This report explores D2D's current thinking about how casual financial literacy video games can lead to improvements in financial capability. With a foreword by Peter Tufano, Chairman of D2D Fund and the Peter Moores Dean, University of Oxford's Sa

“Financial Entertainment aims to harness the popularity and immersive quality of casual video games to engage and build the financial capability of its players.”

“In crafting a frame for the game, D2D uses popular motifs that will attract consumers and keep them entertained during gameplay. In the preliminary game development stages, D2D researches and tests game themes and characters through small-scale surveys and focus groups in order to inform these decisions.”

“With the increasing costs of retirement, health care, and education, the need for financial education remains compelling as consumers continue to be responsible for making informed financial decisions in an increasingly complex financial services landscape.”

• By transforming learning into a friendly competition, participants push each other to work harder and learn more without even realizing it.
• When considering where to test a product, it’s important to consider who the target demographic is and where that population is most easily accessible.
• By having the game prompt real-world actions, the game world because more intimately connected to the real world, allowing for more effective behavior change.
• Many players enjoyed turning the games into a competition with their friends, co-workers, and families.
• Across multiple case studies, Financial Entertainment was popular among low- to- middle-class participants, who had disproportionately higher rates of participation.
• Among Staples employees who played a corporate-branded game, action-taking increased when it was tied into the game directly (i.e., with links, forms, etc.)