Financial Life Simulator
Live an entire life, from age 5 to 80-90, making the money decisions that really shape a life: study or work, rent or buy, save or invest, trust an offer or stay wary. Time runs on its own; when a decision comes up, it stops. Inflation never rests, and nobody tells you the risks in numbers — you have to learn to read the signals.
Economics · Secondary, Sixth Form
Instead of textbook definitions, students experience firsthand what inflation, compound interest, diversification or a mortgage actually are — and what it feels like to lose money to a "guaranteed return" scam.
Almost no decision in the game has one fixed "right" answer: percentages decide. Students learn that investing is about managing probabilities, not acing an exam.
Every shady offer comes marked with visible signals (unregulated, urgency, "guaranteed"...). With repetition, spotting them becomes automatic — the best defence against real-world scams.
"A 25-year-old player receives €3,000 from their first year working. They can put it in a safe deposit, leave it in the account (where inflation quietly eats it away) or spend it on a trip. There is no single right answer — each path changes the rest of the run."
Prefer to learn without screens? Try this analogue version:
Write 15-20 typical money decisions for each age on cards (buying something expensive as a kid, choosing what to study at 16, investing your first savings, buying a flat...).
Each player starts with a random "family" (working-class, middle-class, well-off) that determines how much allowance and help they get.
Take turns drawing a card and deciding. Track the money coming in and out on a sheet.
At the end, compare who ended up with the most wealth — and discuss which decisions were luck and which were good management.
If you like Spicy, these activities work similar skills:
Review the key ideas Spicy teaches in quiz form: inflation, compound interest, diversification, debt and scam signals.
Many platforms offer "fake" portfolios with play money to practise buying and selling without real risk.
Classic board games about investing in companies and managing a portfolio teach the same risk and diversification ideas without screens.
Tuthor uses essential cookies to work and, with your permission, analytics cookies to improve the experience.