Game Plot and Content:
Students guide "Robin MacTavish" through the underground ruins of Joseph's palace recently discovered (or created by us as it were) beneath the Egyptian sands. Joseph has left his amazing story behind in his mysterious palace for all posterity. But he's also made it challenging.

Play begins in Robin's dorm room where she receives a phone message to join her grandfather at the dig site in Cairo. She hops a plane and must find the helicopter at the airport, then find the Dig Tent and land.

Once in the tent, Robin collects a water blaster and proceeds down into the ruins. As Robin is guided by your students through the ruins, they trace the path of the story of Joseph --the coat of many colors, the dreams, the well rejection by brothers, Potiphar's house, Pharaoh's prison, the Baker and Cupbearer's dreams, service to Pharoah, and reconciliation with his brothers.

When Robin gets too close to the well, she falls in it and the real adventure begins. The game begins to think Robin is Joseph. The slave traders come after her, Potiphar's guards arrest her, Pharaoh speaks with her. Only when Robin finds Joseph's cup do the game/ruins return to normal. When Robin finds her Grandpa Dabney at the dig, she gives him the cup which triggers a final event in which Robin can go hear what is in the brothers' hearts --and learn the true meaning of the Joseph story.

The ruins themselves contain numerous stop & ponder Bible studies left there by the Dig crew. At the end of the journey, Joseph's brothers voice insights and questions.

Teaching Notes:
Joseph's Story CD is part game, part lesson. You play through the scenes and narrations of Joseph's life. Students must figure out certain parts of the story in order to advance. They can get trapped and have to play their way out (fortunately there's a save-game feature in case you get stuck. We also put in a secret location for teachers to 'jump ahead' in the program for preview purposes).

Ideally, this game REINFORCES your previous Bible study of the story. But the game itself is a good introduction to the overall story, --as it plays through the Bible story elements in sequence.

Please note: Joseph's Story IS challenging. Without help, younger children may have trouble navigating it. Older children and youth will need TIME to play through it. 30 minutes minimum. We strongly encourage teachers to print the free game guide (it includes a map and shortcuts). And we strongly recommend printing the free Student guide and Worksheet to guide your students.

Age Range:
Young children will need a guide's assistance to play the game. Older children ages 10 and teens and up will do well with a set of Sir Dabney's printed game tips by their side and a teacher nearby. I've used this game with even my preschoolers! ...they just needed plenty of help (yet they thought they were doing it all by themselves of course). The younger your students, the more time you'll need to navigate, and the more areas in the program you'll probably want to help them through. Thus, having a copy of our Teacher's Game Guide is indispensable.

It takes about 30 minutes to get through the ruins if you're new to the game. Add another 5 to 10 minutes of discussion. Joseph's Story CD has plenty in it to last over two lesson's worth, and your students will want to explore and play it more than once.

Teacher's Lesson Notes:
Our primary goal in this game is to teach the scope and sequence of Joseph's enormous story. It takes about 35-45 minutes to make it through the ruins depending on student age and whether they stop to ponder all the ponderables. We recommend this program for grades 2 through grade 12.   2nd and 3rd graders will enjoy it, but will need assistance -or- extra time. Many of us have gone through it with younger children -guiding their mousing and keyboarding, taking some shortcuts, and helping them to solve the game's many puzzles.

Save/Load features make it possible to resume a journey at a later time. Joseph can be completed in one 40 minute time period, but can easily stretch over two or three class periods. The gameplay is very engaging and they'll want to play it several times -even after class. We've even provided secret "jump points" hidden in the game so that a teacher can take students back to certain parts of the story or the Dig Crew's bible studies.

* If you have never played a game in this style, we recommend that adults let a teen show them how.

* Young players will need time to get used to the game controls. It is recommended that younger players have older ones to help, or have time to preview the software. Teacher preview is a must.

The program has some fun playful stuff in it but nothing scary. After the expedition, players can jump back to anywhere in the ruins to review the Bible studies more in-depth, or fly a helicopter around the Pyramids, or listen and reflect on the rock song "Go Where the Spirit Says Go," or raise havoc with your water cannon in the Mad Hippo Maze. 

Special Joseph's Story Resource LINKS:

• View the Free Gameplay & Teacher's Guide to Joseph's Story
   
• Free Hot Playing Tips (Word.doc format -- a Handout for your Students
   
• PDF version of Hot Playing Tips Handout
   
• Joe-Tech Page... answers to technical questions and frequently asked gameplay questions
   
• Hear a short clip of the song "Go Where the Spirit Says Go" from the game
  (sound slightly compressed for easy web streaming)