Money Machines

A Brick Method™ game

What happened

How to play

Physical challenges: clear some space first, and a grown-up decides what's safe to try.
2 to 4 players take turns on one phone. Each turn is a month: you get paid, pay your bills, then draw a card.
Money machines cost cash once, then pay you every month.
Bills go up. Pets, phone plans, rent, prices rising. Your machines have to keep up.
Money quizzes and challenges pay cash and a brain star when you get them right. Challenges are done at the table, and lots of them get you moving. Everyone else decides if you made it.
Bonus games (spot the difference, memory match, coin counter) pay for every one you get. Get them all for a star.
Short on cash? You can borrow. Every $10 borrowed costs $1 a month until you pay it back, and that counts as a bill.
To win, check every box at the end of your turn: (1) your machines pay at least as much as all your monthly bills, loans included; (2) you have a cash cushion worth 3 months of bills, for surprises; (3) you have 5 brain stars; (4) if you picked a dream, you have its price saved on top of your cushion.
Each player's Freedom meter shows how close they are. When someone is one box away, the game warns everyone.
Table talk questions pop up every couple of turns. Everyone answers, grown-ups too.
The Money story chart shows each player's machine pay climbing toward their bills. When the green line passes the red one, machines cover the bills.

How Money Machines teaches kids cash flow

Most kids learn that money comes from a paycheck. Money Machines teaches the other half: things you own can pay you every month. Players buy small "money machines," like a lemonade stand, a vending machine or a share of a duplex, and watch that monthly income climb toward their bills.

Along the way, bills go up, surprises hit and loans cost money every month. Kids learn the difference between an asset and a want, why a cash cushion matters, and what it means to be financially free: your machines pay your bills even if you stop working.

Every couple of turns, a table-talk question gets the whole family talking, grown-ups included. Physical challenges and quick puzzles keep younger players moving and laughing.

Good to know

Free, no app or account. Plays on one phone, tablet or laptop.
2 to 4 players, ages 9 and up, about 20 minutes. Each player picks an easier or harder math level.
Game money isn't real. Player names and scores stay on your own device.

Money story

How Money Machines teaches kids cash flow

Good to know