ANGLE

Funding programme

Erasmus+ KA203 – Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education

Project reference

2020-1-IT02-KA203-079758

Period

2020–2023

Coordinating organisation

CeRP – Collegio Carlo Alberto (Italy)

Participating countries

Italy, Finland, France, Netherlands, Poland

Official project website

Visit official website

ANGLE (A Network Game for Life-cycle Education) aimed to improve economic and financial literacy among young people by helping them understand the long-term consequences of financial decisions throughout their lives.

The project adopted a life-cycle perspective, encouraging participants to consider how decisions concerning education, employment, saving, borrowing, housing and retirement affect their future economic well-being.

Its educational approach combined a custom-designed board game, accessible financial education booklets and online learning resources.

Specific learning objectives

• Financial literacy: Develop basic knowledge of economic and financial concepts relevant to everyday life.
• Life-cycle thinking: Understand how decisions made at different stages of life can influence future opportunities and financial security.
• Education and employment: Explore the economic consequences of continuing education, entering the labour market and investing in human capital.
• Saving: Understand the importance of saving and planning for future financial needs.
• Borrowing and debt: Recognise the implications of taking out loans and managing financial obligations.
• Investment decisions: Introduce fundamental concepts related to investment choices, returns and financial risks.
• Financial numeracy: Develop understanding of concepts such as inflation, purchasing power, interest rates, present value and opportunity cost.
• Housing decisions: Explore the economic implications of buying or renting a home.
• Retirement planning: Understand the importance of preparing for retirement and maintaining financial security in later life.
• Risk awareness: Recognise how uncertainty and unexpected events can affect personal financial circumstances.
• Strategic decision-making: Consider alternative choices and their potential short- and long-term consequences.
• Critical thinking: Encourage participants to question financial assumptions and evaluate information before making decisions.
• Personal responsibility: Promote more informed and responsible approaches to managing financial resources.
• Social and financial inclusion: Make financial education more accessible to young people from different socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Peer learning: Encourage participants to exchange information, explain financial concepts and support one another during gameplay.
• Learning motivation: Increase engagement with financial education through interactive and enjoyable activities.
• Future orientation: Encourage young people to think beyond immediate rewards and consider the cumulative consequences of their choices.

The project organised its financial education content around four major life-cycle decisions:

1. Continuing education or entering the labour market.
2. Consuming, saving, investing or borrowing.
3. Buying or renting a home.
4. Preparing for retirement and financial security in later life.

These learning objectives are addressed through a combination of gameplay, financial knowledge questions, simulated life events, strategic choices and complementary educational materials.

ANGLE developed an original physical educational board game called ANGLE Financial Education Game.

The game was designed by the Erasmus+ partnership, with a central game design contribution from Palermo Urban Solutions Hub (PUSH), and co-created with approximately 200 European students from Italy, France, Poland, the Netherlands and Finland.

It combines financial education, life-cycle simulation, strategic choices, chance events, quizzes and social interaction.

1. ANGLE Financial Education Game

ANGLE is a board game in which participants guide a fictional character through different stages of life, making decisions that influence their economic and personal circumstances.

The game begins with each player drawing a Role Card representing a character with a particular background and initial resources.

Characters receive different starting endowments in three dimensions: Money, Knowledge and Experience.

These differences reflect the diversity of personal and socioeconomic circumstances that can influence people’s opportunities throughout their lives.

Game structure

• Game type: Custom-designed physical educational board game.
• Educational theme: Financial literacy and life-cycle economic decisions.
• Life-cycle stages: Teenager, Young, Adult and Senior.
• Player resources: Money, Knowledge and Experience.
• Main objective: Complete the life-cycle journey with the highest final Wealth score.
• Game duration: Approximately 90 minutes in the documented experimental protocol.
• Players: The standard kit includes four player pieces; the evaluation also used teams of two students controlling each character.
• Question difficulty: Basic and Intermediate levels.
• Game ending: Retirement, with different narrative outcomes determined by each character’s final score.

