LunLun.com

Review :: Game : Robert KIYOSAKI’s CashFlow 101

I became curious about CashFlow after I read the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert KIYOSAKI. The book opened my eyes about my financial illiteracy and the game was an opportunity to learn the basics of financing.

I decided to give CashFlow 101 a try and I started with the computer version of the game.

Learning the rules is pretty easy. Not only there is a tutorial where you can play an assisted game, but Robert KIYOSAKI himself appears in a video, explaining how and why you should proceed on some situations.

The interface is well organized and hints are given at every step. At first, I was a little confused about how dragging text works, but after I understood, everything went smoothly. I thought that when you drag the text, it will move. It doesn’t. It just changes its color after you’ve dragged it into a category (even if it’s not the right category).

One thing that gave me comfort while making me think about what I’ve done wrong was the presence of a virtual accountant. In case I’ve made a mistake, he’ll show me what he doesn’t agree with. It’s just your task to fix the problem - he will just tell that you have a problem somewhere.

The game reflects your real life’s good or bad habits. Greed, impatience and fear to lose, combined with the lack of understanding of the most basic notions of how money works will lead you, sooner or later, to bankruptcy. In the game, bankruptcy means the end of the current game. In the real life, that kind of behavior is devastating.

No matter how much money you have at the beginning of the game, you can win the game almost all the time. Your financial abilities can compensate for a low income and will lead you to winning the game. Like as well, a high income combined with a lack of understanding the best ways to win, will make you lose miserably.

There is one very important ingredient, in the game as it is in the real life : luck. The luck is simulated by dices. Your next move is decided by the dice you roll. You can’t control the number on the dice, you can only control your desire to continue the game.

If you’re downsized, then you’ll have to pay the monthly bills, but you will not have salary for one month. So where do you get the money for your bills? In this situation you’ll discover the importance of the passive income. If you don’t have passive income (that is, money that you get without working for them) and you don’t have salary either, then the monthly bills go against your savings. It you have passive income, the bills will be covered from the passive income and you’ll keep your savings intact.

The game has two related objectives. The major one is to purchase the dream you’ve chosen at the beginning of the game. You must be in the “fast track” are in order to do so. To get into the “fast track” you must first escape from the “rat race”, by gaining enough passive income to pay your monthly bills.

For me, winning the game and accomplishing my dream are the important purposes, not winning against an adversary. Sometimes, it’s simply not possible to win first, but there are very high chances (but not always 100%), to win all the time if you gain enough financial knowledge.

To prevent the termination of the game after your opponent finishes, there is an option, right in the main menu, where you can set the game to continue after someone wins it. Every saved game has its own option regarding this.

To some degree, even the bad luck can be compensated by a good player. In a game, I was downsized 6 times, but I still won it.

I don’t particularly like rats, but the ones from the game are special. They are lady rats and gentleman rats, dressed accordingly to their profession. While your profession is chosen by the Rich Dad, it is you who decide what dream you want to pursue. Choosing the dream is the first step of the game. If you don’t have a dream to follow, then what good is to get the money?

It’s not a question if the game does worth the money. The only question is what you prefer “Paper or plastic?” - the classical version or the electronic one?

See also : Should you trust Robert KIYOSAKI?