Update (1/31/20): Money Magic is now released. Play it at www.playmoneymagic.com. 

This game can be found in the NGPF Arcade here.  Enjoy!

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"Learn the tricks of budgeting" is the tagline for this new NGPF Arcade Game. 

Here's a short teaser video to whet your appetite:

Mason and I had a lot of fun piloting Money Magic at a high school in San Mateo, California today.

Here's what we heard from students: 

• What do I need to save to make it to Vegas for the Big Show?
• 4 Stars and $20,000 in earnings! What A Show!
• Ouch! Boring Magic Act! These critics are tough. 
• Why is morale so low? 
• Ooooo...I want to see that fire trick.
• Should I invest in the [insert trick name here]?
• This makes me so anxious..I'm too stressed now! 
• Enzo is so high maintenance. 
• That levitation trick is so cool. 
• It's showtime! 
• I'm going to Vegas! 

Engaging gameplay later led to these reflections:

• Buying those cool magic tricks was so tempting and kept me from saving for Vegas.
• It was challenging to figure out how to allocate my budget among the various costs.
• There were no perfect decisions; it was challenging to manage the various tradeoffs. 

Thanks to McKinney for creating another creative and engaging game that teaches such valuable money lessons. 

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Money Magic will be released later this month. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.