Alien vs Predator Requiem

First of all, I must say, that I saw Alien vs Predator Requiem about this time last year with my friends Josh and Tim, and let me tell you, that movie was TERRIBLE. There are few times that I have seen such bad acting and just an overall bad movie. I was actually happy when the Predator killed the stereotypical-horror-movie-sleezy-girl character with a hyper-advanced-looking giant ninja star. Excuse my technical verbiage.

At any rate, I bring this horrible movie back into recollection, as I was looking up ideas online for games for my youth group. One game that I saw was called Alien vs Predator. Here are the rules:

This game works best in large buildings with many hiding spots!!
This game is a variation of Hide and go seek. At the beginning explain that everyone is going to go hide. You need two volunteers to be Aliens, and one volunteer to be a Predator. Everyone else are unwitting humans that will be captured. The premise is that the humans hide. The aliens need to find the humans and take them to their nest (prison, holding place whatever), The Predators Job is to hunt the Aliens and to rescue the humans.

How it works:
Let all the humans go hide, give them a few minutes then you let the aliens go "hunt" them. If a person is found by the Alien, the alien takes them to the nest where they are stuck until they are rescued.
Give the Aliens a minute or two, then release the Predator. The predator's job is to catch the aliens. Once the predator has tracked down and tagged the alien, the alien has to sit out. The Predator also has to free all the humans. To do this the predator goes to the nest and can only take one person at a time to a different designated spot.

How to win:
- If all the humans are caught and are in the nest aliens win
- If both aliens are caught the Predator wins

Depending on the size of the group you may need more aliens and predators, but the minimum is two Aliens and one Predator, otherwise it is too easy.
Games very in length, but usually last 20 min.

But if anyone has really seen the AvP movies, they'd know well that predators aren't necessarily the good guys. I saw another "Alien" game on the website that had some good ideas, as well.

This is great for a church with a lot of hiding places. First pick two (about one per 10 kids) "ray guns". The ray guns are given five minutes to hide anywhere in the church. We usually explain the game and the rules during this time. Next, pick out two "aliens". The aliens are released to hide themselves too. The object of the game is to find a "ray gun" so that you can zap the "alien". The aliens try to tag all of the players. If a player is tagged then they have to go back to the common area for a full minute. An untagged player can free a tagged player at any time. This game is great in the dark. We usually play it once a month for the whole night.

I like the zapper idea, as well as having humans, aliens, and predators together. So I decided to try to integrate the two ideas to construct the new game: "Alien vs Predator Requiem." This is a work in progress as I am not a master of game theory, so I'm going to need your help in completing the game idea.

Here's what I have so far:

Equipment:

• Laser tag vests for all players
• Laser tag guns for humans (about 2 per 10 humans)
• Pool noodle/rolled up newspaper/soft bludgeoning device for predators
• A Bible, because the humans don't have a prayer! *rofl*

Player Ratio:

• 10 humans (life points: 2)
• 2 aliens (life points: 2)
• 1 predator (life points: 10)

Object of the game:

• Aliens: Capture all living humans and make into alien spawn!
• Predator: Kill all aliens and humans!
• Humans: Kill all aliens and the predator!

Gameplay:

Similar to the rules in the "Alien" game, the guns will be hidden throughout the playing field. The aliens are then released to hide. After the aliens are hidden, the humans will go in search of the guns. The aliens will try to capture the humans by tagging them. If a human is tagged, they are to go to the "brooding ground," where they must stay for 1 minute. If a human remains in the brooding ground for the entire time, they are "devoured" and become an alien. The new alien is released to hunt for humans. Any human may free captured humans by entering the brooding ground and tagging the captured human before their incubation time ends.

Once finding a gun, humans may shoot at the aliens; in the meantime, aliens can still tag and capture humans. After 3-5 minutes of gameplay, the predator is released. The predator cannot be killed by aliens, but can be shot by humans. Predators will "kill" their prey by whacking them with their Soft Bludgeoning Device (SBD).

This is where it gets tricky. If any player is shot or hit by the SBD, they lose one life point. Once a player runs out of life points, they are killed. Shots from the laser gun only count if they make the laser vest light up.

By the way, neither aliens nor predators can use the guns. Aliens don't have opposable thumbs, and predators are just in it for the hunt!

So that's about it. I'm not sure if the game is fair yet, as I haven't tested it out. Feel free to add your comments about revisions to this game!

Integrator

When I was hired in June, 2006, PPL gave me the job title of "Associate Integrator." Pretty ambiguous. If you didn't know me (which you might not), or if you didn't look at my bio, you would have no clue what that job title means. "Do you work in HR?" "Or perhaps you sit in a windowless room with a pencil, paper, and a calculator and solve calculus problems all day."

The real definition of my job would likely fall under system integration. Personally, I prefer the term software developer, because it just makes sense. I develop software at work, so shouldn't I be a "software developer?" Even "programmer" would make more sense, though programming is only a part of my job.

For the past 2 1/2 years, I've been trying to figure out where this term "Integrator" could be correctly applied - or at least in a way that makes sense to me. Little did I know that I would find the answer in youth ministry.

For about as long as I have been working, I have volunteered at a youth group in Bethlehem. Recently, the responsibility has become much more like a job or vocation in itself. When I think of the lives of teens in general, the first term that comes to mind is "abandonment," especially after reading Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers by Chap Clark. Hurt has some alarming statistics and stories about teens lacking relationships within the adult community. As a more recent entrant into this adult community, I can attest to that as well. To stave the effects of a cultural "systemic abandonment", our society calls for people who are willing and able to invest their lives in the youth - not necessarily with an agenda in mind, but rather, with a heart and passion toward helping teens define and pursue their dreams.

To do this within the church, youth need to be integrated into the body. (Not to be confused with imperialism or assimilation) This means that the church needs to reach out to our youth and let them know that they are not only tolerated but accepted as they are. Additionally, the church needs to invest in them and help them achieve their God-given potential by providing direction and providing the means for the youth to succeed.

In a nutshell, the church needs a bunch of Integrators to step forward and lead the effort to help the youth feel accepted within the church and for the church to be accepted by the youth. As an Integrator, I need to pray about who God is preparing as mentors, facilitators, and prayer warriors for the youth. I need to develop a plan to initiate the call to ministry. But most importantly, I need help.

So when it comes to my "philosophy of ministry," I have to resign that God has not called me to be a pulpit teacher, nor has he called me to be an "army of one." I know now that my purpose is to integrate and to strive to bring the church closer together.