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Crazy Bones

New on December 15

Question: Have you heard of crazy bones? I guess the game is a cross between marbles and pogs but the figures are questionable looking. My daughters were given a couple of figures at a store where they were doing demonstrations. I would appreciate any info Thanks.

Visitor's answer: Crazy Bones is a harmless game as far the play mechanics and what not goes. However, the way the figures look might be objectionable depending whether or not you approve of Halloween. If you don't then your not gonna like this game since it has a very Halloween motif to it. If your fine with Halloween then the games good.

Berit's response: Those who, like Andy and I, object to the popular Halloween themes would obviously not want to bring home Crazy Bones

Visitor's comment: I have seen this in "World of Knowledge" stores but never knew much about it. Well, McDonald's or Burger King recently used these toys for a promotion in their meals for kids, so they came into my home. They are "bones" that you throw and have meaning. You read the meaning by how the bones land. That doesn't sound very good to me. Isn't that some kind of witchcraft thing????? Let me know what you think!

Answer from David C. Mosher: Following is my experience with the game. While shopping I came across foil-wrapped packages of Crazy Bone characters (four to a package). Immediately I got the impression that these were occult-based and age-inappropriate. First of all, the set I saw consisted of ghosts and monsters of various shapes and colors. But what really concerned me was the container which was being sold at this particular store to carry these Crazy Bones. Namely, a coffin - yes you heard right. This is a far cry from the cloth bag that children carried their marbles in when I was young!

ORIGIN OF CRAZY BONES

The following web site describes one possible origin of the game of "bones":

<http://www.crazybones.com/history.htm>:

"No, it's not a mistake, more than 2,000 years ago the boys and girls of ancient Greece and Rome played a game using bones - throwing and bouncing them in village squares and in their own homes. We know this because some ancient paintings on marble were discovered in a city called Resina which date back more than 2,000 years, showing kids playing this game."

There you have it - the origin of the game, the toymaker says, are boys and girls who tossed literal bones. Is this the kind of game we want our children to emulate - a game that tossed around bones? The web site does not tell us these were human bones (and we doubt that they were). But the toymaker could perhaps be implying they were human bones, in view of the fact that the container of the modern day Crazy Bones is a coffin.

Another explanation for the origin of the term "bones" is the use of dice. In more recent times, dice were often called "bones" since they were at times made out of bones or ivory. We find it interesting that the toymaker did not mention this more recent and more common use of the term "bones" in gameplaying.

A WEB PAGE DECEPTION

We would like to inform our readers that the artists' renditions you see on the Crazy Bones web pages are much more detailed and colorful than the actual Crazy Bones bought in packets at your local retail store. Just a word of warning ...

OCCULT CHARACTERS

1) Consider the Alien Characters. These are BY FAR the most disturbing characters in the Crazy Bones series. Of the sixty characters on this web page, the first forty have the facial features of a typical alien - an large, egg shaped head with large oval eyes. Figures of aliens should have no place in one's house, let alone in the hands of one's children. Why? Because, as a number of Christian books document in great detail, the appearances of aliens are almost always demonic in nature. (If you are interested in learning more, we would be glad to refer you to some of these Christian titles - just email us.)

Further, of the sixty "alien" characters, characters 41 through 60 are extremely grotesque-looking monsters. They reminded us of the bizarre alien characters in the various Star Wars movies.

Now one might ask, what age group are these alien and monster characters marketed to? The designers of the web site don't tell us, but the following web page implies that the age of the children in this market are ages five to ten. All of the characters in the "Alien" series would be very inappropriate for this age group.

For so-called "parents' info," see http://www.crazybones.com/parents.htm

2) Consider Gogo's Characters. There are sixty "retired" characters. Many of them seem innocent enough, but mixed in with the innocent characters are occult figures such as Vampire (#5), Ghost (#22), E.T. (#23), Frankie (Frankenstein)(#36), Screamer (#37), and Monster (#40).

