SW New Mexico News

A team from the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service has launched a web version of their financial literacy game, "Night of the Living Debt." This initiative aims to address common financial literacy challenges such as understanding credit scores. The game was developed by NMSU’s Innovation Media Research and Extension and Learning Games Lab in collaboration with the University of Idaho Extension. Support came from the Extension Foundation’s New Technologies in Agricultural Extension.

Originally released for iPads in 2016 with support from CoBank, the game remains available on that platform. Matheus Cezarotto, Educational Technology Extension specialist with Innovative Media Research and Extension, explained the motivation behind creating a web version: “This is a redesign of a game that is already successful. It was originally designed for iPads, and we saw the need to scale that to be more accessible for people playing in a web browser.” He also noted improvements made for accessibility, stating, “We also improved the game accessibility by making it fully playable with keyboard controls for users with motor needs.”

The original iPad version received accolades such as “Best Overall Digital Game” at the Meaningful Play Conference and Gold awards from both the International Serious Play Awards and the Association for Communication Excellence.

“Every time we have showcased this game, people always get very immersed in the game and the content,” Cezarotto added.

Additionally, a teaching guide has been created to facilitate classroom use of the game. Luke Erickson, an Idaho associate professor and Extension specialist in personal finance, contributed videos discussing how it imparts real-life skills.

For more information or to play "Night of the Living Debt," visit https://nightofthelivingdebt.org.