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For parents and teachers
Who makes these games, what they teach, and how to use them.
Who and why
Daniel's Lion Workshop is one family in Texas. The games are free, with no ads, no accounts and nothing to buy. They are made so that children have fun while learning real things about the world.
Every game has two editions. The School edition is the game as it is: science, strategy, kindness. The Sunday School edition is the same game with short Bible verses added where they fit. The switch at the top of every page chooses one for the whole site, and the browser remembers it. Nothing in any game counts, scores or rewards a verse. The verses are offered, never gamified.
You are looking at the School edition. The Sunday School edition can be turned on with the switch at the top of the page.
What each game teaches
| Game | What children learn | Ages |
|---|---|---|
| Drip Hero's Journey | The water cycle as one drop lives it: evaporation, condensation, freezing, melting, rain, snow, groundwater, springs, rivers, the sea. 35 "inside" trips show where water goes in a home, a farm, a water supply plant, a wastewater plant, a power plant, a data center, a ship, a whale, the space station. Five pollution lessons (fertilizer, bug spray, a dye works, Minamata, Hinkley) tell why it happened, who is responsible and how people made it right. Every fact has a source, listed in the game. | 8 and up; younger with help |
| Stickman General | Planning and patience: gather wood and mineral, choose what to build, train a team, repair what breaks, read what the other general is doing. Nobody gets hurt and every game ends with a bow and a handshake. | 7 and up |
How to talk about the games
Drip Hero's Journey. Ask where the drop has been today and where it wants to go next. Ask what the drop saw inside a building, and what came out dirty and what came out clean. The pollution stories end with "how to make it right"; ask what the people should have done first.
Stickman General. Ask what the plan was and what changed it. Ask why the knocked-down stickmen walk away instead of disappearing, and why the generals shake hands at the end.
Both games save themselves on the device. A child can stop any time and pick up later on the same device and browser.
Verses in the Sunday School edition
All verses are from the King James Version. They appear on cards after a child has already earned something by exploring, so no verse is ever a task, a score or a prize.
Drip Hero's Journey
71 medal cards carry a verse about water, weather and creation. Among them:
Evaporation, Psalm 135:7. Condensation, Job 26:8. Snowflake, Job 38:22. Rainbow, Genesis 9:13. Still Lake, Psalm 23:2. Mountain River, Isaiah 43:2. Soaking In, Isaiah 55:10. Hidden River, Isaiah 41:18. Farm Well, John 4:14. A Drink of Water, Psalm 42:1. Water at School, Matthew 10:42. Clean and Safe, Ezekiel 36:25. Whale Rider, Genesis 1:21. Space Station, Isaiah 40:22. Nothing Lost, John 6:12. Make It Right, Micah 6:8. Full Circle, Ecclesiastes 1:7.
The full list is in the game's journal: every medal card shows its verse once the medal is earned.
Stickman General
No verse text in this version. The game carries its spirit in the ending: the two generals bow and shake hands, and no one is hurt.
Talking about them
Read the verse on the card together and ask what the drop just did. Most verses describe the very thing the child has just seen: rain falling, a spring in the valley, snow like wool. Let the child make the connection; it lands better than an explanation.
A little child shall lead them. Isaiah 11:6
Devices
Laptops and Chromebooks use mouse and keyboard. iPads, tablets and phones switch to touch by themselves; hold a phone sideways. The games are plain web pages: nothing to install. On an iPad, "Add to Home Screen" in Safari's share menu puts the lion icon on the home screen.
Sound in Drip Hero's Journey starts off, so a classroom stays quiet; the speaker button turns it on.