- 4 minute read
Think back to when you were growing up, did you ever play shops or schools? What about cards? Game of Life? Trivial Pursuit? Monopoly?
I remember playing all of these and not once did I feel that I was learning instead of having fun (although one thing I was aware of learning while playing Monopoly was to be the banker so my brother couldn’t cheat... I wonder if this had anything to do with me deciding to work in a bank when I grew up?).
Thinking back now, I can see how each of these games taught me different things.
Playing shops taught me about the knowing the value of items you buy, what money was used for and budgeting so you could afford to buy what you wanted.
Cards taught me about counting, memory tricks, and strategies.
Game of Life took you on a journey of finishing school, getting a job, having a family, trying to reach retirement a millionaire.
Trivial Pursuit showed us that we acquire knowledge on lots of different subjects as we grow up and just because we know a lot about something, we don’t know everything and there is always more to learn.
Monopoly though is probably the one that had the biggest impact on my learning, and I am still learning from Monopoly today.
In Monopoly you have the opportunity to buy properties which you collect rental income from. You can then build houses and hotels which see the value of your properties increase. In order to buy more properties, you need to have the money to buy it and can get a mortgage from the bank. I also remember negotiating to buy properties from other players when they were desperate for money (I am not sure if this was an official option but I’m sure all families had their own unique rules – probably made up by an older sibling trying to take advantage of the younger one not understanding as much... honestly, I’m not upset...really...). You also have to pay taxes and rent. You can even win money in a beauty contest!
You have Monopoly money that you need to use to pay your bills and the goal is to avoid bankruptcy and you win by having the highest net worth and the end of the game. The name Monopoly is derived from an economic concept of "market domination by a single entity".
Monopoly has been a been a part of popular culture for many decades and I can’t remember any country I have visited that they had not heard of the game. So how has it stayed so popular for so long in so many countries?
Interestingly, I decided to have a look at what is available to buy when looking for Monopoly and I noticed that not only do they still have the Classic Edition available they now have hundreds (some even suggest more than 1,000!) of themed versions of Monopoly available for purchase. The themed versions are based on popular tv shows and video games, movies and books, different cities in lots of different countries, and even certain demographics in the community (ie juniors, millennials, sore losers, cheaters, socialists and many more...). There is literally something for everyone!
I also found a version called Ultimate Banking where, instead of using cash each player has a debit card and the game has a banking unit with touch technology. When players tap their cards it can automatically calculate their net worth and even alert them when they don’t have enough money to buy that next property or pay their rent.
So not only has Monopoly taught us about money, investing and income & expenses, it has also shown us that to continue to thrive in a volatile economy you need to adapt, move with the times, continue to learn and make smart decisions.
So, what are you waiting for... let’s play!!
I remember playing all of these and not once did I feel that I was learning instead of having fun (although one thing I was aware of learning while playing Monopoly was to be the banker so my brother couldn’t cheat... I wonder if this had anything to do with me deciding to work in a bank when I grew up?).
Thinking back now, I can see how each of these games taught me different things.
Playing shops taught me about the knowing the value of items you buy, what money was used for and budgeting so you could afford to buy what you wanted.
Cards taught me about counting, memory tricks, and strategies.
Game of Life took you on a journey of finishing school, getting a job, having a family, trying to reach retirement a millionaire.
Trivial Pursuit showed us that we acquire knowledge on lots of different subjects as we grow up and just because we know a lot about something, we don’t know everything and there is always more to learn.
Monopoly though is probably the one that had the biggest impact on my learning, and I am still learning from Monopoly today.
In Monopoly you have the opportunity to buy properties which you collect rental income from. You can then build houses and hotels which see the value of your properties increase. In order to buy more properties, you need to have the money to buy it and can get a mortgage from the bank. I also remember negotiating to buy properties from other players when they were desperate for money (I am not sure if this was an official option but I’m sure all families had their own unique rules – probably made up by an older sibling trying to take advantage of the younger one not understanding as much... honestly, I’m not upset...really...). You also have to pay taxes and rent. You can even win money in a beauty contest!
You have Monopoly money that you need to use to pay your bills and the goal is to avoid bankruptcy and you win by having the highest net worth and the end of the game. The name Monopoly is derived from an economic concept of "market domination by a single entity".
Monopoly has been a been a part of popular culture for many decades and I can’t remember any country I have visited that they had not heard of the game. So how has it stayed so popular for so long in so many countries?
Interestingly, I decided to have a look at what is available to buy when looking for Monopoly and I noticed that not only do they still have the Classic Edition available they now have hundreds (some even suggest more than 1,000!) of themed versions of Monopoly available for purchase. The themed versions are based on popular tv shows and video games, movies and books, different cities in lots of different countries, and even certain demographics in the community (ie juniors, millennials, sore losers, cheaters, socialists and many more...). There is literally something for everyone!
I also found a version called Ultimate Banking where, instead of using cash each player has a debit card and the game has a banking unit with touch technology. When players tap their cards it can automatically calculate their net worth and even alert them when they don’t have enough money to buy that next property or pay their rent.
So not only has Monopoly taught us about money, investing and income & expenses, it has also shown us that to continue to thrive in a volatile economy you need to adapt, move with the times, continue to learn and make smart decisions.
So, what are you waiting for... let’s play!!
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