Leviticus! the Video Game

Sharpen your knife and your priestly reflexes: are you ready for the Ultimate Rule Book? Leviticus! 

Play the role of a busy priest working to keep God happy by sacrificing choice offerings of sheep, goats, and bulls with frantic speed and slicing precision. Combo your actions and the rewards get BIBLICAL! 

Three sacrificial services a day, seven days a week. Can YOU make it to Shabbat? Download Leviticus! and start swiping to find out!

That’s the real description of this real iPhone and iPad app: Leviticus! It sounds like Fruit Ninja meets the Hebrew Bible.

I don’t think Leviticus can be wholly reduced to a rule book (it is also all about covenant), and I don’t think sacrifices are best described as just an attempt to “keep God happy,” but there is a lot of detail in Leviticus that most of us struggle through when (if) we read it.

Here’s a screen shot. Not for the weak of stomach, though neither is Leviticus the book:

From Tablet  (via the agade email list):

Titled Leviticus!, the game, as its title suggests, is both irreverent and deeply faithful to the source text—all that business about doves and cows and purity is right there in the book. But whereas Leviticus is too thick with rules to make for a very compelling read, it’s perfect when played.

As irreverent as this game first seemed to me, it may actually help one better understand the book. At least, that’s one of its purposes, according to the creator:

And education is at the heart of [Sarah] Lefton’s efforts. The game, she hopes, will do more than just amuse. “We brought something to very visual life that’s normally left on the page,” she said, “and that a lot of people just never study.” Believing that Jewish literacy and digital literacy make for excellent bedfellows—learning how to code and create applications that, in turn, are designed to enhance Jewish education and engagement—she now has future plans that involve not only the production of more games like Leviticus!, but also workshops teaching students and educators how to create their own Jewish-themed software.

The app is free, and found here. I don’t have an iPhone or iPad, so if anyone reading this downloads and tries it, I’d love to hear more about what you think. And it’s not April 1, so, as far as I know, the app is real.