Video games offer a way to escape and have a little fun.
But did you know they can also act as tools for financial education?
Can You Survive 10 Days of Budgeting?
Players can also use the money to buy items and upgrades via in-game marketplaces.
This canteach children about saving and budgetingin a fun way.
Other games introduce kids and adults alike to the world of startup businesses.
The more activities the user does during each virtual day, the more money they earn.
So, we also have a lesson in positive work ethic.
This concept is especially prevalent in sports games that simulate real-life transfer markets.
The highly popular Animal Crossing franchise even has a stock market.
It makes money-making tasks fun and encourages players to repeat these tasks over and over again.
Animal Crossing can help to improve financial literacy in four key ways.
Tom Nook is an important character in the Animal Crossing world, running the all-important village store.
However, these upgrades come at a cost.
They mayaccumulate large amounts of debtand create a whole new set of obstacles.
To avoid stunting their progression, players learn to live within their means.
They learn to purchase new items when they have earned enough money to do so.
Psst… Can We Let You In On a Few Secrets?
You know the saying: Secrets, secrets are no fun.
Which is why were shoutingthese simple money secretsfrom the rooftops.
Millions of adultsstilldont know that you might become a real estate investor for as little as 10 bucks.
Or that you might earn $500 a month reviewing games and products you love.
Or that you might get $300 just for signing up for a checking account.
Read more secretsand start earning and saving today!
Loans in Animal Crossing accrue interest.
It pays off to pay back as soon as possible.
This is definitely a real-life concept that can teach children the pros and cons of taking out a loan.
Animal Crossings built-in stock market is called the Stalk Market.
Players have to make sensible virtual investments to earn more money.
This system also introduces players to commodities, and some resources are worth more than others.
Consider it an early dive into the markets we cant avoid as adults.
It outlines the basics ofhow to trade options, invest in stocks and overall manage securities.
The online marketplace also allows players to pick selling strategies that maximize profit.
For example, there are certain fish and vegetables in Animal Crossing that have high values.
It could benefit them to focus on these products over lesser valued products.
It could be simple budgeting strategies or more advanced concepts like investing.
An example of this is the free-to-play, award-winning business simulation gameVenture Valley.
It was developed by the Singleton Foundation, Discovery Education and Dubit.
Gamification and Financial Literacy: Whats Next?
The future of financial education is an exciting one, especially when its delivery includes gaming.
However, there still is some fine tuning left to do.
A boring 2,000-word blog post can be turned into two concise 500-word lessons with visualizations, plus a quiz.
Virtual reality is also well on its way to being part of the conversation.
Its becoming even more advanced and widely available.
VR can simulate real-world scenarios and give students challenges to overcome.
AI will also be able to create personalized learning programs tailored to the user.
Swipe Like a Millionaire No Gold Card Required
Ever wondered how millionaires get to be… millionaires?
So we looked into it.
What we found aresimple, millionaire-approved tipsthat anyone can use to manage their money.
Finance-based games often are considered too complicated or too simple.
This means developers must strike a balance to appeal to more people.
Accessibility is another factor because of the price of game consoles and high-end computers.
Games will need to work across a wide range of platforms, from smartphones to the latest console.
This can bump up the cost and duration of game-based finance education projects.
New York contributor Kiara Taylor specializes in financial literacy and financial technology subjects.
She is a corporate financial analyst.
