Learning to count money and solve simple math problems is an essential life skill that all kids need to master. And what better way to learn than through playing games?
There are a number of great games on the market that can teach kids how to count money and solve math problems. And the best part is that they’re actually fun to play!
In this article, we’ll share 8 of the best money problem-solving and counting games for kids. These games will not only teach essential life skills but also help kids develop their problem-solving and counting skills.
So, if you’re looking for games to teach your kids essential life skills, then this article is for you!
The 8 Best Money Problem-Solving & Counting Games
Cash Back
Cash Back is a game where players give customers the correct change using bills and coins.
- Choose to watch the tutorial or jump straight into play.
- Select the settings you wish to play including difficulty level (easy, medium, or hard), hints, and if you want to show the change amount.
- Select the bills and coins needed to correctly sum to the customer’s change amount.
- Tap on the Give Change button.
- Answer as many questions correctly as you can until you run out of time.
- You can answer questions with various different money combinations so long as the final sum total precisely matches the change due.
Grocery Cashier
Grocery Cashier is a game where younger children can practice addition and subtraction along with monetary familiarity by operating a virtual cash register.
- Each customer represents another level of the game. As you play longer the number of items you ring up increases while the time limit for each customer decreases.
- Enter the cost of each item as it comes down the conveyor belt, then tap the plus button.
- To enter payments you must click on or press the buttons on the cashier rather than using a keyboard. If you make an error there is a clear button you can use to erase the prior input.
- When entering amounts you do not need to enter anything after the decimal if the product price is a whole dollar figure & you do not have to enter pennies for products that are priced in dollars and dimes.
- After entering all of the items click on the total button.
- If the customer pays via gift certificates you then enter the gift certificate amount and the minus sign. You do not make changes for customers who play with gift certificates. Simply enter the amount, and the negative sign, and then click the DONE button on the right.
- If the customer pays with money you enter the amount they paid and then click on the pay button. You then click on the bills and coins which are associated with the amount they are owed and then click the done button when you are complete.
Treze Coins
Treze Coins is a simple money addition game where children add together coins to deposit into a gumball machine.
- Choose which language you would like to play in based on country flags which are frequently associated with popular languages. Options include English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and French.
- Select which coin denominations you would like to use. Your options are either 1, 1, and 10, or 1 and 5 and 10.
- Look at the amount shown at the top center of the screen and click on coins from the bottom area to insert coins that sum to that amount.
- When you have added up the correct number of coins click on the gumball machine to insert the coins.
- If you make a mistake you can click the X under the coin adding box.
- If you need to make a change there is a coin converter in the lower right corner.
- Keep buying gumballs until you run out of money.
Idle Money Tree
Idle Money Tree is the very definition of an idle clicker game. It aims to answer the question “does money grow on trees?” in a way that will satisfy toy-wanting children the world over while perhaps annoying more than a few parents. 😉
- Click money bags as they appear on your tree to collect them.
- Click rapidly and repeatedly to activate a multiplier bonus which can double or triple your earnings.
- Select floating bags of money that randomly appear on the screen to earn large extra sums.
- Upgrade the sunshine, your watering can, fertilizer, fruits, and genetic research to further boost your earnings.
- Select the buy 1x button to switch between buying a single upgrade at a time, 10, 100, or maxing out each purchase with whatever budget you have remaining.
- You still earn money while away from the keyboard, but at a lower rate & if you stop clicking for a while it resets your bonus multiplier.
Bitcoin Tap Tap Mine
Bitcoin Tap Tap Mine is an idle clicker game where players collect Bitcoin and use them to upgrade their Bitcoin mining.
- Tap anywhere on the screen to mine Bitcoin.
- Use your Bitcoin earnings to improve your hardware, hashing algorithms, electricity costs, and mining pools.
- Each time you upgrade any aspect of your mining operation you increase your Bitcoin production rate.
- Collect random gifts, achieve daily goals & spin the wheel for a chance to win.
