The 10 Best Financial Games for Kids

If you’ve struggled with money woes in the past, you probably want to protect your children from making similar financial mistakes. Or, at the very least, you want to send them into adulthood understanding the basics of money management. What are the best ways to teach kids about money? The answer might just be money games for children.

While your children probably don’t want a lecture about budgeting or the importance of starting a retirement fund early, they likely do enjoy playing games. Here are 10 great money games for children of all ages, from kindergarteners just learning about money to tweens and teens who may be on the cusp of starting their first job and getting their first banking cards.

Teach Your Kids About Money Through Gameplay

It can be difficult to teach children of any age about money, especially when most of our financial lives happen online or with the swipe of a credit card. These money games for children break down the most important financial lessons your children and teens need to learn in a fun and accessible way. They also offer an open door to more personalized money conversations. Any one of these games could be an amazing investment that helps your children grow into money-wise adults.

1. Money Match Me

Best for ages: 6 – 8
Available at: Amazon
Cost: $11.52 (check for current price)

Summary

This game includes a set of 52 cards, some containing pictures of money and some containing descriptions, like 50 c or the words “Fifty cents.” There are several different ways to play the game. You can use the cards as flashcards, encouraging your child to add up the money shown on the card, or ask them to find another card that matches the first.

Why We Love It

The first step in your child’s journey toward financial literacy starts with them understanding what money is. Accurately identifying different coins and bills will help them begin to understand the concept of money. Money Match Me can also be used to help your child learn basic addition and subtraction using money as a real-world example of these important math skills.

2. Peter Pig’s Money Counter

Best for ages: 5 – 8
Available at: Google Play and Apple Store
Cost: Free

Summary

Designed by Visa Inc, this fun and cute money app asks children to help Peter Pig count and sort his coins. Children can play three different games that teach them how to identify money, count money, create a simple budget, save money, and make purchases.

Why We Love It

This interactive app offers a fun and engaging way for children to learn the most important fundamentals of money. Parents or children can choose the appropriate skill level for a more age-appropriate experience. Children can earn money playing the game, which they can then use to buy accessories for Peter Pig. This extra feature is a great way to teach children the importance of saving up for purchases.

3. Moneywise Kids

Best for ages: 6- 12
Available at: Walmart
Cost: $12.99 (check for current price)

Summary

This fun, two-player board game is a great way to teach your children about money. The game actually includes two games, Bill Breaker and Bill Maker. In the first game, children race to be the first to save $100. In the second game, they must still attempt to save money while facing financial challenges that mimic real-world situations, like paying for food or incurring medical expenses. During the game, children will handle fake money, learn to make change, and focus on saving.

Why We Love It

Moneywise Kids encourages critical thinking skills in your children while presenting them with real-world financial scenarios. Tasks like buying food and paying for housing while trying to save money help prepare children for adulthood in a fun and engaging way. It is also a great way to sneak in some basic math lessons without it feeling like homework.

4. Savings Spree

Best for ages: 7 and up
Available at: Apple Store
Cost: $5.99 (check for current price)

Summary

This money game app for children is designed as a game show hosted by a cartoon pig. The user is a contestant who must compete in a series of mini-games that give them the chance to win or lose money based on the decisions they make. The games teach children how to save for big purchases (like a new bike), spend money frugally, invest, and donate their money.

Why We Love It

Looking for a money game for older children? Savings Spree is it. This app, sponsored by Money Savvy Generation, is designed to show children how their daily decisions can affect their financial health. For example, children learn that everyday purchases, like buying a soda, can add up to hundreds of dollars a year. They even learn how to begin saving for an emergency fund and how unexpected expenses can derail savings plans. No wonder Savings Spree has won awards from the Parents’ Choice Foundation and the Children’s Technology Review.

5. Pay Day

Best for ages: 8 and up
Available at: Target
Cost: $12.99 (check for current price)

Summary:

This classic board game resembles a calendar month. Players earn a paycheck and navigate the month, trying to keep and grow their money while facing bills, purchase decisions, and investment opportunities that will create passive income. At the end of the game, whoever has the most money at the end wins.

