Get ready for a unique journey into the 1994 Christian gaming masterpiece, Captain Bible in the Dome of Darkness. Thank the lord because the walkthrough to help guide you is finally here. After 30 years, we’re unveiling the guide to help you navigate the labyrinthine halls of robot cyber liars. Rejoice, for your salvation from confusion is at hand. Your Prayers have been answered for a divine gaming experience like no other.
Shout out to CapnClever for, if not for, all of this guide, where I playtested it to ensure it does answer your prayers. If you just want the guide, scroll to the bottom of this article for the link, or read through my tale of Captain Bible.
Wait- this is a Christian Educational game? For DOS? What??
The True Beginnings of Captain Bible
The development behind Captain Bible goes back to one person, Peter Engelbrite, who worked at Epyx, a notable game developer and publisher founded in the 1970s that experienced highs and lows. Despite the success of titles like California Games, the company faced significant setbacks, and by 1989, Epyx had downsized drastically and filed for bankruptcy. Bridgestone Multimedia Group, a company known for publishing Christian videotapes during the VHS boom, saw potential in Epyx’s expertise and acquired it for its new “Everbright Software” label. Under this label, Epyx released the edutainment title Bible Builder in 1992, a passion project of Engelbrite, who sought to save Epyx by entering the niche Christian gaming market.
Engelbrite was the sole Epyx employee retained after Bridgestone’s acquisition and soon began developing Captain Bible in Dome of Darkness. Although the title hinted at a potential franchise, it was the first and only installment. What set Captain Bible apart was its unique approach to Christian gaming. It didn’t just present scripture for players to learn or guess, but it asked them to apply these teachings in the game’s scenarios. This interactive and engaging gameplay was a hallmark of Captain Bible, and it’s a shame that Bridgestone’s foray into Christian gaming ended with this unique product. 1
Saying this, Captain Bible wasn’t Engelbrite’s first leap into Christian educational game design. His game, Bible Builder, is a unique story-builder-style game for DOS, and you can see a bit of that CB charm in the graphics and writing. There are copies of Bible Builder floating around the internet, but here’s the catch- it’s most likely only the demo version and quits the game 5 questions. This is a “Pepperoni and Cheese phenomenon,” where someone has uploaded something, and we’ve all just been stuck playing Andy’s game. Good news: you can find the Bridgestone BibleWare CD on the Archive and take a gander at many Christian games under the Bridgestone umbrella.2
But- let’s get back to Captain Bible business…
The Premise: A Dome of Delightful Despair
Picture this: A serene city, blissfully ignorant, suddenly finds itself trapped under a Dome of Darkness. Who’s behind this dastardly dome, you ask? Why, it’s none other than robot cybers spreading lies about everything from God and creation to morality and forgiveness? These cybers have effectively brainwashed the citizens to forget about God’s teachings, leaving them in a state of perpetual confusion and despair. In their infinite wisdom, the Bible Corps pokes a hole in this dome, just wide enough to squeeze our hero, Captain Bible, through. Mission accomplished, right? Not quite.
Enter Captain Bible: The Verse-Challenged Hero
Despite his prestigious title, Captain Bible arrives in this darkened city with his digital Bible, conveniently wiped clean of verses. Yes, that’s right. Our hero, who’s supposed to be a top-tier scripture savant, can’t recall a single verse from memory. I find this rather curious, as most godly people in my community know a few Bible passages by heart (as they always shout a few choice ones my way when they see me coming).
It’s a good thing Bible Corps has your back, as they plan to strategically beam the Cap scriptures accessible at good ol’ Scripture stations throughout the city. Your job? Run around, collecting these verses like a spiritually minded Easter egg hunt, and store them in your little Bible Pokédex. It’s a test of patience, persistence, and divine intervention.
Gameplay: Thrill of the Verse Chase
The gameplay is simple in itself. Navigate the city’s clone-stamped hallways, find those Scripture stations, and reload your digital Bible. But wait! Just as you think you’ve stocked up your digital Bible, you’ll lose all the scriptures you collected between levels and wipe it clean again. Because why the shucks not? Nothing says fun like repeating the same tedious task over and over. It’s the epitome of spiritual endurance.