Main game mechanics

1. Asymmetric starting conditions: Players begin with different characters and initial distributions of Money, Knowledge and Experience.
2. Life-cycle progression: Participants advance along a board divided into successive life stages.
3. Alternative pathways: At Checkpoints, players choose between Education, Work and Experience pathways.
4. Dice-based movement and uncertainty: Numerical and special dice determine movement and influence certain decisions or events.
5. Financial knowledge quizzes: Players answer questions linked to the current life stage and selected difficulty level.
6. Resource accumulation: Correct answers and game events increase or modify Money, Knowledge and Experience scores.
7. Chance cards: Unexpected events introduce positive or negative consequences for players.
8. Checkpoint decisions: Players make significant choices that influence subsequent pathways and scores.
9. Path switching: Some board spaces allow participants to change their current pathway.
10. Badges and bonuses: Reaching specific resource thresholds allows players to obtain badges and associated benefits.
11. Peer interaction: Participants can explain concepts, exchange advice and assist other players during the game.
12. Competitive scoring: Players seek to achieve the highest final Wealth score, while collaborative interaction is encouraged throughout gameplay.
13. Narrative outcomes: The final score determines one of three possible retirement endings for each character.

Physical game components

According to the official rules, the game kit contains:

• One game board.
• One numerical die and one special die.
• Four player pieces.
• One hourglass.
• Four Basic-level Quiz Card decks corresponding to different life stages.
• Four Intermediate-level Quiz Card decks corresponding to the same stages.
• Three decks of 26 Chance Cards.
• Three sets of four Badges.
• 12 Role Cards.
• 12 Retirement Cards.
• One scoreboard.

Financial knowledge challenges

Quiz Cards introduce financial and economic concepts such as inflation, purchasing power, loans, opportunity cost, savings and the value of money over time.

Basic questions familiarise participants with relevant terminology and everyday financial concepts, while Intermediate questions introduce more demanding financial reasoning.

The official rules assign a two-minute response limit to quiz questions. Correct answers award points in the resource associated with the player’s current pathway.

Educational and social interaction

Although the game has a competitive scoring objective, participants are encouraged to discuss financial concepts and assist one another.

The documented evaluation protocol used four pairs of students per table, with each pair guiding a shared character through the game.

This arrangement created opportunities for collaborative reasoning, peer explanations and mutual assistance.

Game availability

The project website provides free downloadable game kits in English, Italian, Dutch, French, Finnish and Polish.

The official rules are also available as a separate PDF.

ANGLE Financial Education Game – Official Download Page

ANGLE Financial Education Game – Official Rules (PDF)

Game approach

The appropriate classification is Custom-Designed Educational Games.

The project developed a new educational board game rather than adapting an existing commercial board game.

Although students participated in co-designing and testing game components, the principal educational objective was financial literacy through gameplay, not the acquisition of game design competences.

ANGLE adopted a Board Game-Based Learning methodology centred on experiential financial education, participatory game design and the simulation of economic decisions throughout the life cycle.

The project combined a purpose-designed physical board game with research-informed educational content, financial literacy booklets and digital learning resources.

Its central methodological assumption was that young people could develop a better understanding of financial concepts by actively experiencing the consequences of decisions within a structured game environment.

Methodological foundations

The methodology integrates several complementary educational approaches:

• Life-cycle education: Financial decisions are presented as interconnected choices whose consequences may extend across different stages of life.
• Experiential learning: Participants explore economic situations through decisions, events and outcomes rather than exclusively through theoretical explanations.
• Game-based learning: Financial concepts are incorporated into the game’s questions, pathways, resources and progression system.
• Participatory co-design: Young people contributed to the development and refinement of the game.
• Peer learning: Participants can explain financial concepts and assist one another during gameplay.
• Active learning: Players make decisions, answer questions and interpret the consequences of their actions.

Game development methodology

1. Identification of learning needs: The partnership examined gaps in financial literacy among young people and the need for accessible educational resources.
2. Selection of life-cycle decisions: Educational content was organised around education, employment, savings, borrowing, housing and retirement.
3. Development of supporting content: Researchers prepared educational booklets containing fundamental concepts relevant to the game.
4. Game design: PUSH developed the physical board game structure, integrating financial questions, decision pathways and chance events.
5. Student co-design: Approximately 200 European students participated in the game’s development and testing, including contributions to character and Chance Cards.
6. International testing: Students from five countries participated in game sessions and provided feedback.
7. Iterative refinement: Feedback was used to improve the components and implementation of the game.
8. Multilingual production: The game was made available in six languages to facilitate adoption across countries.
9. Educational experimentation: A structured pretest-posttest pilot was conducted to examine changes in financial knowledge following gameplay.
10. Dissemination: The game and complementary materials were made freely available to educational institutions.

