Board Game Pokes Fun at TV Evangelists

If you’re a cynical secularist or a Christian with a sense of humor, a new board game might be just the thing to help you recover from the televangelism scandals.

Titled “Fleece the Flock,” it’s the brainchild of three Connecticut residents who formed Tongue-in-Cheek Productions for the venture. Elizabeth Fuller of Weston, a Unitarian, originated the idea and teamed up with inventor Stanley Mason of Weston and illustrator Roy Doty of Norwalk--both of whom are United Methodists--to create the game. It is produced and marketed by Regent Continental in Pennsylvania.

Each player starts with $50 million in play money and a miniature collection plate to move around the board. There are angel, devil and God’s will cards that help or hinder the players as they seek to build televangelism empires.

“In no way it is against religion,” Fuller says of the game, which sells for $25. “It’s a board game that pokes fun at the TV evangelists who have been taking advantage of innocent people.”

The game originator says she is surprised at the amount of publicity the game has been getting in national media. She believes it indicates that “people have had it with these hucksters.”