The+Great+Piggy+Bank+Adventure


 * The Great Piggy Bank Adventure **
 * THE BASICS **

The Great Piggy Bank Adventure is a computer game with three levels that helps teach students about making important financial decisions. You begin by selecting a character and naming them, then choosing a dream goal to work towards. Your character begins their journey in Fiscalville, where you roll a virtual die to dictate how many spots you move forward. It is set up like a board game, so every “spot” you move on is a card. The color of the card indicates what action will occur: 1) red brings you to a store where you can buy items to help you on your journey, 2) orange is financial “smarty-pants” questions to answer, 3) purple is financial gifts, and 4) grey is “Choose or Lose” scenarios where you must select the best option between the two given. The goal is to earn enough of the currency, called Truffles (T), along the way by being financially savvy (i.e., answering the questions correctly). At the end of each level, there is a mini-game to help you earn extra Truffles. If you earn more Truffles than your goal requires, the extra continue with you to the next level.


 * THE LEVELS **

Level One is the easiest. The dream goals to choose from are: Pet Rabbit (130 Truffles), Artist’s Easel (100 T), Remote Controlled Helicopter (140 T), Tree House (140 T), or Basketball & Hoop (110 T). You are given 50 Truffles which you can invest in your “Mellow Yellow” piggy bank, which accrues a tiny bit of interest each turn you have, or spend it on related items. At the end of the level, the mini-game is called “Truffle Shuffle”, where you must run and jump through the level to collect as many Truffles as you can without touching lollipops that are being dropped (touching a lollipop takes away two Truffles).

Level Two increases in difficulty. The dream goal costs increase: Extreme Room Makeover (7,000 T), New Wardrobe (5,000 T), Games & TV (6,500 T), Ultimate Vacation (5,500 T), or Rock’n’Roll Academy (6,000 T). You begin this level with a 2,000 T investment, which you can spend or put into “Mellow Yellow” or “True Blue”. “True Blue” is your second piggy bank option, which can accrue more interest, but can also lose money. This level also introduces a new character – Inflation Wolf. Each time you go to the shop to get items, the Inflation Wolf comes and increases all of the prices; the percent of inflation varies per turn. At the end of the level you play the mini-game “Hedge Fun”. In “Hedge Fun”, you must collect piles of Truffles in a maze while avoiding the Inflation Wolf. If you do not get all of the Truffles in time, you are beat by inflation and you must continue in the maze. If you are caught by the wolf, you lose a life (you have 3 lives).

Level Three is the most difficult. The dream goal costs are extremely high: Live in a Castle (200,000 T), Space Flight to Mars (220,000 T), Dream Retirement (240,000 T), Time Travel to the Land of Dinosaurs (260,000 T), or College (280,000 T). Your investment this time is 50,000 Truffles, which you can spend or invest in “Mellow Yellow”, “True Blue”, or “Red Hot”. “Red Hot” is the third and final option that allows for the most interest to accrue or the most loss. Again you have the Inflation Wolf to worry about when you go to the store. At the end of the level, the mini-game is called "Hide 'N Peek", where the object is to diversify your Truffles between different pots. At the end of a timed sequence, the Inflation Wolf comes and steal money from two of the different pots.


 * GAME PLAY IMAGES **












 * TEACHING INVOLVED **

One of the greatest things about this game was it provided instant in-real-time feedback to students. For example, if a student answers a question incorrectly, it will announce it to the student and show the correct answer with an explanation. This can help students understand the rational and reasons for the answer.

Once you complete each level, you are awarded a badge that correlates to your dream goal achievement, which goes on a shelf in your Trophy Room. If you have a Disney account, you can log in to track all of the badges you’ve earned, items you’ve bought, or track real life savings. At the end of the game you can “brag” about your scores on the Leaderboard (again, only with a Disney account) and print out a congratulations award.

If you were interested as an educator in having your students play this game in the classroom but were nervous about the content, the game designers have provided a PDF on teaching instructions. For the students themselves, there is also a Strategy Guide that they can access before, during, or after game play (see more in “Learning Involved” section).

James Paul Gee (2007) outlined 36 learning principles in his book //What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy//. Although I am sure many more apply, a few I found relevant were:

Active, Critical Learning Principle (#1)
 * To be able to complete this game, you must actively participate in the game. For example, when the player lands on an orange card they must read the question, analyze the difference answers, and select their end decision. The players must also critically think about, and evaluate, and weigh the different options in the “Choose or Lose” scenarios.

“Psychosocial Moratorium” Principle (#6)
 * Players are able to experiment with financial decisions – and their consequences – in a safe environment without losing any “real” money. The best example of this is when students choose where to invest their Truffles. If students try and put all of their money in the “Red Hot” piggy bank, they will experience extreme gains but also extreme losses in money. It helps to show the gamble involved in finances and the importance of diversifying funds.

Self-Knowledge Principle (#9)
 * Players are able to be involved in self-reflection, where they evaluate their own financial decisions. If students are given an allowance, they can reflect on if they spend it right away on smaller items or wait and save up (for bigger items or just for savings purposes). For the older students it can help for them to think about the importance of future potential expenditures and savings needs.

Achievement Principle (#11)
 * In the beginning of each level, students are able to customize the learning experience by selecting the goals that are most interesting – or relevant – to themselves. Additionally, they are given a sizeable starting investment to help get them started. Each of the rolls of the dice provides students with rewards, and there is an overarching motivational system in place because students are striving towards a very specific goal. Finally, every level builds in difficulty using the same skills gained in the first level.


 * LEARNING INVOLVED **

The learning involved in this game occurred on several levels. For the game play itself, it required that players have basic computer skills. Most of the game only requires clicking (to roll the die or to select answers), but the mini-games require the use of the arrow keys and space bar to maneuvers your character. For the content, students were able to grow in their basic knowledge of finances. While I felt some of the questions had ridiculous answers to choose from (i.e., there is clearly only one even remotely close answer), it could help boost students’ confidence in the material. It also dealt with multiple principles of finances, from making hard financial decisions to diversifying funds and inflation. At any point in the game, if students have questions or want to know more, there is a button where they can access a learning guide. This learning guide outlines key terminology, concepts, and real world examples.


 * OVERALL REFLECTION **

I was surprised at how much fun I had playing this game. Due to the game being much easier as an adult, I was able to run through the full game several times relatively quickly to test out different strategies. For example, one game play I did not buy a single item from the store, and I quickly realized that the small investment in the items yielded a greater reward in the long term because of the purple cards. Another time I put all of my money into the "True Blue" and "Red Hot" to see how much money could increase or decrease throughout the levels. This type of experimentation is integral for students, especially in a safe environment; they do not lose or gain any money but can still acquire financial skills. My only qualm with the game itself was that some of the questions did not have challenging answers - students could easily deduce the answers by simply, and quickly, eliminating the ridiculous answers. If there was a school that didn't have the funds for technology, or wanted to "beef" up the questions, it would be easily adaptable into a physical board game! This kind of game could be used in the classroom during a money unit, economics unit, or life skills unit. It could be taught with front loading of terminology, and act as an environment for students to test out their learning about financial success. Overall, The Great Piggy Bank Adventure is a game that I would allow my students to use in the classroom.