“Getting rich isn’t any more complicated than buying three houses and exchanging them for a hotel as in Monopoly”, that guy said. A bold claim that I doubted but it nevertheless got me thinking the next time I played Monopoly.
I knew the game from my childhood but this was the first time when I approached it analytically. Here is a strategy proposal: buy everything your pawn lands on so that soon you own at least slightly more properties than your opponents. Then just by chance they will land on your properties and end up paying you. Estimate the order of magnitude you are likely to pay on fines to others and keep enough change ready so that the fines do not ruin you. Invest everything else in buying more properties (if you land on an unclaimed field) or buying houses (if you land on your field), so that you increase the difference between how much on average others pay you and how much you need to pay them. And that’s it.
I did win that game of Monopoly, but do try out this strategy for yourself and let me know what you think.
Ooh, and one more thing: when selling to and buying from the other players and not the bank, do not forget to consider the double of the actual price: midway through the game I almost went bankrupt when I bought a train station from an opponent too expensively. I mean, it was no problem to pay out the agreed price, but what I forgot to count in is that not only I had by that (large) amount less, but also the opponent instantly had by the very same amount more money which enabled him to upgrade his properties and increase the fines for others. Well, if I have 4 apples and you just 2, and I give you 2 apples, then suddenly I am the much poorer person. Lesson learnt 🙂
Play and the real life
This game of Monopoly did make me realize some principles. I would still argue that the actual financial literacy is a bit more complicated than a game of Monopoly, but it definitely is possible to apply some of the principles from a game in the real life.
And well, is it not exactly what children do when they play? Taking care of a doll, constructing Lego monuments, or playing out a shop keeper not only makes kids fill out their time, but also mimics the abilities that they will need later in life.
Then why do adults not play to learn new things? I would moreover argue that playing is not only about learning a concrete skill, but even more so about an overall adjustment towards failures and experimentation that we once had but somehow throughout the school years and the societal ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’t’ we may have forgotten. I am convinced that playing games makes us more free again, resilient and even gives us courage to pursue what we dream of. Here is why.
1) The ‘Just do it’, hands-on mindset
Do you know the spaghetti-marshmallow challenge? It is a task where teams of ~4 people compete to build towers with a marshmallow on its top by using only (uncooked :)) spaghetti and a tape. The team that manages to build the highest spaghetti tower within 20 minutes wins. If you have never done the challenge, I recommend trying it, it is fun.
But what I find the most fascinating about the challenge is how differently grown-ups and kids seem to approach it. While kids simply start building and experimenting, destroying some spaghetti and then trying again, it is not uncommon to see adult teams contemplating for several minutes how exactly they should build the tower before anyone even tries to grab the marshmallow and support it with a spaghetti to see how much the spaghetti can hold. Adults first like to discuss the theory and only when they are sure that they have the best design, they start building. Unfortunately, many times this is only to realize that their perfect design does not work. The tower collapses and the team is forced to improvise, just as the kids have been doing the whole time, except that now the team has much less time.
Of course, I am not saying that one should always just jump head-first and improvise, it is desirable to also think things through, but sometimes, or maybe most of the time we simply cannot predict how things turn out before we even start doing them.
Games can help us re-learn that hands-on approach: start doing things, instead of just talking about them. Even if you are not sure from which end to start, do at least something and adjust as you go along.
2) Failing safely
What holds you back from chasing that dream of yours you have had for many years? People may say they don’t yet have time or money for it. In reality a lot of it seems to come down to a simple human fear deep down: what if I am unable to achieve my goal? What would others say it they find out about it? Such a thing at my age? Will I let down my family? …well, maybe. It can all happen. Maybe you will indeed fail miserably, but at least you have tried. Failures belong to life and they are an inevitable part of the learning process. Any path to success leads through failures. One just needs to learn from them and go on.
Games teach us failing in a safe environment. It is experimentation without the consequences of the potential failure. It is not a big deal when your spaghetti tower collapses, same as it does not matter if you go bankrupt in a game of Monopoly. You can do better next time. What matters is the mindset: try out new things even if you first suck at them and there is a risk that you will fail magnificently. Start by playing games and then take it to the ‘real life’.
3) Enjoying things that we otherwise would not do
Do you know the feeling that an apple is good for you but you don’t feel like eating it? Gamification can nudge us towards beneficial activities that we otherwise would not necessarily do as they require a lot of energy or are perceived as boring. As, for example, learning a foreign language or promoting a more environmentally friendly behaviour. But once it’s all made into a game where we collect points and compete with others, the chore becomes fun.
Oooh my! I can’t express my initial dislike towards this game. As an introvert I would never ever… and I mean ever…voluntarily ring someone’s house just to casually ask them to exchange my needle for something else. And then repeat this over and over again for the next hour. But you know what? By the end of the game I routinely started one conversation with strangers after another and even enjoyed it. The locals were super nice people, and happy to talk to us. Many of them gladly used up the opportunity to get rid of their junk items (in exchange for smaller junk items :)) and so all ended up well.
I was surprised how framing an activity as a game gave me courage to act very differently from what I would normally do. And I was even more surprised that I enjoyed it.
Games give us opportunities to experience events that we would otherwise either dismiss straight away or would just not do ‘right now’, even if they are good for us.
Let’s go and play
One last and most obvious reason to play is that games are simply lots and lots of fun! 🙂 They are a great way to unwind and have a break from our otherwise busy lives. We all deserve that from time to time, especially if through the game we can learn and explore something new. So, what is the next game you are going to play? Have fun!
Being a scientist and an educator, I love creating meaningful games for all those who are ready to trick their mind, experience adventure and discover more about themselves and the world around us.
I started Grow Trails, the interactive educational games for adults. Read my story.