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Generally speaking, nobody wakes up in the morning excited to learn how to budget. Or to understand how credit works. Or how to properly save for retirement. And more often than not, these important topics aren’t adequately taught to us at school or at any point during our formative education journeys. So how do we expect people to gain financial understanding and make informed decisions in today’s increasingly complex financial landscape? And where are people finding relevant financial information that they can really trust?
Game your way to financial knowledge
On the one hand, many people have increasingly looked to social media to find information and advice that's been neatly packaged into well-edited bite-sized video clips. Unfortunately, it seems like every second-person out there these days on TikTok or X (formerly Twitter) claims to be an expert on what you should do with your money and how you should invest it. So, it can be hugely difficult to know which influencer or ‘cryptobro’ can really be trusted.
On the other hand, banks and regulated financial institutions have prevailed as a source of truthful and reliable information. But, traditional printed flyers, informative TV ads or long-winded and detailed financial explanations on their websites don’t really serve as effective formats to engage audiences around the important financial information we need to know in order to make educated decisions that lead to financial stability and growth.
So, what are the alternatives?
Try sifting through the hundreds of thousands of articles on the internet to stay informed? Phone a friend for help? Just continue hiding your money under your pillow and ignore everything else in the world whilst you sleep soundly at night?
Whilst these very well might be options (some better than others), the approach that we’re most fond of is the opportunity presented by well designed financial education games.
Games? Really?
It is a long standing truth that experience is the best teacher. Humans are better able to connect theories and knowledge to make informed decisions when they are engaged in an experience. And by their very nature, that’s exactly what games offer.
Rather than being a passive form of consumptive media, games require you to lean in and actively engage. Built around sets of rules and feedback loops, games can offer effective and practical learning experiences delivered in a risk-free environment to help develop and reinforce essential skills and behaviours. For financial education, games are therefore a perfect fit.
Games that simulate financial scenarios and require us to make decisions can help us really understand the consequences of our choices without the risk of any real financial loss. And games also give us the agency to try again - try new strategies and figure out how best to navigate our messy world of financial systems.
As an illustration of the power of games in this space, here is a hand-picked selection of some of our favourite financial games out there at the moment.
Fan-Favourite Financial Games
Pancake Empire Tower Tycoon
Specifically designed to introduce young children to basic financial principles in a creative environment, this Roblox experience encourages young kids to build and manage their own pancake restaurant empire. Learning how to handle finances and balancing the need to spend and save their earnings as they progress through the game at their own pace, Pancake Empire Tower is a vibrant solution to making lite financial learning accessible and relevant to young people in a way that does not compromise on fun!
How Not to Suck at Money
Sponsored by INVESCO QQQ, this interactive game tests your money skills and helps you level up if you find out you could use a little improvement. Guided through a series of different financial scenarios in the game, players learn about budgeting, debt management, investing, and retirement planning. With an engaging narrative and practical tips, this game serves as an excellent tool for adults and young people looking to refine their financial skills and knowledge and prove that they do not indeed suck at money.
Allan Gray Entrepreneurship Challenge High School Game
This engaging challenge immerses students in the virtual world of entrepreneurship. The Allan Gray Entrepreneurship Challenge is a game that we designed in partnership with the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation that encourages high school students to experiment and think strategically about business management. Players are tasked with balancing various decisions, such as hiring staff, expanding product ranges, and adjusting prices to optimise their business sales in the game. By trying different approaches, students gain valuable insights into the complexities of running a business and develop key entrepreneurial skills whilst having fun. Packaged within a competition whereby kids compete against one another to achieve the best business results, the name of the game is entrepreneurial success!
My Retirement Picture
This web-based gamified tool is another solution that we developed at Sea Monster. In partnership with Alexander Forbes, My Retirement Picture is designed specifically to assist adults on their retirement planning journey. The game leverages the power of storytelling and visual design to offer a valuable and engaging learning experience. Through simulating real-life financial challenges, players learn about the power of strategic investment in order to set them up to achieve financial security in their later years.
€CONOMIA
Shifting from games that help guide users on their personal financial decisions to a game that helps people gain a better understanding of how monetary policy works, €CONOMIA is a dynamic simulation game, commissioned by the European Central Bank. In the game, players take part in the policymaking process, deciding on key interest rates while watching indicators like money growth, inflation rate, and production growth. As the game progresses, it gets more challenging, pushing players to react to unpredictable events like oil crises that impact inflation and the economy. By tackling these complex economic scenarios, players gain a deeper understanding of real-world monetary policy and its effects.
The above games and experiences are just a handful of the incredible financial education games available. If you’re looking for an engaging and immersive way to bring financial concepts to life for your brand or organisation, a game might be just what you need! Send us a message to set up time to unpack your ideas with our expert Sea Monster team today.
Want to better understand the world of impact gaming more generally? Check out our previous blog post
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