Zarahemla is a war game that recreates the epic battles and events of the Book of Mormon, from roughly 100 B.C. till 30 A.D. The game is played on a mapboard based on the geography developed by Book of Mormon scholar John L. Sorenson. Players try to win the game either by conquering their opponent outright through warfare, or by converting their opponent to righteousness and uniting peacefully! Rule as a king for a military edge, or rule as a chief judge to better establish righteousness and the rule of law. Keep your opponent guessing with decoy armies. If you decide to play it "wicked," try destabilizing your opponent's government with dissenters, robbers, assassinations and "secret combinations." If you decide to play it "righteous," send missionaries into your opponent's lands in order to win them over with peace and love. Call trials to rid yourself of pesky prophets and missionaries or to bring false prophets to justice.
Find ancient records to give a boost to your preaching efforts, or build Rameumptom to win converts to your false religion! Raise the "Banner of Freedom" to protect your lands from attack! Build ships, fortify your cities, lure armies out of their fortifications with decoys, attempt forced marches, and use spies to gather intelligence on enemy forces or even to assassinate an enemy general. You can establish a tributary kingdom (like the kingdom of Zeniff) to try to get a foothold in your opponent's lands. If your kingdom is righteous enough, you may even be able to recruit a special, elite force of "stripling warriors," and "divine aid" can come to the rescue! Powerful leaders like Alma the Younger, Amalickiah, Kishkumen, and General Moroni can aid--or hinder--your cause. Events like "monsoons," "floods," and "earthquakes," and special movement rules help recreate the challenges of traveling and maintaining communications in the jungles and forests of the ancient Americas.
The map, based on John Sorenson's painstaking analysis of the over 540 geographic references in the Book of Mormon, features rivers, mountains, and wilderness, provinces, cities, and "Great Cities," all arranged so as to realistically recreate the strategies and movements described in the Book of Mormon.
You don't have to know a thing about the Book of Mormon to play Zarahemla, though for those familiar with the book, the game offers a deepened appreciation of the text.
If you are a game producer or distributor and are interested in Zarahemla, e-mail me!