Jerusalem - Wiederaufbau der Mauer

Game Concept

We find ourselves in the time when Nehemiah lived and the Israelite people returned to Israel from exile in Babylon. The reconstruction of Jerusalem is imminent.
On Nehemiah’s behalf, two construction companies—each with its own quarry—begin rebuilding the city wall. There are several breaches in the sprawling wall that must be closed. Nehemiah is offering a generous reward to the construction company that closes the most gaps. To make it easier to distinguish the completed sections of the wall once construction is finished, each company is to light a torch in its own color and place it there. In addition, a Bible verse is to be incorporated into the new masonry. To ensure a tough but fair competition, the builders can revoke each other’s work permits, thereby temporarily sidelining the other worker.

Unfortunately, it has also come to light that some Arabs are mingling with the crowd. They are said to be infected with a life-threatening disease. Both construction teams are advised to exercise caution, although initial contact is reportedly still safe.

Material

• Barrier tape
• 30 black trash bags (120 l)
• 30 blue trash bags (120 l)
• 6 rolls of tape
• 80 rubber bands (for sealing the trash bags)
• 40 blue rubber bands (work permit)
• 40 yellow rubber bands (work permit)
• 14 blue glow sticks
• 14 yellow glow sticks
• Face paint or numbered vests
• Overhead projector transparency
• 2 overhead projectors
• 3 red Edding markers
• 4 Edding markers
• 14 wooden pegs
• 14 nails
• Vests or similar items to identify infected employees

Terrain

• A large, densely wooded area (approx. 350x350 meters) is suitable as a play area. The terrain may be densely forested and hilly.

Preparation

• Marking the playing field: It’s best to use existing features in the terrain (streams, paths, forest edges). Mark the sides without natural boundaries with barrier tape.
• Mark the construction companies’ camps, the quarries, and the breaches with barrier tape (possibly fluorescent tape).
• 14 Bible verses from the Old Testament (7 different ones per group)
• Cut out 14 small cards (approx. 10x10 cm) from overhead transparency film and punch a hole in one corner of each (one card per Bible verse)
• Torches: Hammer a nail into the top of each wooden stake. Later, attach the cards with the written Bible verses and the glow sticks to the nails using Scotch tape.
• Garbage bags containing the rubber bands are taken to the respective quarries. (Black garbage bags for Company A; blue garbage bags for Company B)
• At the start of the game, participants (construction workers) receive a rubber band in their color (work permit) and, in addition, a numbered vest or a number written in face paint on their right and left cheeks.

Objective of the Game

• Close the breaches in the city wall using 5 of your own building blocks (garbage bags) and set up a torch in your group’s color once this task is complete.
• Prevent the opposing team from building their wall and tear down their walls.
• Don’t “get sick” so you can stay able to work.

Rules

• Each participant may use a flashlight for the nighttime outdoor game.
• The groups start at the same time.
• The workers are free to choose whether to move around in groups or individually.
• Each group may work on any breach.
• A breach is closed by placing 5 bricks (=garbage bags).
• The builders get the bricks from their group’s own quarry.
• Extracting bricks: A player fills a trash bag with air and seals it tightly with a rubber band so the air doesn’t escape.
• The builders may only work if they have a work permit (a rubber band in their group’s color) with them.
• The stones that have been mined are inspected by the foreman at the respective group’s headquarters. Only after he gives the OK may the builders use the stone to build the wall.
• Opposing builders can be temporarily rendered unable to work by calling out their number aloud. If this happens, the affected player must hand over their work permit (rubber band) to the attacker and, if they were carrying anything at the time, leave it where it is.
• At the respective headquarters, they receive a new rubber band from the foreman (staff member) and are thus once again permitted to work.
• With a captured rubber band, players can remove an opponent’s building block from a breach. The rubber band and the removed block are brought to their own foreman.
• Once a group has placed 3 bricks in a breach, the opposing group can no longer remove any! However, to claim the breach for themselves, that group must remove the opposing team’s bricks as described above.
• Building materials lying around outside the breaches may only be taken if they belong to the player’s own group. If they belong to the player’s own group, they may be taken, shown to the foreman, and used for building.
• A player may carry only one building block (garbage bag) at a time.
• If a player has obtained a work permit from an opponent, they may not call on another player until they have handed it in along with the stolen building block.
• If a player is currently carrying a building block, they cannot take a work permit from an opponent.
• There are also 2–3 Arabs (employees) infected with a disease on the game board. When the construction workers come into contact with these individuals for the first time, they receive a red dot on their hand as a mark. Upon the second contact, the affected worker receives another dot and must recover at the company headquarters for 3 minutes. During this time, they may not participate in the game. Upon the third contact, the worker is out of the game for the remainder of the game.

Procedure

• Participants are divided into two groups and assigned to a site manager (employee) and their company.
• At the company’s headquarters, each player receives a work permit (rubber band) and a number (numbered vest or the number painted on both cheeks).
• The construction workers are then sent off to explore and extract bricks from their group’s quarry.
• Extracting bricks: A player takes a trash bag, fills it well with air, and seals it tightly with a rubber band so that the air does not escape.
• The player then takes the stone to the foreman, who inspects it. If the foreman approves it, the player receives a strip of Scotch tape from the foreman, which can be used to attach the stone to the gaps found in the group’s existing stones.
• As soon as a gap has been closed with 5 building stones from a group, the torch (not yet lit!) can be stuck into the ground there. The builders receive a Bible verse from the construction supervisor, which they must memorize and write on the plastic sheet inside the gap. Afterward, they can ceremoniously light the torch.
• The foreign building blocks that the construction supervisor receives should be returned to the appropriate quarry by a staff member.
• The game ends after a time limit or once all the gaps in the city wall have been closed.
• The game’s scoring takes into account the number of breaches closed and the number of rubber bands captured. Naturally, you earn more points for closed breaches than for stolen rubber bands.

Game Duration

• Game explanation and introduction on the playing field: approx. 30 minutes
• Time limit: set at 2 hours
• However, the duration can also be made dependent on the completion of the mission—closing all the breaches. In that case, the length of the game depends on the effort and enthusiasm of the individual groups.

References

• Cover image: MariES
• Playing Field Sketch: MariES