Game Coins: Do the Dollar Math

What your kid learns

• Coins cost real dollars

  Game coins, gems and points are virtual currency. You buy them with real money, at an exchange rate the game sets.

• Turn coins back into dollars

  Find how many coins you get per dollar. Then divide the item’s coin price by that number. Odd bundle sizes make this hard on purpose.

• The leftover trick

  Bundles rarely match prices, so you end up with leftover coins. Leftovers nudge you to buy another bundle to use them up.

• No refunds, so budget first

  Coin buys usually can’t be refunded. Store credit usually can’t turn back into cash. Set a monthly game budget with a grown-up before you tap.

The story: The dragon skin

Alex and Ravi turn the gem price of a game item back into dollars.

1. Helper: Alex wants a dragon skin in a made-up game. It costs 1,200 gems.
2. Alex: Gems don’t feel like money. They’re just gems.
3. Ravi: Let’s check. In this pretend game, 800 gems cost $10.
4. Ravi: So 1,200 gems is $15 in real money.
5. Alex: And this game sells gems in bundles of 800. Two bundles is 1,600 gems for $20.
6. Helper: That leaves 400 gems over. Leftovers nudge you to buy another bundle.
7. Alex: Gems are dollars in a costume. I’ll set a game budget first.
8. Helper: Do the dollar math before you tap. Most coin buys can’t be refunded.

The game: Coin converter

Pretend rate: 800 gems cost $10, which is 80 gems per $1. Pick the better choice each round.

Games use pretend money and work with taps or a keyboard. Nothing is timed.

New words

virtual currency

game money, like coins or gems, bought with real money

exchange rate

how much of one kind of money you get for another

bundle

a set amount of coins sold together

store credit

money you can only spend at one store or game

Questions at the end

• Pretend rate: 800 gems cost $10. How much is 400 gems?
• Why do bundles often leave leftover coins?
• You bought gems by mistake. Can you usually get a refund?
• What helps you avoid overspending in a game?
• Why do games use coins instead of showing dollars?

Remember this

Coins are dollars in a costume.

Talk about it

If you set a monthly game budget, what would it be, and why?

Try it at home: Convert your last buy

1. Think of your last in-game buy, or make up a pretend one.
2. Find how many coins you got per dollar.
3. Turn the item’s coin price back into dollars.

Convert your last in-game buy to dollars.

School standards

• Grades 6–8
• National Standards for Personal Financial Education: Spending, Managing Risk
• Common Core Math 6.RP.A.3