About LifeCapital Game — Financial Strategy & Learning Experience

l i f e c a p i t a l

History and origin of the methodology

The Life Capital methodology was created in 2017 by a team of authors in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Initially, it was aimed at financial education: explaining how the financial world and financial instruments work, and why it is important to have your own strategy for life.

It then became clear that finance could be used to easily explain broader patterns—the management of any resource: time, energy, relationships, knowledge. This is what made the methodology universal for working with different groups of people and for solving various strategic tasks.

In 2020, Life Capital received official approval from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for use in educational institutions of all levels and became part of the National Financial Literacy Project led by the Deposit Guarantee Fund of Ukraine. At the same time, a network of financial literacy clubs in schools began to form, which now has more than 200 clubs and continues to operate and expand successfully even during the war.

Today, the methodology has hundreds of certified trainers and tens of thousands of participants in different countries, as well as its own system of tournaments — from local to international.

Life Capital has proven that financial literacy can be the key to understanding how we manage our lives in general.

How the game works

Life Capital simulates 40 years of life — with all its decisions, risks, and opportunities. At the gaming table, participants see their life strategy in action: from the first steps in their career to the formation of passive income and financial freedom. The game lasts 5 hours (30-minute introductory presentation, 2 hours for the first part of the game, break, 1 hour 45 minutes for the second part of the game, 30 minutes for feedback from the trainer and players). Number of participants at one table: 5-8 Game board, cards, chips, table, chairs, whiteboard, markers Trainer + Banker (Trainer's Assistant)

60–90 min 4–12 participants Decision strategy Field + cards + chips Facilitator

Initial conditions

Each player receives a Player Legend, which specifies the starting conditions: profession and initial budget.

Strategy.

The player sets their own goal (dream) and learns the rules for achieving it.

Steps of life.

Each move takes the player to a corresponding sector of the board, where they must make decisions: invest, sell, spend, donate to charity, experience job cuts, receive wages or random income, have children, and deal with life events.

Financial freedom.

The game ends when players reach the conditional age of 65. Victory in the game is considered to be when a player has entered the circle of financial freedom and acquired their Dream.

Key idea

In the game, you can make mistakes and digitize them, immediately seeing the results of your decisions and the cost of your mistakes. This creates a safe space for learning, self-discovery, and development, as well as visible arguments for changing your own behavior in relation to resources.