5 Board Games that Help Develop Your Economic Literacy

Looking for ways of spending more quality time with your family and friends? A great way to do that is by playing board games. As many as you have! Just go to that old closet you have in your living room and get them out of there. It’s time for some magic!

In this article, we have chosen those types of games that may seem nothing special at first, just having a fun time. But in reality, when playing it’s like you’re feeding your brain with knowledge and creative thinking which may come in handy in many situations – for example, when you plan to buy a real estate property!

Games in general are a lot more than “just games”, so we’ve decided to take a deep look into it and understand how some of them can get you more connected to economic topics.

Monopoly

Monopoly is one of those games that almost everyone has at home, even if it’s the oldest version you can get. I remember that when I was little we didn’t have one at home, and my sister made one out of paper herself so that we could play it!

This game teaches you more than just how to sell and buy properties. It makes you think, trade, cooperate and make deals with other players. In my experience, sometimes, it can get a little personal and destroy friendships for a couple of hours.

Monopoly was first published by Parker Brothers in 1935

Cashflow101

Created by Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the best selling book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Cashflow is kind of like an extension of Monopoly, but more complex. Besides playing against other players, you also play against the market and nature itself. During the game, besides investing, you also learn valuable financial lessons that Kiyosaki considered worth learning.

Settlers of Catan

While doing my research about the topic, this was one of the games that would appear almost every time. Settlers of Catan is mostly about trade. The goal is to settle in the small island of Catan and collect different resources. Well, it looks easy, but you don’t have all the resources you need. Instead, other players might have what you are missing, and that’s where the trading starts!

Agricola

As far as I could understand, Agricola is a bit more complex than Settlers of Catan. Basically, you need to develop your small plot of land into a thriving farm. Besides dealing with physical goods such as wood or stone, you also have to worry about your family and make sure they won’t starve to death. There’s just so much going on and a lot to do –  you have to make wise choices with the money you have.

As of February 2019, Agricola is ranked 25th among all board games on BoardGameGeek

Acquire

This game is all about strategy (alright, and a little bit of luck)! In order to create your own super city, you’ll have to plan all your moves and compete against other players, by forming, merging and expanding the corporations you own. Acquire is a fun stock market board game that will make you think hard before making any important decision.

Yeah, I know life is not a game and you don’t learn all you need to know from playing these board games, but if you’re just getting started in the economic subject, maybe you’ll be able to understand some of the basics by playing some of them. And what’s better than learning while having fun?

If you’d like to put your knowledge into practice and wish to buy or sell property with us, feel free to contact us!

Photo source: https://pixabay.com

Mariana Duarte

Ahoj, everyone! I'm Mariana. I'm from Portugal and I'm an Erasmus intern in Brno. I hope you enjoy my articles and learn something new, just like I will! See you around!

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