Semester Reflection

Economic Theory 12 : Reflection

We created Econopoly as a fun and interactive way to apply and understand real-world economic concepts through gameplay. The goal was to take abstract ideas like inflation, government bailouts, black markets, and taxation, and turn them into engaging mechanics that influence how the game is played. Each space on the board reflects an actual economic situation or policy that can impact individuals and society just like in real life. By using creative rules such as rent control, hyperinflation, and jail decisions based on probability, we made the game unpredictable and tied it to decision-making and risk. The game encourages players to think critically about opportunity costs, incentives, and the role of governments and markets. Overall, Econopoly helped us better understand economics not just by studying it, but by experiencing its effects firsthand in a fun and memorable way.

I have valuable ideas to share about economic design and gameplay, and do so by… designing and creating the board game. I drew the layout, organized the spaces, and made sure it looked neat and playable. I also wrote the rules and added 12 unique economic events that made the game more realistic and interesting.

An example of where I took a significant risk in my thinking or the expected process was when…
I chose to change the traditional jail rule into a mechanic where the player must guess a number between 1–6. If the roll matches, they are executed and removed from the game. The theory behind this was inequality and risk in legal and justice systems. I included it to show how punishment can affect people’s lives and economic outcomes, even if they didn’t really deserve it.

I gather and synthesize information to develop logical conclusions, such as when…
I thought about the real-world effects of flawed justice systems like people can lose jobs, freedom, or even their lives based on bad luck or unfair conditions. It creates fear and reduces productivity. In the game, the rule is exaggerated but it represents that randomness and inequality.