Students fly an antique Triplane ~The Galilee Flyer ~ in one of FOUR LEARNING GAMES across a 3-D re-creation of the Sea of Galilee and surrounding countryside.

Here's how you play Galilee Flyer:

1) Pick from one of four subjects.
2) Select "easy" or "hard" flying controls.
3) Take off and go study the verses on Mount Hippus.
4) Fly all over Galilee to find the verses and match the correct halves with each other.
5) As you fly....answer questions about the verses to win bonus points.
6) Then, zoom back to the airfield after you've matched all your verses.
7) Land on the floating airfield to get your "pilot ranking" and enter your name on the scoreboard
8) Then go fly to the Discussion Areas -or try for a higher score.

~ The game's 3-D terrain is based on the actual topography of Galilee.
    We've exaggerated the elevations and added a boundary ring of mountains.
~ Great as a lesson CD, for after class and at home.
~ Wide age-range. Even young children can fly and learn with help.
~ Optional Reflection-Discussion content available in each game.
~ Sophisticated scoring and score display encourages kids not to guess, and to improve their recall.
~ Fun game design means they'll keep on using it for a long time to come.

Important Classroom Use Note:

It takes third graders about 20-25 minutes to play one of the game's four subject areas. This can vary depending on how well they fly, land, and know their subject matter. After they're done flying they can go to the discussion areas, or try flying again to improve their score. Discuss area questions/discussion can last between 10 and 20 minutes depending on how much you want to tackle. Two kids can easily play together. We have a complete outline of all the game's content here at this website.

Our BIG Tip: let the kids learn how to fly and land the Galilee Flyer triplane before using the program for a lesson. Have really young kids playing Galilee Flyer? Download and install our free "easier" flying update.

More details on how you fly and learn the verses...

As you fly, you learn about the subject selected at the beginning of the game. Students collect parts of each verse in the group they are studying. These verse "halves" are found floating in the air all over the region. Just steer the Galilee Flyer triplane into them and they pop open. The "easy" game option makes it easier for younger players.

When you find and fly into a floating verse icon, you are presented with the first half of one of the verses in your subject, and a list of possible second halves of the verse. Match it wrong and the verse closes and you must fly back around to open it again.

"Pop-up" windows after each correctly matched verse contain more brief information about the subject or verse, such as, "what does the word 'meek' mean?" Players then continue on to find the next verse.

To win the game, players match all the verses on that subject as fast as you can and head back to the airstrip to receive a score and learn even more. Galilee Flyer's flying fun will encourage students to go back over the content again and again to get a better score.

Content Notes:

• The Lord's Prayer -debts/sins/trespasses included. Pop-up windows provide meaning to the vocabulary of the prayer. Discussion area asks questions and suggests activities about HOW to pray more often.
• The Beatitudes -NRSV of scripture. Pop-up windows with each verse help explain vocabulary and conceptual meaning of these strange but wonderful verses. Discussion area asks questions about the idea of being blessed.
• Kingdom Parables -including Mustard Seed, Pearl of Great Price and Leaven in the Loaf...with an emphasis on teaching "The Kingdom of God." Pop-up windows describe the nature of seed/leaven. Discussion area questions and activities zero-in on being a part of God's Kingdom everyday.
• Sayings from the Sermon on the Mount - including "you are the salt of the earth," "you are the light of the world," "love your enemies," "turn the other cheek," and "seek first the Kingdom of God." Pop-up windows describe things such as "why Jesus chose the image of salt." Discussion area questions and activities suggest Jesus' rules for how to be toward others.

Need to teach about the Kingdom of God? Galilee Flyer is the program to do it with. The Beatitudes tell us what the Kingdom of God will be like, what God values in his Kingdom. The Kingdom Parables tell us how we can find it, and how we should look for it. Even the Sayings from the Sermon on the Mount tells us how members of the Kingdom are supposed to act. And of course, the Lord's Prayer teaches us to pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God.

More Content Details....

