Financial advisors know better than anyone that matters of finance and investing are serious business. But the board game industry has been making light of financial matters for decades.
Here are some examples of finance-related board games that, as superficial as they may be, can still hold some lessons.
> Monopoly (1935):
Price: $22.95
Monopoly imagines a world in which a house can be built for $50 and a regional railway can be acquired for $200. Players roll dice and move their markers around the board, buying properties, developing those properties by adding houses and hotels, collecting rent from those who land on their properties and paying rent when they land on squares owned by other players.
As a game of wealth-building strategy combined with chance (it’s driven by rolls of the dice), Monopoly is in some ways like real life. Players drop out as they become bankrupt; the last person left with cash wins — just like in real life.
The moral: Do your research first. The property with the highest payout isn’t necessarily the best.
Another important observation: properties can be mortgaged for no more than 50% of their purchase price.
> Stock Ticker (1937):
Price: $34.95
Players are allotted investible assets of $1,000 with which to purchase any allocation of six available stocks. Rolls of three dice determine price fluctuations of those stocks (e.g.: “oil” “up” “10” means oil goes up 10 points). Stocks above par may pay dividends. Players can buy and sell stocks throughout the game.
Each game has a time limit (usually 45 minutes). When time expires, each player sells his or her stocks back to the “broker” at market value. The player with the most money at the end of the game wins.
The moral: Buy low, sell high (but you never know).
> Acquire (1962):
Price: $35.95
To win, best your opponents with the largest return on investments through stock trading, mergers and acquisitions.
According to the website boardgamegeek.com, players of Acquire invest in companies that are represented by tiles on a grid. They attempt to become majority stockholders so they can merge companies, which can result in substantial bonuses. Those bonuses can then be invested in other companies. At the end of the game players convert their shares into cash; the player with the most cash wins.
The original game dealt in hotel chains only. Later editions consist of generic corporations only.
The moral: Sometimes bigger really is better.
> Take Stock (1999):
Price: $14.95
Two to six players buy and sell stock in five companies represented by share cards. “Market event” cards can send shares soaring or tumbling in the market. The player whose total stocks have the highest value at the end of four rounds is the winner.
The moral: Invest for the long term.
> Bankruptcy: The Card Game (2007):
Price: $19.95
The object of the game is to lose all your cards and be the first to declare “bankruptcy.” The game consists of 110 cards, including “Stock Share,” “Bear Market,” “Bull Market” and “Special Edition” cards, each of which can affect the play in different ways.
The moral: This is one game you don’t want to win in real life.
For more information, www.boardgames.ca.