The Nephi Trail
betaOregon Trail, but it’s 1 Nephi. A scripture game for kids six to twelve, where the Liahona only works when you actually have faith.
What it is
A trail game built on the first book of the Book of Mormon. Lehi’s family leaves Jerusalem and you walk it with them, eight chapters long. Five are playable now, and each one has a small game inside the story: packing the tents, sneaking back into the city for the brass plates, hunting with a bow you had to make yourself, and Lehi’s dream, which you walk through holding the rod.
The Liahona is the whole point. It guides by faith, not by tapping it, and prayer never buys you food — the game’s economy is built so it can’t. When you fail you get the scripture, a moment to think, and another try. That loop is the game’s idea of repentance.
Two modes. Little (6–8) reads everything aloud in bigger type. Big (9–12) shows the real verse under every retelling and asks questions. Every line is narrated by a generated voice with the words lighting up as they’re spoken, and all the art was painted for the game.
Where I want it to go
A game my own kids ask to play again — one where the scripture is the fun part, not the part you sit through to get to the fun.
Then the rest of the Book of Mormon, one book at a time, if this one earns it.
Next up
- Chapters 6 to 8: building the ship, the crossing, and the report at the end of the journey.
- Finish the stealth maze in Chapter 2, still the least finished screen in the game.
- Playtest with kids in both modes and settle the taste questions I can’t answer alone — in the deep mist there is no progress bar, and I need to know whether that feels like faith or feels broken.
Have a kid who’d play it?
It runs in a browser and works best on a tablet, landscape. Five of eight chapters are playable now. Leave your email and I’ll tell you when the rest land — and I’d like to hear how it went with your kids.
Tell me what you think
If you have a kid between six and twelve, let them play a chapter and watch. Where did they get bored, where did they get stuck, and did they understand why the Liahona stopped working?