On Nov. 2, the University of New Haven’s Financial Wellness Program hosted their second annual Game of Life event. Hosted in the Alumni Lounge, this event allowed students to connect with Financial Aid Office members and partake in a fun and interactive version of the well-known Game of Life.
“I’ve never played Game of Life as a kid,” said Ben Herrschaft, a freshman exercise science major. “But it seems like a fun game; I definitely learned a little bit during this event.”
This event was indeed a game of life; however, it included several major twists. Firstly, you are the player and instead of moving an avatar around a board, you become the avatar, moving around and interacting with several aspects of life. Topics such as jobs, relationships, student loans, even getting into the nitty-gritty about responsibilities like food and transportation is something not seen on the original game board.
The second twist included several different categories on our own campus, including Henry C. Lee College, College of Arts and Sciences, among others. “It was pretty cool to see our campus adapted to such a game, it really made me feel as if I was interacting with the college environment, but free to make different choices,” says Khayree Miles, an undeclared freshman.
The game begins with each player selecting which college they would like to begin in, which comes with a job title and salary. This salary is your budget and the goal is simple; do not spend more than you have and deposit the rest into savings by the end of the game.
As you cycle through the tables, you follow a series of luck-based games, usually involving a random wheel spin or picking through a series of cards to decide your fate and how your life will turn out. However, some choices are yours to control, whether it be how much you spend on internet and phone bills, or what type of transportation you use. Every decision you make early in the game has a big impact on the way the rest of your life goes, regardless of how small it appeared to be at the time.
As you continue, your path begins to rely more on your earlier choices and what the random cards have decided for you, including chance cards giving you consequences for earlier decisions. For example, if you selected a car in the beginning, you would have to pay for rear-ending someone. “I definitely made some poor decisions early on, and I think that’s what cost me at the end,” said Miles.
Vanessa Ort, the assistant director of the Financial Aid Office had orchestrated and planned this event. When asked about the idea setup for this event, she said, “I have seen this happen on campus before, it was fun, interactive and created conversations on budgeting and saving and gave students a more effective way of learning about budgeting.”
If you would like to learn more about this event, and more on the Cashparency Series and the Financial Wellness Program, you can follow them on Instagram at unewhavenfinwell.