• There are approximately NINE VERSES per subject which must be correctly matched.
• There are approximately NINE QUESTIONS per subject which you can answer to win time bonuses.
• There are 3 or 4 questions with life-applying comments in each subject's discussion area.
• Location of verses and questions change each time you play the game.
• All floating verses and questions in the game you select can be found in two locations across the terrain (so it isn't too hard to find them, and they'll undoubtedly encounter them at least twice).
• The theological tone is "kid-friendly and moderate with an emphasis on the importance of BEING like Jesus asks us to be."
• Kids can also fly-in and land close to Jesus to hear him preaching on one of four the subjects selected for the game. Our Jesus voice and re-phrasing of scripture is warm and friendly. Jesus speaks in a modern informal style, not preachy.
• Visit our free detailed outline of Galilee Flyer's content, plus game/flying tips and technical notes.

To make finding Verses & Questions in the landscape a little easier,

After they've collected the verses and been ranked, they can return to the terrain and find the three sets of ruins in the outer terrain which activate "discussion panels" when flown near (picture on right). These pop-up panels contain comments and discussion/reflection questions. (You can view this content in our free Teaching Tips for this program located here at our website.) 

Each game gives you 3 "lives." You can "crumple" the plane into mountains and objects, but there's no fire and explosion, ...just the sad sight of a bent plane, a funny sound and the word "ouch." I'm also happy to report that you cannot crash into Jesus!

Galilee Flyer is a game that encourages and rewards students to remember the verses, their location in the Bible, their general meaning, and their life application. It is a game they will want to play again and again. Two kids can easily share the controls because there are two sets of airspeed controls. The gameplay keeps them on the task of studying the material as they fly. Two heads are better than one, and even a third student can help them remember where things are in the terrain. Our sophisticated scoring & ranking system rewards students not only for speed, but for dealing with content. After the lesson your kids will enjoy buzzing around the hills and mountains, viewing the houses and flying at treetop along the shore where they can see the boats and maybe even a Disciple. The outer terrain around the Sea is particularly challenging to your flyers. There's plenty of stuff to try landing on too. And there are some hidden turbo boosts they can discover.

Pictured right: You can see The Study Bible on top of Mount Hippus which contains all the scriptures for each game. Students see this straight ahead at take-off. The verses pop open as you fly by the icon and the clock stops, -allowing kids and teacher to read and discuss the verses before resuming the game.

Pictured right: You can also see one of the game's "Turbo Boost" Archways. Better have your seatbelt fastened when you go through one of these! Hint: the bridges over the Jordan also provide boost.

Bonus Content: In Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount your students can fly into a floating camera to activate one of two terrific videos shot on location at the Sea of Galilee -one from a boat, the other from the Mount.

AGE RANGE: Designed for readers Grade 3 to adult. Unless otherwise note above, Galilee Flyer uses the NRSV scripture. Words and concepts are explained in text panel pop-ups. Because it is a flying game with an easy & hard option, the program will adjust to a wide range of ages and skills. Grades 1 and 2 will have fun flying the landscape and can play the game if they have someone helping them fly and read the text panel pop-ups. Most of our customers use Galilee Flyer with Grades 1 and 2. Some of us have even used it with our preschoolers. They need lots of directional and reading help but love it just as much as the older kids. System Requirements: Windows 98/Me/XP/Vista only. Minimum 400 mhz, 64 mb RAM, 8 megabyte videocard minimum for decent graphics. 700mhz/96ram/16vram recommended. Galilee Flyer has two MODES: Higher and Lower Resolution. These are automatically calculated depending on how much RAM your videocard has. Those of you with faster processors and 16 mb video-graphic cards will experience slightly smoother flight and brighter terrain. Galilee Flyer's game engine does "real time" 3-D rendering of the Galilee terrain as you play the game. It will look MUCH better and run MUCH better at the Higher Resolution level of computer mentioned above. Price: $24 for one copy. Two to four copies =$20 each. 5+ = see site license pricing below Order form Galilee Flyer can also be ordered with a SITE LICENSE for larger labs: $95 Site License for five to ten computer set-up. $130 Site License for eleven to fifteen computers. $160 Site License for sixteen up to thirty computers. (Use the online order form's site license line item for Galilee Flyer.) What's a "site license" ? Our Site License version permits you to copy the program from one CD to as many computers as you have paid for. Buy one copy, and apply its purchase price later if you want to upgrade to a site license edition within 3 months. Email us for details.   View & Print our free Galilee Flyer,Game Tips, Lesson Tips and Game Map View & Print our free Pilot Briefing Poster for classroom use View & Print the Verses and Questions found in each of the four games New for older versions:  Download a free set of UPDATE FILES for the game which make the Easy Mode even Easier! Read about it and download it here

