7 Board Games That Help Teach Kids About Money

Board games not only make for wonderful nights spent with family but, depending on the game,  they can make for wonderful teaching tools for your children, too. If you’ve thought about teaching your children about the basics of money, along with an introduction to investing, a number of board games can go a long way to teach innumerable lessons. Here are seven of the best money games for kids:

Cashflow for Kids

Created by Robert Kiyosaki, the acclaimed author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, this game makes for an excellent means of teaching younger children basic education concerning finances. Good for two to six players and for any children over the age of 6 years old, Cashflow for Kids is one of the best money games for kids, offering players personal financial lessons, from basic investing to money management, personal accounting to tracking return on investments.

Buy It Right

A popular game among early-education teachers and parents intrigued in teaching the basics of money transactions, Buy It Right offers players a simple, easy-to-understand game to learn the basics of math calculations, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and decimals.

Although it’s intended for children between 4th and 6th grade, parents can simplify the game for children of younger ages, where they are allowed to partake in simple transactions while attempting to calculate the price of what they buy. Kids can even use a calculator to make it easier for them to practice their math skills while learning real-life skills.

The Allowance Game

An easy game even for your youngest children, The Allowance Game provides families with an easy way to teach their children the basics about money management and money earned. By having your children participate in numerous chores around the board, which provide them with a certain “allowance” as payment, they’ll quickly learn ways to earn money around the house while working.

Winning the game might feel convoluted, as it entirely comes up to luck (based upon a dice roll). But it also gives your children the opportunity to learn the importance of undertaking chores, along with other social responsibilities that come in tow.

Money Bags

A simple yet colorful game, Money Bags is a surefire way to teach your children the basics of counting and divvying out money. Subtitled as a “Crazy Coin Counting Game,” this game brings players along a winding path to complete basic, practical chores around the house for money. If they don’t complete chores, players must spin a wheel to determine what coins they are unable to “collect.” With this in mind, they must earn their payment for said chores by tallying up their payment without using that one coin. For example, if they were to earn $0.80 for a simple chore, but can’t use quarters, they would have to make a combination of dimes, nickels, and pennies to earn their pay.

After spending enough time collecting coins in this game, it might be worth your time to get your child a special coin of their own to commemorate their gained knowledge. 

Exact Change

What seems like a cousin to UNO, Exact Change is a game where a player’s main goal is to get rid of all of their cards before anyone else. While this might not exactly a board game, it offers an easy way to teach your kids about basic money transactions.

You play by matching and discarding cards from your hand. Cards go face down onto the table when discarded. Players can get rid of cards that either have the same value, the same color, or multiple cards that add up to the same value. For example, if the top card on the pile is $1.00, a player could discard three cards of $0.50, $0.25 and $0.25 to match the hand.

The Game of Life

A classic staple when it comes to lengthy family games, The Game of Life has been entertaining, frustrating and educating families since its release. Usual versions of the game can be played with anywhere from two to six players, and a player wins when they accumulate the most money while moving through the various stages of human life.

This game is especially helpful for teaching players how basic life choices impact our financial status. Your child will learn how their occupation or having a family might influence their decisions. This game is all about playing in moderation when it comes to your finances and seeing how taking chances affects your net worth. 

Monopoly

Monopoly is one of the most reputable board games of all time. It’s not only known for its methods of teaching money management, but also for how ruthless it can also be. Players move around the board collecting money with every turn while landing on properties which they can buy, mortgage and renovate. The game also brings in the aspect of luck with landing spaces such as “Community Chest” and “Chance,” which can either hurt or harm their progress.

While Monopoly can create some tense relationships among family members, it’s a great game for older children to learn how to best manage their money. They’ll learn to make smart investments along the way while saving up to avoid becoming bankrupted by increasing rent prices. The game also gives simple insight into the real estate industry, which might just benefit your children for the future.

What activities and games do you play to help reinforce money skills with your little ones?