The Story of Chronicles of the Kingdom - An interview with creator Luke Tubbs
- Luke Tubbs
- Mar 13
- 6 min read
Welcome! Thank you for taking an interest in my game!
I wanted to give some background around how the game came about and, being a big Games Workshop fan (and ex-staff member), I really enjoy the articles they do in interview style. So I asked Grok to interview me and had a genuinely enjoyable time answering its questions and recollecting the journey I'd been on to get here.
Q: What originally sparked the idea for Chronicles of the Kingdom?
A: I've been involved in church all my life and youth work since the early 2000s, helping young people (and anyone really) engage with the Bible has always been close to my heart. Back in 2016 I made a basic Word doc with a list of Bible events typed out. I printed it, cut the paper into strips, and gave it to my kids (my daughter was 10, my son 7) as an exercise to put the events in the order they appear in Scripture. We had a fun time arranging the Bible's big story like a puzzle, it made the narrative feel connected instead of just disconnected bits. That simple family activity was the very beginning.
Q: How did it grow from there?
A: Fast-forward to 2019: I'd just finished my diploma in Biblical Theology and Church Leadership under author and pastor Andrew Wilson. Between jobs, I revisited the idea and turned it into a game. I grabbed an old 52-card deck and Sharpie, came up with 52 key events (there are thousands in the Bible, so I worked hard to drill down to the most key and recognisable to fit on the deck), wrote short descriptions on the backs, and numbered them on the fronts. We played that rough prototype as a family and it was already really enjoyable.
My original sharpie prototype with the working title of Chronos!
Then, just before COVID in 2020, I used my background in graphic design (and the wonders of mail merge) to make a proper, decent looking prototype incorporating a bunch of things learnt from playing the sharpie prototype with family and friends. I planned to try it with a new young adults group I was leading, but lockdown hit the week we were starting... When things opened up again, I brought it to Sunday morning youth sessions, and it went down brilliantly! Over the next few years I kept trying different ways to play getting great feedback and ways to improve, playing it with youth groups, home groups, and friends, and people kept saying, "This is really good, you should produce it properly!"
The polished prototype with images borrowed from Google... for personal use only!
Q: What changed to make premium production possible?
A: The biggest blocker was always the artwork, hiring an artist for 52 unique pieces was way beyond my budget as a solo youth leader with no big funding. But with the recent improvements in generative AI, producing the art I needed suddenly became realistic! I experimented with a few tools, landed on ChatGPT and generated epic, cinematic biblical-style images that felt right. It was hard work and took over a month of heavy prompting and re-work! Pieces like the image for the parting of the Jordan or any including the Ark of the Covenant took ages to get a good looking result, but it was also huge fun, especially getting to put my arty experience to good use. I also redesigned every element for the cards (icons, layouts, textures, everything) so it's 100% original and owned by me. Seeing something I'd carried in my heart for a decade finally come to life visually was incredibly encouraging. That's when I knew: this could become a real, beautiful product.
AI is fickle though, check out the guy wearing sunglasses! (this did not make the cut...)
Q: How does the game actually play?
A: It's super simple and addictive. You start with one random card face-up in the middle (e.g., The Plagues and Passover). Everyone gets a hand of face down cards (basic rules say 5, but feel free to adjust for player count or game length). On your turn, you pick one from your hand, read the red-side description aloud, then place it where you think it fits in the timeline, before or after existing cards, without peeking at the picture side.
I realised that although the font on my previous prototype looked cool, it was difficult to read, so I have prioritised for readability on the production version!
Once you've committed to a location everyone chants "flip, flip, flip!" (usually while pounding the table!) and you turn it over to find out if you got it right. The picture side has:
A coloured strip at the top showing which of the 7 periods in the game it belongs to (1. The Beginning, 2. The Exodus, 3. The Judges, 4. The Kings, 5. The Exile, 6. The Messiah, 7. The Church)
An event number showing its order within the period
The overall look of the cards has been retained from the prototype, but the adjustments to the numbering system allow for expansions to be added in future!
If the period and event number are in the right sequence, you score a point (or just celebrate! Many people just enjoy building the perfect timeline together). Each card also has a "Read about it" Bible reference at the bottom for deeper study.
The base set comes with a basic rules card in the box to get you playing quickly, but the website (chroniclesofthekingdom.co.uk) has a bunch of variations for different ways to play: advanced rules, team play (great for youth groups) as well as themed games with cards for teaching specific topics. It's flexible - fun competition or thoughtful Bible study.
Q: Who is this game really for?
A: It started with my own kids and youth group, but it quickly became clear it works for everyone. Parents love it for wholesome, Bible-based family time. Homeschoolers can use it as a lesson or fun break. Youth leaders get an icebreaker that actually teaches (instead of just eating session time). Home groups, young adults, small Bible studies, even retired pastors in their 80s (as I have found), enjoy the surprises and "I didn't realise that came there!" moments. Lifelong Christians discover gaps in their timeline knowledge; newer believers see the big picture for the first time. It's for any age, any setting where people want to laugh, learn, and see how Scripture tells one unified redemption story.
Q: What makes the production version special?
A: My home prototypes had streaky printer lines and taped-together boxes, functional but not something you'd treasure. Now we've gone premium: 300gsm cardstock with matte lamination and round corners for durability, golden foil for book icons on the backs, spot UV highlights for the periods and event numbers on the fronts, and a beautiful book-style box that looks like a mini Bible on your shelf! It's designed to sit proudly in homes and churches, be passed around, played again and again, and when expansions come (which they will), they'll build into a little collection on the bookshelf.
Q: What's your big dream for Chronicles of the Kingdom?
A: My ultimate dream is for every Christian to have access to this, to see the Bible's epic narrative, the connections, the foreshadowing, in a fun, memorable way. There are around two billion Christians worldwide; imagine youth groups in Latin America, families in Africa, churches in Asia playing in their own languages. I've designed the game to be easy to translate, so I'm excited to partner with anyone who wants to fund a new language edition to get it into mission fields and places where this kind of resource isn't common. Stories are powerful in every culture, and the epic story found in Scripture, of the reunion of heaven and earth through Jesus, the promised, rescuing son of God, is the greatest story there will ever be!
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