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WiseMoney: The Town of Financial Literacy Review by Christine Hindle
Jan NoahDestina Games
PO Box 10268
813 El Pueblo Rd. NW
Albuquerque, NM 87184
http://www.destinagames.com
The WiseMoney game includes the following: game board, rules, spinner, timer, dice, and eight question card sets. This game, which is recommended for ages 13 and up, is a great financial learning tool. I was surprised at the things I learned from playing this game.
I played WiseMoney with a 12-year-old. She loves to play games and is always eager to help. In this game, players are not just trying to reach a goal; they must answer questions in six different categories and answer correctly to get a card. Players must have a card from each category in order to win. The categories are Banking and Investing, Budgeting and Payday, Financial Responsibility, Financing and Credit, Identity Protection, and Situations. As the player rolls the dice and moves along the path, there are various obstacles. Players must stop at all Destina spaces as they travel along the board and follow the command on the card. I found myself losing a turn for borrowing on my allowance and being broke. The players encounter real-life situations to help them learn about good and bad financial choices. There are also Discovery spaces that allow the player to draw a card and learn a tidbit of financial wisdom.
Playing WiseMoney is rather time-consuming, so if you wish, you can set the timer; when the timer goes off, the player with the most cards wins. The timer is also nice to use with people who are somewhat slow to make a decision. We felt that about an hour was a good time to go for so we could absorb the information but not become overwhelmed.
The only thing about this game that is not so wonderful is the quality of the Destina and Discovery cards. They are very thin and hard to shuffle. I am afraid that they will show wear very quickly. The other parts of this game are very sturdy, and the box is very well organized so everything can be kept neat.
I believe this game would be a great game for families of teenagers to play multiple times to encourage learning about finances. You would have to play this game about five times to cover all that it has to teach. This game would be beneficial for young and old alike. Most adults do not have this much information to work with. This game will definitely find its way into our curriculum this school year.
