Co-Curricular: The Game of Life: A Conversation Starter about Wealth Disparity

Skip the lecture and join us for a game night co-curricular! Games often showcase aspects of the real world in their stories and through the actions of their player base (e.g., Hideo Kojima's anti-war messages in Metal Gear and the #FreeHongKong movement led by players in Animal Crossing: New Horizons). Studies on wealth distribution in Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs) demonstrate that market economies lead to significant inequality in wealth, resources, and social status and suggest that government policies are necessary to reduce the impact of capitalism (Blackwell & Carroll, 2018; Fuchs & Thurner, 2014). Students will play a modified Game of Life centered around examples of concepts in class division and wealth disparity.