In a hurry? Play now! WARNING The game is a work in progress so I’m happy to hear feedback!

Cash or Card? is a game about electronic payments, a particularly sensitive topic¹Much of this was developed around issues arising in Italy, where it has recently become law that electronic payments must be accepted alongside cash payments, and this caused controversy and heavy polarization. The general theme and some of the issues described are relevant and applicable elsewhere. on which unfortunately there is little clarity.

In this game, you are a shopkeeper who must deal with customer after customer, each with their preferred payment method. You will decide whether to accept it or propose an alternative! Accept cash to feel it between your fingers or embrace the convenience of electronic payments? The choice is yours, but be careful because every choice has consequences. Fees or insurance premium? Risk of being robbed or losing a customer? Choose your strategy, see the consequences, and explore the advantages, disadvantages, and motivations behind each choice!

Design

Game Design Document (PDF)

The game is very simple and focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of cash and card payments. Everyone has their own opinion on this extremely polarizing issue, in a context where each choice only seems to have disadvantages. For example, card payments have costs due to service providers and infrastructure, and reliability problems, while cash seems simple and gratis but hides pitfalls such as the risk of loss or theft, not to mention that it may not be free from bank deposit fees! Those who oppose electronic payments often complain about the dependence on a banking system that can invade privacy, while those who prefer them often accuse the other party of wanting to evade taxes or engage in other illicit activities.

It’s complicated. And how better to represent this complexity than by presenting each choice with its consequences to explore and put our hard-earned money at risk?

Gameplay

Playing as the shopkeeper, you interact with customers who show up at the checkout with their payment preference, and decide whether to accept it or propose an alternative. If we choose the alternative, a dialogue system will allow us to explore common objections and respond to each by choosing whether to persist with our decision, trying to convince the customer to change his mind – it can happen! – or whether to accept the proposed argument and therefore the payment method preferred by the customer.

But every choice has consequences, so keep an eye on the costs associated with each payment system and try not to make customers angry – lest they decide to go elsewhere! We have 7 days to reach the figure that will allow us to pay off a large debt: the figure is easily reachable if we make reasonable choices, but reaching it is not a given, and you never know what can happen while we get there. No spoilers!

Is it a good game?

I’ve talked elsewhere on this site about why and how an educational game can be good or not. This game is

• good because it presents the problem in a neutral way, without pushing for one choice or the other, allowing the player to get an idea based on a plausible, albeit simplified, simulation, and has an easily understandable and achievable victory condition;
• so-and-so because, although the educational content is woven into the gameplay and not an appendix presented aside and disconnected from the gameplay, the content is a little too evident – let’s be clear: the game aims at making the player reflect on the the use of cash or electronic payments, but it is perhaps a bit… so to speak… literal;
• bad because, let’s face it, it doesn’t have great replay value, that is, the quality of making us want to play again after the first few games.

I am a technologist, not a game designer, and for this very reason there is a need for greater collaboration and synergy between all the figures who have an interest in educational video games: game designers, educators, researchers and players, and Cash or Card? proves it, for better or for worse.

Let’s play!

Please note: If you are playing on a  Mac, the game may appear broken, especially if you are using Google Chrome – in reality, it’s just very slow due to interesting choices made by Apple. I recommend you try with Safari or Firefox. It may still be a little slow, but much less so than with Chrome. Be patient 😬 Click on the image to play.

And if you want to have a look behind the scenes, here is the code.

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  Much of this was developed around issues arising in Italy, where it has recently become law that electronic payments must be accepted alongside cash payments, and this caused controversy and heavy polarization. The general theme and some of the issues described are relevant and applicable elsewhere.