3) Mutant characters. Some of these characters are repeats of characters from the previous series. Following are the ones which we find most objectionable: Monster (#63), Ghost (#72), Vampire (#73), Scary (#75), and Frankie (Frankenstein)(#76)

4) Toy Story characters at http://www.crazybones.com/whoswho/toy_story_2.htm

Even this innocent sounding web page has occult characters. Namely, the wizard-like Zurg, as well as six alien characters.

NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES

Take a look at Gogo's Characters. A number of the "retired" characters shown here are quite unsavory and/or show obvious prejudices which no parent or child should take lightly. Here are a few of the most objectionable characters: Day Dreamer (#6), Wierdo (#7), Biker (#9), Menace (#10), Punk (#11), Baldie (#13), Rapper (#19), Grumpy (#21), Goodie Goodie (#24), Big Mouth (#27), Reggae (#28), Babe (#30), Four Eyes (#31), Dummy (#38), Clown (#39), Dreamer (#43), Sly Boy (#44), Joker (#45), Teacher's Pet (#49), Tubby (#50), Brains (#52), Sleepy (#54), Bad Boy (#56), Dopie (#57), Chubby (#59), and Miss Froggy (#60).

There is a obvious theme to the above characters. Although they are "not as bad" as the occult characters, they are nonetheless not very edifying. Namely, they are personalities of various "uncool" children in the average school classroom. These stereotypes and prejudices should not be the type of thing we are reinforcing with our children, even if it is just in a game. One of the things this game could be teaching is that it is okay to make fun of others because they are "different," "weird," or "uncool." This is the opposite of the biblical admonitions we should be teaching each of our children, namely, to "love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matt. 19:19) and "not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think" (Romans 12:3).

SOME MORE BIZARRE, OCCULT FACTS

Consider the following comments by the toymaker:

"You can keep your Crazy Bones in a coffin container, or bone bag. Keep your special Crazy Bones near you all the time with a Bone Cage."

It's traumatic enough for children ages five to ten to be carrying around a cage containing "bones", or even worse a COFFIN of "bones." But the toymaker is encouraging children to keep these bizarre characters (many of which, as we have said, are portrayed as aliens, ghosts, monsters, etc.) with them at ALL TIMES. Why? This "guideline" (no pun intended) reminds us of the Pokemon or "pocket monster" concept, of children keeping their personal little spirit friend or spirit guide with them in their pocket at all times. Many children's cartoons teach this concept as well, that each of us has a personal spirit guide. This is an occult, New Age teaching at its core. In the life of the nonchristian these personal spirit guides are actually demonic spirits, or what the Bible also refers to as familiar spirits.

Finally, imagine a child going to bed at night with these "bone" characters (aliens, ghosts, monsters, etc.) in a coffin by their bedside. With "toys" like these (along with the hundreds of other age-inappropriate occult-based toys on the market), it is little wonder that children have nightmares!

A MONEY MAKING SCHEME

The toymaker says, "Begin your collection with a Starter Kit and then you can keep all 60 characters in the Crazy Bones Collector Case!"

This reminds us of the Pokemon marketing plan, namely, that you "gotta catch 'em all!" Toymakers know that most children are avid collectors who will beg their parents to buy them every one of a series. Also, the fact that specific Crazy Bone characters are hidden in aluminum foil, guarantees that children will end up with many duplicates and will keep wanting to buy more packets in hopes of getting new characters. This is yet another "crazy" marketing scheme.

CONCLUSION AND FURTHER READING

In view of all the above facts, the Crazy Bones game seems inappropriate for children of any age. For more information, you can read:

A secular article describing Crazy Bones

A business-oriented article

   *****************************************************

    David C. Mosher, Founder

    CTTC (Christ to the Cults Ministry)

    2224 9th St. SW, Canton, OH 44706

    Verbal: 330-454-4603, Email: dcmosher@jbic.com http://members.aol.com/fishwares/private/NAMLinks.htm *****************************************************

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