When it comes to talking to kids about money and financial literacy, many parents clam up with nervousness and aren’t sure where to start.  But every child deserves to learn how to develop healthy money habits, become more confident with their basic money management skills, and better understand the concepts of saving, investing, spending, and giving.

This is what financial literacy is all about: arming kids with the resources and tools they need to experience hands-on practice with making change, counting money, budgeting, developing a positive money mindset, and handling simple financial transactions.  Research shows that kids that develop these skills early in life have a better chance at being responsible and educated when it comes to managing their money.

So if you are a parent, don’t stress! Check out these ten amazing board games that allows kids (and parents) to dive into the exciting world of financial responsibility and literacy.  Playing board games is not only a family-friendly activity that helps create strong relationship bonds, but it allows kids to have fun learning without feeling so much pressure.

In our book, “Kidpreneurs: Young Entrepreneurs with Big Ideas”, we strive to introduce kids to the concepts of entrepreneurship, money, business planning, and other vital life skills while keeping them engaged and curious.  These games are a great addition to any child’s journey into the realm of fiscal responsibility, business, finances, negotiation, and problem-solving.

Ages 5-10

Exact Change

When it comes to teaching kids about money, this game nails it.  This fun, fast-paced game includes kid-friendly directions and simple rules of play that the whole family can enjoy.  The game teaches kids financial literacy, currency values, counting, making change, and much more. Exact Change is the Winner of iParenting Media, Dr. Toy’s Top 100, Creative Child Magazine's Seal of Excellence, and the National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval awards!

Cashflow for Kids

Created by entrepreneur guru Robert Kiyosaki (author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”), Cashflow for Kids helps kids master the fundamentals of financial investments and learn the basic concepts of terms such as assets, liabilities, and investing. Designed for family play, parents and kids can use their teamwork skills to strategize and make decisions about their investments in the game. This version is for younger kids but we will highlight the older kid/teen version later in the article.

Ice Cream Empire

Perfect for the budding kidpreneurs with a sweet tooth, Ice Cream Empire is a fun family game that introduces kids to the concepts of entrepreneurship, money skills, and even geography! As players work their way towards investing in and launching an ice cream business, they learn about supply and demand, inventory, market rates, and how to raise capital.

Buy it Right

Through engaging play, this colorful game reinforces the concepts of mathematics and counting, money recognition, and making correct change. Included in the game are paper play bills, plastic coins, a calculator, and everything needed to set up the game board.  Kids learn financial literacy, and gain better insight into the value of money, through setting prices for items and buying and selling.

Monopoly

Few games are as exciting and enduring as this classic game that teaches kids to buy, sell, trade, and win!  Through family-friendly play, Monopoly allows kids to learn about property values, taxes, saving, and investing. Help kids boost their confidence with the negotiation and critical thinking skills that this game will teach them, all while they fine-tune their financial literacy knowledge.

Ages 10+

Act Your Wage

Brought to you by the famous businessman and financial leader Dave Ramsey, Act Your Wage helps kids understand the idea of saving money as well as spending and giving money to those in need.  The goal is to not let your emergency fund fall below $1,000 and to keep your savings up and expenses down as you compete to be the first to yell, “I’m debt-free!”  This is a great game to choose for a wholesome family night!

Catan

Based on the idea of civilization-building and trading resources, this award-winning game has won the heart of game players across the world. Using critical thinking skills, players aim to manage and spread their civilization across the board while ensuring that robbers don’t steal and plunder from others.  This beloved strategy game helps teach young kids tactical and trading skills while being immersed in a wondrous fantasy land.

Acquire

Brought to you by the game legends at Hasbro, the goal of Acquire is to plan, build, and own the next “super city” by strategically selling, trading, or keeping stocks. As they compete with other venture capitalists in the game, players make money by forming or expanding corporations and by investing in the right stock at the right time. This exciting game introduces kids to the concepts of the stock market, investing, negotiating, and entrepreneurship.

Stockpile

If your kids enjoy pretending to be investors with a goal to strike it rich, Stockpile may just be the game for them.  Acting as stock market investors, players learn the ins and outs of traditional stockholding strategy including “buy low, sell high”.  The interactive experience of the game allows kids to better understand the nuances of economics and of the stock market.

The Stock Exchange Game

What better way to introduce kids to the usually complex idea of stocks than through a fast-paced, hands-on game like The Stock Exchange Game? The end-goal of this game is to make sound investments so that players can retire.  To do so, players must learn how to make quick decisions to purchase and sell risky assets with higher returns as well as buying and selling more stable investments. No stock knowledge is needed for kids and adults alike to enjoy this unique game.

Cashflow - the Original

As previously mentioned, we also included the younger kids’ version of the Cashflow game above. For older kids, this version of the game is updated to simulate real life financial strategies and situations. While playing kids will learn more of the complex principles of money management, financial intelligence, and other practical skills that help kids develop healthy money habits. This game is also available in a Spanish version.

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