How playing this game can help you be financially mature

MANILA - A new board game from Singapore aims to teach its players how to manage their finances in a fun and interesting way.

The Praxis financial board game was brought in to the Philippines by Sun Life Financial with the goal to make financial literacy more accessible to people, especially to the younger generation.

"We've noticed from our researches that Filipinos find topics on financial planning boring. It's not very interesting. Some people think it's only reserved for the rich or only for the very knowledgeable," said Mylene Lopa, Sun Life Philippines' chief marketing officer.

"So the Praxis board game is meant to demystify interests and investments, to make it more engaging, make it more interesting and fun at the same time," she added.

Praxis is a simulation of life, and the financial decisions people need to make. The game also gives its players a glimpse of consequences that come with certain decisions one makes.

Through the board game, players are exposed to a whole array of financial decisions that range from earning income, planning for education, insurance, retirement, investing and dealing with the stock market.

And because the game simulates scenarios very realistically, Lopa believes it is a very good representation of what happens in real life, as each player gets to experience making different financial decisions throughout the game.

How does Praxis work? First, there should be five players each in a group, with at least four groups playing simultaneously.

Aside from the group players, one acts as the game master, who gives out instructions and decides on what will happen to each group.

By the start of the game, each player is assigned certain jobs and salaries, with the game master giving them circumstances that can affect their "lives" in a good or bad way.

Players also get to learn that each purchase or non-purchase comes with a consequence. Examples consequences include choosing a stock and seeing a market crash, or foregoing health insurance and suddenly falling ill as dictated by the game master.

Praxis is a game, which means some lose money while some gain more. But losers come out as winners because of the lessons learned and the fun they had in the process.

"I think it's one of the most fun ways to learn about financial planning. Currently, the other methods to learn financial planning would be to research online, or to attend seminars which is also okay, or to consult with professionals. But this particular method is very engaging because you engage with other people, it's fun, it's a game, there's a winner, there's a loser. It's experiential. It's not like reading a book where you read theories. This one, you really get to experience what it's teaching," Lopa said.

Despite being part of a game, Lopa said the lessons learned while playing Praxis should be taken seriously.

"Hopefully they do become more conscious of their financial decisions because while we adapt this game method in teaching (financial literacy), it really is a serious matter to become financially mature," she said.

"We hope that after playing the game, they will really apply seriously the learnings so that they can be better prepared for their financial future," Lopa added.