Educational role of game mechanics

The three principal resource dimensions—Money, Knowledge and Experience—represent different forms of wealth and personal development.

The Education, Work and Experience pathways encourage participants to consider how different choices may influence their future circumstances.

Chance Cards introduce uncertainty, illustrating that economic outcomes depend not only on personal decisions but also on unexpected events.

Quiz Cards provide opportunities to practise financial concepts and receive immediate feedback during gameplay.

Checkpoints structure important decisions and link the game’s progression with the broader life-cycle educational narrative.

Cooperative and competitive interaction

ANGLE combines competitive scoring with collaborative learning opportunities.

Players work towards individual or team outcomes measured through final Wealth scores, but they may also exchange information and help others answer questions.

Consequently, the game should not be classified as purely cooperative: its official rules define a highest-score objective, whereas its educational implementation encourages peer assistance and collaboration.

Role of the facilitator

The documented experimental sessions involved student volunteers and teacher-researchers supervising the game tables.

Facilitators introduced the activity, clarified rules, supported participants and helped ensure that financial questions were understood.

In educational settings, facilitators can also connect the simulated decisions with financial concepts presented in the project’s booklets.

Reflection and debriefing

The game incorporates spaces labelled Time to Reflect and narrative outcomes at retirement, encouraging consideration of the consequences of different pathways.

However, the public rules and evaluation protocol do not establish a comprehensive, standardised post-game debriefing procedure.

For educational reuse, structured discussion after gameplay would be beneficial, particularly to distinguish the effects of informed decisions from those of random events.

Methodological transferability

The project’s free game materials, rules and supporting booklets facilitate implementation in secondary schools, higher education and non-formal youth education.

The game offers a potentially transferable model for addressing financial education through a combination of life-cycle simulation, decision-making, knowledge challenges and social interaction.

ANGLE was implemented between 2020 and 2023 through an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership involving eight organisations from Italy, Finland, France, the Netherlands and Poland.

The project combined research on financial literacy, educational content development, participatory board game design, student testing, pilot evaluation and international dissemination.

Participating organisations

• CeRP – Collegio Carlo Alberto (Italy): Project coordinator. Scientific leadership was provided by Elsa Fornero.
• Palermo Urban Solutions Hub – PUSH (Italy): Design and development of the physical educational board game.
• ST Skills Together Srls (Italy): Educational resources, online activities and project implementation.
• ETLA Economic Research (Finland): Economic research and financial education expertise.
• National Institute for Family Finance Information – Nibud (Netherlands): Financial education expertise and supporting educational resources.
• Tilburg University (Netherlands): Educational booklet development, student consultation and game pilot sessions.
• SGH Warsaw School of Economics (Poland): Economic research and financial education activities.
• Université Paris Dauphine (France): Educational research, video learning resources and experimentation.

Implementation stages

1. Project launch, September 2020: Establishment of the partnership and the life-cycle approach to financial education.
2. Educational content development: Preparation of five financial education booklets, finalised in March 2022.
3. Participatory game design: Development of the ANGLE board game with contributions from approximately 200 students from five European countries.
4. International game testing: Students participated in game sessions and provided feedback on the design and functionality of game components.
5. Game refinement: The board game, characters, cards and rules were revised following the co-design and testing process.
6. Educational experimentation, June 2023: A pretest-posttest pilot was conducted in two French secondary schools.
7. Resource publication: The final board game was made available as a free downloadable kit in six languages.
8. Complementary digital learning: Educational videos and online quizzes were developed to support the financial literacy content.
9. Dissemination and final evaluation: The project promoted its results through conferences, webinars, institutional activities and Erasmus+ reporting.

Experimental evaluation

An evaluation report entitled Experimentation of the Table Game documents a pilot study examining changes in financial literacy following a gameplay session.