Combat: Faith-Based Fisticuffs
Captain Bible can take a more direct approach when words aren’t enough. Engage those pesky cybers in hand-to-hand combat using the Sword of the Spirit and the Shield of Faith. It’s like a theological beatdown, where a retreat is always an option because sometimes discretion is the better part of valour. Combat adds a layer of excitement and danger, making you feel like a true spiritual warrior. Prepare to defend your faith, one jab at a time. I’m making this sound way better than it is, but have faith- the battle segments are rather enjoyable, and you get a feeling of gratification, busting them to bits.
Shucks, Why Do You Want Me To Play This?
Okay, hear me out. Captain Bible is possibly one of the better Christian video games that died for your sins. This game came out in 1994 for DOS, and you may have yet to hear of it since you needed to buy it from one of those Christian Book shops or order it from one of the cleverly disguised comic catalogues. Though I have spoken to a few people who grew up with the game, and as tedious and silly as this game is, there is charm about it.
When playing the game, you’ll start to think that there’s a scripture that would have worked better in this situation, or if you stream the game, it always brings up interesting conversations. Each stage has a little mechanical gimmick to help keep things interesting, and it’s somewhat satisfying to send those mean ol’ cybers to Hell when you fight them.
You’re probably going to find some people who think this game is terrible, boring, and repetitive, and they are not wrong. However, they probably focus on all the bad stuff about Captain Bible.
But I digress…
Regarding Christian gaming, Captain Bible is one of the better games. From the beautiful sprite work to the delicate design of Captain Bible’s Logo, the team at Bridgestone Multimedia Group took a lot of care with this game and packed in a load of content. When you look at Christian gaming as a whole, a lot of it gets pigeonholed for younger children or lacks any quality or (dare I even say this) Christian Integrity. I say this because there are not a lot of Christian Video Games, and most of the ones people know are reskins or rehashes of other ideas with a “choose the right answer” style multiple choice that feels tacked on.
What I liked the most about Captain Bible was that it showed one of the core fundamental values of following God’s path: helping people. Captain Bible, at its core route, is teaching players not just scripture but how to apply the teachings of God in different situations. So, it’s not just forcing you to learn or guess scriptures. It’s asking you to apply them, and you are rewarded when you choose correctly and punished when you make a mistake.
One cool thing, and you should look, is to go on Amazon and check out the comments for this game from people searching for it almost 30 years later. Many people have such fond memories of playing this game that they hunted it down for a loved one who had it as a child. Some want the game now that they are grown up and have gone out into the world but have yet to find a Christian video game on par with Captain Bible.
There are some real big fans of this game in a non-memery way, and so much so that the biggest complaint is that there is no other Christian game like it anywhere else or since.
One Last Thing-
Not many people know that you can go in and edit the Bible in Captian Bible. This opens the door to replayability and allows you to customize your Captain Bible experience. If you want to go and do this, it’s up to you!
Conclusion: Your Spiritual GPS
If you’ve been struggling to find your way through the Dome of Darkness, our walkthrough is here to help. This guide will help you navigate every repetitive step and determine which scripture will work for which Cyberlies. Cap and I joked that the best walkthrough was the Bible itself, but he outdid himself for this one.
Don’t think of this guide as a TOTAL cheat- you still have to locate all the scriptures, and no one forces you to peek at it for every Cyber Lie. As this is an educational game, this walkthrough is an educational tool to help you or a loved one, a family member or heck, even your dog try and get a good go, especially if you get stuck.
Dive deep into the world of Captain Bible, where scripture memorization meets the exciting realm of robot-battling, hallways that never end, and a hero doing his best with a limited memory bank. With our guide, you’ll become the ultimate scripture-wielding warrior, ready to take on any cyber that comes your way. Welcome to the adventure. It’s going to be a divine ride.
Could we possibly see a Captain Bible remake or sequel? It’s up to YOU.
Get the Captain Bible Guide HERE
Thank you again to CapnClever!
- History of Captain Bible: https://censoriousidler.com/posts/captain-bible/
↩︎ - Bible Builder’s Copyprotection explained https://censoriousidler.com/posts/bible-builder-copy-protection/ ↩︎
Thank you for this! I remember playing this game many years ago and I was just thinking that the verse matching and cyber lies challenges would be a good start for something I’m working on for the kids at my church. The guide of verses you’ve provided here is absolutely amazing and exactly what I was hoping to find!
Thanks so much, Matthew! That’s awesome to hear— it really means a lot that this fun old game is still inspiring new ideas, especially for something as cool as working with kids at your church. Glad the verse guide helped out! Let me know how it goes or if you need anything else. 🙌