THE Scripture Union (SU) has invested more than £1 million in its first digital game, to introduce the "Minecraft generation" of children to the Bible.

The game, Guardians of Ancora, will encourage children to undertake "quests" that bring Bible stories to life. The charity seeks to engage children who have had little exposure to the Bible.

It has been developing the game for the past four years, and has spent "a seven-figure sum" on it, SU’s marketing director, Mark Green, said on Tuesday. It had been designed to appeal to children who are fans of games such as Club Penguin and Minecraft.

He said that the game would not replace SU’s traditional mission to children — through holiday camps and magazines — but would build on it. "It is complementary to what we do; but we do hope it will help us reach out to more children than we do at the moment.

"We’ve done a lot of research, and a lot of effort has gone into the game play and the graphics. We’ve worked hard to produce a fun game that children want to play. A lot of our mission to children is through the channel of church at the moment — this will broaden the field. We hope children who are online and like to play great games will come across it, which is why it is free."

The SU hopes that regular givers will want to support the game’s continued development.

More Bible quests will be added to the game each month. It is free from the Apple App store, Google Play, and Kindle Fire.

www.guardiansofancora.com