The evaluation employed a within-subject pretest-posttest design, comparing participants’ answers to financial literacy questions before and after playing ANGLE.

Two alternative sets of nine financial literacy questions were prepared, assessing similar concepts with different wording. Participants completed the sets in opposite orders to reduce the influence of question wording and repeated exposure.

Study characteristics

• Dates: 9 and 12 June 2023.
• Location: Two secondary schools in France.
• Participants recruited: 62 students.
• Complete pretest-posttest responses: 49 students.
• Participant ages: 15–17 years (mean 16.32).
• Study design: Within-subject pretest-posttest evaluation with counterbalanced question sets.
• Gameplay duration: Approximately 90 minutes.
• Total session duration: Approximately 150 minutes, including questionnaires, introduction, gameplay and other activities.
• Group organisation: Four pairs of students played together at each game table.
• Facilitation: Student volunteers and teacher-researchers supervised the activity.

Financial literacy results

In the first group (n = 30), the average financial literacy score increased from 3.73 to 4.33 correct answers out of nine.

In the second group (n = 19), the average score increased from 5.00 to 5.53 correct answers out of nine.

Therefore, both groups showed descriptive improvements in their financial literacy scores after playing the board game.

However, the evaluation report explicitly indicates that the sample size was insufficient to assess the statistical significance of the observed improvements.

Participant experience

Participants rated their enjoyment of the game at approximately 7 out of 10.

Survey responses also indicated that participants frequently asked for assistance, received help and explained information to others during gameplay.

These findings suggest that the game created opportunities for peer interaction and collaborative learning.

Other findings

The report examined relationships between financial literacy and participant characteristics, including mathematics skills, cognitive abilities, gender, risk preferences and subjective financial knowledge.

Some relationships were observed between initial financial literacy scores and cognitive or mathematical measures.

However, the small sample limits the precision and generalisability of these findings.

Institutional evaluation

In February 2024, the project coordinator reported that the Italian Erasmus+ National Agency INDIRE had awarded ANGLE a final project evaluation score of 96/100 and recognised it as an Erasmus+ good practice.

This institutional score reflects the agency’s assessment of project quality, implementation and management. It should not be interpreted as a quantitative measure of the board game’s educational effectiveness.

Post-project use

The ANGLE board game continued to be promoted and used beyond the formal Erasmus+ project period.

In 2026, CFA Society Italy and collaborating organisations announced additional educational game sessions using an updated version of ANGLE, providing evidence of continued interest and application beyond the original partnership.

Limitations of the educational evaluation

• Small pilot sample: Only 49 participants provided complete pretest-posttest data.
• No non-playing control group: The evaluation does not isolate the effect of gameplay from other possible influences, including repeated assessment.
• Statistical uncertainty: The report does not establish statistically significant improvements in financial knowledge.
• Short-term assessment: Knowledge was measured immediately after gameplay, without documented long-term follow-up.
• Limited generalisability: The evaluated sample consisted of secondary school students rather than the project’s original university target group.
• Possible contextual influences: Participants received incentives during the experimental activity, which may have influenced engagement and motivation.
• No comparative pedagogical condition: The study did not compare the board game with conventional teaching or another active learning method.

Overall evaluation status

ANGLE provides documented evidence of international game co-design, implementation, structured pilot evaluation and positive participant experiences.

The observed improvements in financial literacy are encouraging, but they should be interpreted as preliminary descriptive findings rather than demonstrated causal learning effects.

The project nevertheless offers valuable evaluation documentation for future research on educational board games and financial literacy.

ANGLE produced a collection of freely accessible educational resources designed to promote financial literacy through a life-cycle approach.

The main resources include the ANGLE physical board game, five financial education booklets, educational videos and interactive online activities.

1. ANGLE Financial Education Board Game

The project’s main BGBL resource is a downloadable physical board game containing the components and rules required to explore financial decisions across different stages of life.

The official project website offers versions in six languages:

• English.
• Italian.
• Dutch.
• French.
• Finnish.
• Polish.

