Christians and Lions (1982)

Christians and Lions is a game for two or three players, and in fact requires the participation of the Divine Being Himself. (Are you on His good side?) It somewhat facetiously recreates the dire plight of those first Christians, facing certain death in the arena. We suggest that for maximum enjoyment and playability the participants forget for the time being that feeding otherwise innocent Christians to a pack of ravening wild beasts is a vile and reprehensible act. At least that's the rumor going around. In any case, it's all in fun.

From the Fantasy Gamer review by Scott Haring:

"Let's face it. If you're seriously concerned that Nuclear War trivializes one of the most important issues of our time, and if you sometimes wonder if fantasy role-playing games are warping the youth of America, then Christians and Lions may not be the game for you. Despite the warning on the cover (it says, 'The Irreverent Strategy Game,' right there in big print), you may not be prepared for what's inside. Therein lies C&L's first hurdle - can anyone take seriously a game in which dozens of perfectly blameless innocents are ripped to shreds by marauding beasts? ...All this is very important in figuring the best strategy. What? Strategy? Yes, Virginia, this game is not only borderline tacky and a barrel of laughs, its also a fairly good strategy game." (Fantasy Gamer #4, Feb/Mar 1984)