Games and Financial Literacy

There are many types and uses of games (and simulations) that can be used to educate learners.  There are board games, card games, and  activities that use game features to make them more engaging.  They can be even more engaging when structure as simulations, ARG’s (alternate reality games) or role-playing games.  Games can be implemented at a distance,  online or face-to-face.

In their quest to encourage their target audiences to make better choices, financial literacy educators try to include some sort of game as part of their instructional strategy.  And most of the available games, when implemented properly, can make a lesson about financial skills and concepts more fun.

Most of the available financial games are actually opportunities to practice concepts, principles and skills that have been introduced in class.  They may be fun, even engaging, but are these games transformative? Do they lead the player to change their attitudes or beliefs about money?  Most of these games do not transform lives.

World of Cheddar knows that the right kind game can be transformative.  The right kind of game can put a player/learner in a situation where they discover their own personal truth about money.  The right kind of game allows the learner/player examine how their personal beliefs about money impacts their decision around money, and they can experience the effects of the decisions that these beliefs cause them to make.

We’ll explore this idea in a future post, but for now, what do you think?  Do you know of any transformative financial education or financial literacy games? Do you think it even possible  that “the right game” could transform a player/learner’s financial decision-making skills?