ANGLE Financial Education Game – Official Game Repository

ANGLE Board Game – English Print-and-Play Kit (ZIP)

2. ANGLE Game Rules

The official six-page rulebook explains the game’s components, preparation, objective, turn structure, resource scoring, quiz questions, pathways, checkpoints and final outcomes.

The rules provide sufficient information to identify the principal game mechanics and support educational replication.

ANGLE Financial Education Game – Rules (PDF)

3. ANGLE Financial Education Booklets

The project developed the educational booklet series Be in Charge of Your Life Cycle, finalised in March 2022.

The series contains five complementary booklets:

• Booklet 1 – Well Prepared for Your Future: Economic Choices over the Life Cycle: Introduction to financial decisions and basic economic concepts.
• Booklet 2 – Investing in Your Future: Educational Choices: Education, employment and investment in human capital.
• Booklet 3 – Managing Your Future: Saving, Investments and Indebtedness: Saving, financial investment and borrowing decisions.
• Booklet 4 – A Roof over Your Future: Buying or Renting a House: Housing choices and the financial implications of home ownership and renting.
• Booklet 5 – Mapping Your Future: Preparing for Retirement: Pension planning and financial security in later life.

The booklets are available through the official project website, including translations into the partners’ languages.

ANGLE Financial Education Booklets – Official Repository

4. Educational Video Resources

Université Paris Dauphine coordinated the development of online video learning materials connected to the financial education booklets and the board game’s content.

The videos address specific financial concepts through short educational explanations intended for young audiences.

Five video playlists are presented, corresponding to the five financial education booklets.

ANGLE Educational Videos and Online Learning Resources

5. Online Financial Knowledge Quizzes

The project also developed digital quiz-based learning resources using financial education questions associated with the board game.

Questions address financial concepts, basic economic knowledge and numerical reasoning.

An online pilot contest using Kahoot was organised in July 2023, incorporating 30 questions from the game’s Basic and Intermediate levels.

ANGLE Online Learning Tools

6. Experimentation of the Table Game

The project published a methodological and evaluation report describing the educational experimentation conducted with secondary school students in France.

The report includes:

• Background and justification of the experimental study.
• Research objectives and evaluation questions.
• Pretest-posttest assessment procedures.
• Financial literacy questionnaire content.
• Session organisation and implementation protocol.
• Participant characteristics.
• Descriptive results of financial literacy assessments.
• Participant enjoyment and peer interaction feedback.
• Additional analyses and limitations.

Experimentation of the Table Game – Evaluation Report (PDF)

Resource accessibility and reuse

The official project website continues to provide access to its resource pages, the rulebook, educational booklets and evaluation report.

The English game kit and other language versions are publicly offered as downloadable archives. The contents of each archive have not been independently extracted and verified in this review.

The project requests acknowledgement of ANGLE and its official website when using the game.

No uniform Creative Commons licence has been independently confirmed for the entire game collection. Users should check individual resource conditions before modifying or redistributing the materials.

Educational transferability

The availability of game rules, printable materials, financial education booklets and an implementation protocol makes ANGLE a valuable resource for educators wishing to introduce financial literacy through tabletop gameplay.

ANGLE is a strong example of European Board Game-Based Learning because it integrates financial education into a complete physical board game with identifiable mechanics, life-cycle progression, strategic choices, social interaction and documented evaluation.

Its main methodological contribution lies in using a playable life-course simulation to introduce financial concepts whose consequences may only become apparent over extended periods of time.

The project also demonstrates how young people can participate in the co-design and testing of educational games while researchers develop complementary learning resources and assessment procedures.

Methodological strengths

1. Central role of board games: The physical board game constitutes one of the project’s three principal educational outputs and has a fully documented game system.
2. Life-cycle simulation: The game connects decisions at different stages of life, allowing learners to explore relationships between present choices and future consequences.
3. Different initial conditions: Asymmetric character backgrounds introduce differences in socioeconomic circumstances and personal resources.
4. Multiple resource dimensions: Money, Knowledge and Experience represent different forms of wealth and personal development, encouraging participants to consider outcomes beyond financial income alone.
5. Integration of decisions and uncertainty: Pathway choices and Chance Cards combine deliberate decision-making with unexpected events.
6. Adaptable knowledge challenges: Basic and Intermediate quiz levels allow the game to accommodate participants with different levels of prior financial knowledge.
7. Peer learning opportunities: The game encourages interaction, advice and mutual assistance even though its scoring system is competitive.
8. Participatory development: Approximately 200 students contributed to the game design and testing process across five European countries.
9. Multilingual accessibility: Six language versions facilitate use in different educational environments.
10. Documented educational evaluation: The project provides a pretest-posttest pilot protocol, participant characteristics, descriptive results and limitations.
11. Post-project sustainability: Continued educational events after Erasmus+ completion indicate that the game has retained practical relevance beyond the original funding period.

