lot to take in, and it is! However, after a few turns you’ll get the hang of it and start enjoying this game. It’s a Biblical and great alternative to Pokémon and magic based card games out there. The quality is top notch and I think kids will love it. The Biblical themes are inspiring and the creatures are adorable. What’s not to like?