- This game can be used as an introduction to fiat currency, to explain how Cryptocurrencies work, to discuss the nature of money, the growing power of computing over our economic systems, and how currencies fluctuate in value.
- This game can also be used to introduce the original Bitcoin whitepaper, mention the 2008-2009 Great Recession that inspired the creation of Bitcoin, and the nature of the financial crisis throughout human history.
Lit Ape NFT Generator
Lit Ape NFT Generator is an idle clicker game which is the more speculative cousin of the above Bitcoin game.
- Tap on the static NFT pictures to mint NFTs.
- Select any large moving NFT picture to earn a big bonus.
- Use your NFT earnings to upgrade your website, artist, forum, social media marketing, and video ads using the buttons at the bottom center of the screen.
- Use the button in the lower right of the large picture to cycle between buying a single upgrade at a time, 10, 100, or whatever maximum you can afford with your current savings.
- Regularly click on NFTs to charge up the multiple meters at the top center of the screen to earn double or triple your normal earnings.
- Purchase the upgrades on the left side of the screen to double or quadruple your earnings from various aspects of your NFT business.
- This game can be used to discuss the roll of the state and central banks in money, speculative excesses in markets, historical financial bubbles going back to the Dutch tulip craze, the markers of bubbles, and how the perception of value and price movement trends impact speculative demand in financial markets.
Stocks
Stocks is an idle clicker game with a stock performance price graph where the goal of the game is to day trade or speculate on a stock to capture price increases.
Players start with $500 and play across 30 days, with a goal of liquidating their shares and earning as much profit as they can in a month.
- The current savings and day number are shown in upper left corner.
- Share price is shown in the upper right corner.
- The price graph shows stock price tends within the day.
- The current owned shares along with the buy and sell buttons are below the price graph.
This game does a good job of showing how there is a lot of random noise in short-term market movements but does not teach any sort of fundamental or technical analysis.
Most people who do well in the stock market do not day trade but rather dollar cost average into index funds or hold positions for an extended period of time.
Players can only trade one share at a time, so if they own many shares it makes sense to start winding down holdings with a couple of days left so they are not forced to exit positions at bad prices on the final days.
Supermarket Numbers
Supermarket Numbers is an arithmetic practice game.
- Read the numerical goal in the upper left corner of the game.
- Early in the game, most blocks are addition blocks. If a block does not have a symbol on it the default numerical operator is addition.
- Select blocks trying to add up to the numerical goal shown.
- As you advance through the game additional blocks are added with functions like subtraction, multiplication, and division.
- You must select at least one block with no operator on it before you can select a multiplication or division block.
- As you select blocks the equation shown below the goal number changes to reflect your choices.
- Fill the shopping cart meter to 100% to move on to the next stage & play through all 10 levels.
Why Playing Games That Teach Business Skills Important?
Games have been shown to improve hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, and logic. They have also been linked to increases in memory and attention span. But did you know that playing games can also teach essential business skills?
Business skills like teamwork, leadership, and strategy are just a few of the skills that can be learned by playing games. And with the rise of mobile and online gaming, there are more opportunities than ever to learn these skills.
So why are games that teach business skills important? Here are a few reasons:
1. They improve problem-solving skills.
2. They teach teamwork and leadership.
3. They help develop strategy and planning skills.
4. They’re fun and engaging.
If you want to improve your business skills, playing games that teach these skills is a great way to do it. Not only do you get the added benefit of having fun, but your children also gain valuable business knowledge.
Conclusion
After testing and trying out 8 different money problem-solving & counting games with kids, we’ve come to our conclusion. The two games that we believe are the best and teach essential life skills are Cash Back and Grocery Cashier.
Both of these games are fun and engaging for kids, but more importantly, they teach essential life skills that kids will need as they grow up. From learning how to count and add, to learning how to budget and make financial decisions, these games are a great way to teach kids essential money skills.