A Theological Strategy Game Set in the English Reformation

In Theses & Thrones, players don't study the English Reformation — they preach their way through it.

This strategy game drops youth into the roles of four historical factions — Henricians, Evangelicals, Puritans, and Traditionalists — each with real theological positions, a named historical theologian, and a team of preachers to deploy across a map of the British Isles. Over five sessions, players prepare arguments on questions the reformers actually faced — Who has authority over the church? Is salvation by faith or works? Should worship be in Latin or the people's language? — and then test those arguments in front of judges to earn reinforcements for the board.

But the board doesn't stay still. Each session, a real political event reshapes the game: the Act of Supremacy, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Marian Persecutions. Factions gain or lose power. Leaders get executed. Alliances form and fracture. Players experience firsthand how theology and politics shaped each other — not because someone told them, but because they lived it at the table.

The game was developed at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco and piloted at FOG Camp 2025, our annual intergenerational summer program, with players ages 7–17. It's best suited for middle school, high school, and college-age groups (8 players minimum, 12–20 is ideal), though younger groups can participate with the craft activities built into each session. Sessions run 2–4 hours depending on your group, and the game works as a week-long intensive or spread across multiple weeks.

Everything you need to run Theses & Thrones is provided: downloadable faction files, a printable map, and links to order the wooden figures. Print, prep, and play.

Theses & Thrones is the first spin-off project from the Living Stories Lab and is currently in beta. We're looking for youth ministers, campus ministers, and formation leaders willing to pilot the game with their groups and help us refine it. If that sounds like you, sign up to be a pilot site by emailing peterlevenstrong@saintgregorys.org. We'll give you everything you need to put your youths in the middle of the most consequential theological debate in Anglican history.