Playing Vatican Wars Increases Catholic Mass Attendance, Daily Readings and Interest in Ordination

KAHULUI, Hawaii--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SGR Games, LLC (“SGR”), makers of Vatican Wars, the revolutionary new social game that exists at the intersection of religion, politics and social issues, today released data demonstrating the overwhelmingly positive impact of playing the game on religious practice and interest. The company performed a nine-month pilot of the game under the name “PriestVille” prior to announcing the launch of Vatican Wars last week. Both games are nearly identical, with players simulating the role of Catholic Priests and performing duties that Priests would normally perform.

“But we also had some problems. Players blackmailed and bullied each other to try to control the online Papacy. This required us to make changes to the game before we could roll it out on a larger scale.”

Approximately 30,000 people played PriestVille, and the user survey focused on its impact on 461 participants who played at least a few minutes a day for at least two weeks. Most of the survey participants had been playing for several months. After the data, there is a brief explanation of the minor differences between PriestVille and Vatican Wars.

The Impact of Playing the game on Practicing Catholics Who Attend Mass Less Than Once Per Week:

1. 30% of this group said that, since they started playing the game, they now attend Mass more often.

2. The percentage of this group who do Daily Readings at least once per week grew from 4% to 52%.

The Impact of Playing the game on a Player’s Interest in Becoming a Priest:

1. 45% of young men (age 24 and younger and excluding Seminarians) said that playing the game made them more interested in becoming a Priest. 35% of these said, “Much More Interested.”

2. 23% of Seminarians surveyed said that playing the game made them more likely to actually become a Priest. 70% of these said, “Much More Likely.”

The Impact of Playing the game on a Player’s Understanding and Support of Someone Else’s Choice to Become a Priest:

1. 47% of young men (age 24 and younger and excluding Seminarians) said that they would be more understanding of a friend’s choice to become a Priest as a result of playing the game.

2. 54% of Seminarians surveyed said that playing the game could help their friends and families understand why they are considering the Priesthood.

“This data confirmed our belief that this is the most powerful and compelling tool we’ve ever seen for increasing Mass attendance, religious practice and interest in the Priesthood,” said Cheyenne Ehrlich, founder of SGR Games, LLC. “But we also had some problems. Players blackmailed and bullied each other to try to control the online Papacy. This required us to make changes to the game before we could roll it out on a larger scale."

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About SGR Games LLC

SGR Games LLC is a developer of social games. SGR has no business relationship with the Holy Roman Catholic Church, The Vatican or the Holy See. SGR also has no business relationship with the makers of any other products, services or games with the word “Wars” in the title. For more information, go to http://www.VaticanWars.com or follow us at http://www.twitter.com/VaticanWars.