Why We Love It

Created in 1971, Pay Day is still as relevant as ever. The game plays quickly (a round typically takes around 15 minutes) and shows children that their paychecks can disappear quickly if they aren’t careful. The opportunities to invest and earn interest on savings can also help kids understand how to make their money work for them. One thing to note is that recent versions of the game include windfalls like lottery wins. If possible, choose the original game, which offers a more realistic experience.

6. The Stock Exchange Game

Best for ages: 10 and up
Available at: Amazon
Cost: $49.99 (check for current price)

Summary

No prior stock market knowledge is needed as players get set for this game. Every trip around the board represents a year. The winner is the player who retires with the most money at the end of the game. To make that happen, players can invest in riskier stocks, bonds, and ETFs at the beginning of the game and then eventually trade them for safer investments toward the end. The game can also incorporate more complicated concepts for older players, like mergers, options, and acquisitions.

Why We Love It

Fear or confusion around investing in the stock market stops many adults from growing their money and earning enough to retire on time. Eliminate that fear in your children. Though The Stock Exchange Game is more expensive than most of the other games on this list, it can teach some extremely powerful concepts to your children. Of particular value is the idea of embracing riskier investments earlier in life and then transitioning to safer investments as retirement approaches.

7. Act Your Wage

Best for ages: 10 and up
Available at: Amazon
Cost: $25.92

Summary

Acclaimed financial guru Dave Ramsey translates his core financial tenants into a board game for the whole family. Players begin the game by drawing a life card and three debit cards. They must then navigate across the board trying to keep expenses low and paying down debt while building their savings. The first player to become debt-free wins.

Why We Love It

It can be frighteningly easy for young adults to begin accumulating debt when they get their first credit cards and gain access to loans. Act Your Wage is a fun and powerful way to teach children and teens how to handle debt wisely while also building savings. If you are a Dave Ramsey fan and want to share his philosophy with the next generation, Act Your Wage is an excellent way to do it.

8. Financial Football

Best for ages: 11 and up
Available at: Google Play and Apple Store
Cost: Free

Summary

Players choose a difficulty level and then take to the field where they can move down the gridiron by correctly answering multiple-choice financial questions. The topics cover a wide range of financial topics, including budgeting, establishing good credit, avoiding debt, and even dealing with identity theft. Players can set the length of the game from 5 to 30 minutes and play alone or compete with another player.

Why We Love It

If you’re struggling with how to make money relevant to your children, Financial Football can be an excellent money game for tweens. This Visa-sponsored game isn’t overly sophisticated, but it is free and will teach valuable lessons that you can discuss in greater detail with your children.

9. Thrive Times for Teens

Best for ages: 13 and up
Available at: Amazon
Cost: $74

Summary

Players begin the game in high school with a part-time job and continue on to make important life decisions, like buying a car, starting a business, and investing in the stock market. The game includes play cash, balance sheets, and 120 playing cards.

Why We Love It

If you want a money game for teens and are willing to shell out the high price, Thrive Times for Teens can offer up an excellent way to teach your kids more complex money concepts. Thrive times goes beyond simple budgeting and saving and teaches teens how to use credit cards, pay for college, start businesses, invest in stocks, and more. One thing that makes this game extra unique is that it also focuses on time management and giving back, all important concepts for creating a well-rounded human.

10. Monopoly

Best for ages: 8+
Available at: Hasbro
Cost: Varies

Summary

Above all else, this classic board game teaches kids and teens to think strategically about their money. It also helps players understand the value and power of buying investments that can generate income. After all, no one wins just by crossing the Go square enough times. Instead, players must buy properties and utilities and then increase their income by building houses and hotels on their land, all while competing against other players trying to do the same time.

Why We Love It

No article on money games for kids would be complete without Monopoly. The game can go long, but it teaches children a lot of valuable lessons on how to spend money wisely and encourages them to understand how purchasing assets (i.e. real estate) can make their money create more money for them. Best of all, Hasbro offers every version of Monopoly you can imagine. Whether your kids are into Frozen, Star Wars, Mario Brothers, or something else, there’s probably a version of Monopoly that will grab your children’s interest.