What is Broke the Game?
Broke simulates the stress and pressure of overcoming poverty in the U.S. by making choices on real-life situations. Simple setup and 45 minutes of game play creates lots of opportunity for discussion and learning.
# 4-6 Players
# Age 12 and up
# Decision-Making
# Poverty Simulation
#Educational Game
What's Your Choice?
Poverty is not a game, but
Playing Broke Creates Real Understanding
Immerse yourself in real-life stories of poverty
Learn about the systemic nature of poverty
Enjoy a dynamic learning experience
Gain insight and empathy for those who struggle with poverty
Meaningful Play for Various Scenarios
Classrooms can use Broke the Game’s materials—discussion guide, book, app, and presentations—to immerse students in real-world scenarios that deepen their understanding of poverty and its impacts.
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What the experts have to say
The game creator, Dana Gold, brings a lifetime of personal and professional experience to help create a game that enables people to better understand the systemic nature of poverty and its crippling impact in our society on individuals and families. This is important work that can help raise awareness and ideally help make changes for the better for all of us.
Drew Davidson
Director of Entertainment Technology Center, CMU
BROKE's design is brilliant, because it forces players to confront the realities of an economic system that helps the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. Who would have thought a fun party game could get people to look each other in the eye while discussing systemic racism and economic theory?
Jesse Schell
CEO, Schell Games
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Broke the Game brilliantly flips the script by asking players to confront the systems that keep people stuck in poverty, and by starting vigorous conversations between players about scenarios drawn from real life. This game incorporates best practices for changing players' perspectives, and it does it while being brilliantly fun.
Jessica Hammer
Director of the Center for Transformational Play at CMU
Broke the Game can also be played as an app!
The single-player mobile version of Broke the Game gives players a condensed experience of the board game with similar learning outcomes.
Fun (and slightly stressful) way to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Try to hang on to your money while responding to lives ups and downs....its not easy!! Realistic depiction of the way that a small decision can snowball into something consequential.
App Review - Apple App Store
This game is beautiful and well-written and I can definitely relate to this! Thank you so much for making this game, it was such a great experience
App Review - Apple App Store
To people who do not understand or are not familiar with the realities of poverty in America, this app is deeply informative while also containing entertaining elements to keep the user engaged. Would be exceptional if used in a classroom setting or alternative academic environments.
App Review - Apple App Store