Payday Review

Skills: How to earn and spend money.

Overview of the Game: While playing Payday kids learn to have a job, lend money, pay bills and interest, and deal with unexpected expenses.

Game Twist: If you don't have enough money to make it until Payday, you'll have to take out a loan, teaching children about living within their means.

If Donald Trump were to design a board game, Payday would be a good candidate for what it would look like. A mix of real-world issues and the fun of games like Life and Monopoly, Payday is an excellent choice for anyone looking to purchase a board game for the family. In case you're not familiar with the game, here's a quick overview of what it is, how it works, and pros and cons that might influence your purchasing decision.

Payday works in much the same way as similar "lifestyle games" like Life or Monopoly, in that it challenges each player to amass wealth through the acquisition of cash & property. Unlike other games of its type, however, length of play is determined by the players themselves (they agree beforehand on a specific number of turns). Throughout the game, a sort of balance sheet is kept of revenue versus expenses, and at the end of the game, the player with the most profit (or the least amount of debt) wins. Unlike Monopoly, Life, or other games of this type, there are no "lose a turn" or jail spaces, family creation, or cards which influence the game in some way (à la Monopoly's Chance & Community chest offerings). The game is a straightforward turn-by-turn wealth management apparatus.

Payday is a family game suitable for children of eight years old and up. However, there is a fair amount of math, as well as the need to grasp basic economic concepts. It may be helpful to go over these with your kids before playing.

Pros: Payday's pros include its fun, family-friendly nature, and its suitability for players of virtually all ages and skill levels. Perhaps the most positive aspect of Payday is its simplistic and intrinsic ability to teach concepts related to economics, finance, and mathematics without coming across as boring! People who hate math can still play, because operations are very straightforward - Profit - Expenses = Revenue. You don't even need a calculator!

Cons: Every game has them, and Payday isn't immune. Though players as young as eight are invited to play, some children (or players of any age for whom math is particularly difficult) may struggle with the game's system of perpetual calculation. Additionally, reading is a large part of the game mechanic, so you may need to help your children with that part if they aren't able to read proficiently yet.

When it comes down to it, Payday is a fun, deceptively instructive family board game that can be enjoyed for years to come.

Other Versions of the Game There are no known alternative versions of the game Payday. The only authorized version is the one released in 1975 and carried / published by Hasbro.