Poverty simulator game.

BTW, I just played this game for over an hour, and I came up with only one way that's even marginally successful.

I don't need to simulate poverty. Thanks for the thought.

Ditto.

Try it roger. It was very interesting.

You mean virtual poverty is better than the real thing? I'll concede that point.

I get the point.

But that is awfully depressing.

Ok, what I found interesting about it was how there were so many ways to allocate limited resources.

From what I can see of this game, there is one particular person it all hinges on, and it doesn't work any other way. It's wasn't, at least to me, the person I would have thought of first.

It's also a study of how it isn't all about money, but how maintaining a certain level of happiness can see you through the worst times.

Happiness, health, type of work, money, natural occurances, unforeseen events.
In one scenerio, the fact that they started doing better financially fucked them up, through no fault of their own.

The first few times I ran through it, there was some panicky feelings, but it ended up making further attempts better.

So fine, if you don't want to look at, or play it, no skin off my nose.

You dont get second chances in real life though.

Yes, this was why I would feel panicky.

It was very much in my thoughts as I tried at least 20 different scenerios, only one of which was somewhat sucessful, that I would never be able to do this in real life.

There were a few times, when the family would actually be doing well, and would be able to purchase an item that would raise the quality of life, thus making them more successful, in theory. However, the mere purchase of a realitively small, useful item, couple with, in one case, someone stealing some of their money, brought them down.

Has anyone actually tried this simulation?
It would make conversation a lot more interesting and educational if perhaps someone did.

I did. with wife (who works as a finacial advisor) in tow. Her work entails helping people overcome their financial distress.

Some of her clients have no idea. Like the woman who was insolvent and earned more than the two of us put together and still couldnt manage.

Or the guy who said he wouldnt be in financial trouble if he was still doing burgs.

So how did you both perform?

What was the strategy you used?
Who did you pick for education?
How did you deal with ill health?
What did you do to maintain a balance between happiness and health, while at the same time bringing in enough money to get through the season?

I just played the game between my last post and now, and finally came up with a scenerio where everyone ended up with an "ok life"

I thought that having peoples lives turned into a flash game seemed to trivialise the problem somewhat and may make players immune to the effect that grinding poverty has on people.

I dont think i've said that as well I want to.

Last night, when I was looking at some other websites that talked about doing weekend workshops in this. People like financial counselors, social workers, etc. participated.

One woman, a financial counselor, took it with her boyfriend. She said something like "before we started I said I would know exactly what approach I'd take, and what I'd do. Then, by then end of the first month, I'd been evicted from my apartment, because I didn't have enough for rent"

I also watched a couple of video's, that involved other simulations with other helping professionals. It involved setting up a community in a gym, complete with welfare office, etc. One woman, again, a social worker or something, expressed her frustration at being led first to one agency, then told she had to go somewhere else. At one point, she turned around, relatively early on, and saw that all the chairs in here group had been overturned. That indicated that her house had been repossessed, while she was off trying to get aid.

It didn't make me immune to it. It heightened my awareness. I was very aware that this is the reality of decisions these people have to make.

I suppose one can say the same thing about reading material about poverty, saying "it's just pieces of paper with ink spread on it"

I'm interested how you and your wife did, considering she's a professional.

Not to criticise her, but to see if what she advises to real life people worked out in this simulation.

Sure, anyone here could come on and say "it's just a game, and it's making the problem trivial", or you can look beyond that, and try to get the message that was intended.

You know, sometimes people can play a game, and realize it's a game, but represents something real.

Not everyone thinks life is an american idol show.

life is a hella lot like an american idol show.

sadly enough...

No, it isn't. I've never felt that way.

And frankly my friend, your saying that trivialized it.

that happens to me a lot...

my life is a lot more like let's make a deal, everyone dressed up in silly costumes, searching their pockets or handbags for a paper clip, only to trade it away for whats in the box that carol merrill is displaying on stage

and it's a donkey wearing a silly straw hat and pulling a cart

So i played again my folks all got sick and died.
I sent one kid to lottery school and thereafter couldnt get any education for him.
At one point I got a message that the temp was 38C and it was really hard to work. I regularily work in that kind of temp doing outdoor manual labour.

Its a game with outcomes decided by a godlike programing and social engineering team that have decided the best way to achieve the goals.
Life dosent work out like that. there are things like personality and opportunity (luck).

My wife decided on a happiness strategy with poor living conditions and tried to equalise labour, resting and education.
All her peeps died too.