Customer Quotes: "Galilee Flyer is fantastic, compliments to you and you staff." ~Tim Polley, 1st Christian Church, Moline Illinois "Used Galilee Flyer with grades 2-3 last Sunday. They loved it." ~Beth Galbreath, First Pres., Davenport Iowa "My son skipped breakfast to play this game, and when he came home from school he brought a friend and went right back at it." ~Sara Gilmore, Dallas Texas "I'm hooked. I took a break from writing my sermon to play the game -and I know all the answers (as well I should)." ~ Pastor Jim Raymond, Nashville "We've been using Galilee Flyer in our Wednesday night program and it's the first thing we've done that's made one poor little boy smile." ~Linda Aranda, John Knox Pres, Florissant Missouri We started the Beatitudes today. In worship the minister told the kids about a new program we had waiting for them. We previewed Galilee Flyer to all the kids during coffee time (over an hour). A steady flow of interested adults dropped in to watch the kids and see what the minister was talking about. Lots of great comments and I had to run and grab a Beatitudes chart because the kid's wanted to know the correct answers!!!  What a wonderful job you did! Thanks from the Hampton Sunday School children! I also have a 19 year-old son who I "caught" playing it on my home computer. And when my 14 year old boy discovered the icon on our home computer he came and told me he found this game and he picked The Lord's Prayer because he figured he could answer the questions and he thought it was really cool! So I again say thank you!  ~Luanne Payne, Hampton United, Hampton Ontario One of my former foster kids was here last weekend. She is un-churched, and spent several hours on Galilee Flyer with the bible open to the Beatitudes, working away.  She is ten years old.  It was wonderful to watch!  Loved the flying music. ~Missy Shannon, Paradise Lutheran, Magalia CA.

More About Galilee Flyer's Content and Design...

Galilee Flyer is game software that has been designed and written by Neil MacQueen, a Presbyterian minister and Christian educator, and El Presidente of Sunday Software. All the game's questions and comments are exactly the kind of content I use with my own students when studying these stories. Unlike some of our other software, I feel strongly that this repeatable game approach is particularly good at encouraging a working memory of these verses and reinforcing their memory and meaning over time.

The 3-D Terrain Model for Galilee Flyer was based on digital images and actual photos of the Sea of Galilee and surrounding countryside. It is a surprisingly varied landscape. To make the flying a little more fun, we have exaggerated certain elevations and added some surprise elements and objects. One of the things I'm personally excited about with this CD is how the game's terrain will provide your students with an indelible map of Galilee for the many stories that took place there.

Galilee Flyer features professional game music and real world sounds triggered as you fly over the landscape. That's real water you hear when you fly over the Jordan, and real seagull cries. Even our whimsical Galilee whale spouts real whale-song. The midi game music was custom written for Galilee Flyer. Several people have commented on its soothing and fresh feel. We care about these kind of details.

TEACHING the Beatitudes, Lord's Prayer, and other Kingdom of God content found in Matthew... These scriptures use some big words and concepts. Galilee Flyer is designed to explain them all and reward students for paying attention.

• What does "Hallowed" mean?
• What does the word "Blessed" mean?
• What is God's Kingdom?
• What does it mean to say we are the salt of the earth?
• What does it mean to "seek first the Kingdom of God"?
• What is leaven?
• What is daily bread?
• and more...