Methodological limitations and considerations

1. Limited choice autonomy: Although players select pathways, some outcomes are determined by dice and Chance Cards, reducing their direct control over the consequences of decisions.
2. Simplification of financial decisions: Complex economic processes are represented through discrete scores, questions and events. Their relationship with real-world financial decision-making requires careful interpretation.
3. Knowledge recall versus applied competence: Quiz performance can demonstrate recognition of financial concepts without necessarily establishing the ability to apply them in realistic financial situations.
4. Competitive and collaborative tension: The game encourages cooperation while rewarding individual or team success. This combination may generate productive interaction but should not be described as a purely cooperative game.
5. Dependence on prior knowledge: Participants with stronger initial financial or mathematical knowledge may have advantages when answering quizzes and accumulating resources.
6. Limited debriefing documentation: The game incorporates reflective elements, but a standardised post-game educational debriefing protocol is not clearly established in the public documentation.
7. Small evaluation sample: The documented French pilot included 49 complete pretest-posttest responses, limiting statistical precision.
8. No causal effectiveness evidence: Descriptive improvements in financial literacy scores cannot establish that the board game was responsible for the observed changes.
9. Limited assessment of retention: The evaluation measured immediate post-game knowledge rather than long-term learning or behavioural change.

Connection with modern Board Game-Based Learning

ANGLE represents the development of an original educational board game rather than the pedagogical adaptation of an existing commercial game.

Its design uses several recognisable tabletop game mechanisms, including asymmetric starting conditions, branching pathways, resource accumulation, event cards, quiz-based challenges, dice-based uncertainty and narrative outcomes.

However, the game is strongly structured around predefined educational content. Many rewards depend on answering financial knowledge questions rather than exclusively on the consequences of decisions generated by the game system.

This distinction is important when assessing the relationship between game mechanics and learning.

In an educational board game, knowledge can be incorporated as information presented through questions, as decisions embedded in the mechanics, or as understanding that emerges from interaction with the game system.

ANGLE combines these approaches, although its explicit quiz-based learning component remains particularly prominent.

Implications for educational game design

ANGLE illustrates several considerations relevant to future BGBL projects:

• Use simulated long-term consequences to address decisions that cannot easily be experienced directly in an educational setting.
• Introduce different starting circumstances to stimulate reflection on inequality and opportunity.
• Combine decision-making with uncertainty while avoiding the implication that financial outcomes depend entirely on luck or individual responsibility.
• Ensure that the educational content is meaningfully integrated into game mechanics rather than relying exclusively on quiz questions.
• Distinguish cooperation as a learning process from cooperation as a formal game mechanic.
• Include structured discussion about how simulated decisions differ from real financial circumstances.
• Evaluate financial knowledge through objective measures rather than relying solely on enjoyment or perceived learning.
• Use larger samples and appropriate comparison conditions when testing educational effectiveness.
• Measure longer-term knowledge retention and the transfer of learning to real-world decisions.

Overall assessment

ANGLE is a highly relevant example of custom-designed educational board gaming for financial literacy in European higher and secondary education.

Its strongest contributions are the integration of life-cycle decision-making into a physical game system, participatory student development, publicly available multilingual materials and a documented attempt to evaluate learning using objective financial literacy questions.

The evaluation provides preliminary evidence of positive short-term changes in financial knowledge, although the available data do not establish statistically significant or causal educational effects.

For the European BGBL Observatory, ANGLE is particularly valuable as a case study of the relationship between educational content, game mechanics, life-cycle simulation, participatory design and experimental evaluation.