How Your Money Moves – A game

Anouk Ruhaak and Adriana Homolova have developed a prototype of a card game that helps us understand the movements of money in a world of shifting borders.

Taking place in a fictional world of three economic zones, the objective is for each player to transfer their money as quickly as possible by using formal bank transfers, new digital methods, as well as informal markets, organized crime and carrier pigeons. Players understand the the complexities of transnational financial flows, as well as how the rich and the poor, citizens and migrants are treated differently by the global system.

The Rules of BorderCross

BorderCross challenges players to transfer as much money as possible across the borders of fictional countries: Narnia (relatively poor), Oz (a developed nation) and Wonderland (a tax haven). The aim of the game is to give the players insight into what goes into transferring money abroad and how the problems they face depend on who they are, where they come from and where they are sending money. For instance, a large corporate may have the resources at its disposal to transfer money to tax havens with relative ease, while a migrant worker may experience major hurdles when attempting to remit money to their family back home.

Money can be transferred in multiple ways: through a bank transfer, Paypal, by driving it over the border, sending it via credit card, through Western Union, or flying it with help of a pigeon. Each strategy requires certain resources (like a bank account, or a trained pigeon) and comes with it’s own set of risks and benefits. The chosen strategy will likely depend on the player’s persona and situation (the yellow cards), as well as their resources (green cards).

Players start with three goal cards and to resource cards. Each goal card describes their persona, the country of origin, country of destination and the resources this persona has. A rich individual, for instance, already has a a lawyer and a bank account, but does not speak the language local to the country of destination. So, if this persona would like to transfer money by crossing the border physically, they would need to first obtain additional language resources. Whenever a player reaches their goal, they can draw a new card.

Each country has their own characteristics and currency. The exchange rates between the 3 different currencies is set at the beginning of every day. The total value of a transaction is determined when the money reaches the destination.

Rounds:
1. Each round a player can draw one resource card. The resource card gives them the opportunity to gather additional resources that allow them to transfer money through their chosen route. The player can decide to play an action card if they have one (see below).

2. The player can then decide if they would like to transfer money and how much money they would like to transfer. These decisions will depend on their resources and the resources required to send money through a given route. The latter may also depend on the amount of money the player would like to transfer. Note: some resources are optional and could be added to mitigate the risks attached to certain transactions. For instance, someone moving money over the border in person, could add a suit to their resources so as to easier get through border control. In addition, a player may decide to move money illegally and not hire a lawyer. In that case they risk getting caught (see below).

3a. IF a player decide to transfer money, they announce this to the group. They tell the other players how much money they are sending and from where to where. They then proceed to place their goal card and the resource cards on the table in front of them (face down). The transfer is now being processed for a certain number of days, depending on the route chosen. Once the processing is done, the player can add the value of the transaction (calculated in the destination’s currency) to their ledger.

3b. If a player does not transfer money, they draw an action card.

Action Cards

There are two types of action cards: global and personal cards. A personal action card allows a player try and obstruct another player’s transaction. For instance, you could draw a card that says ‘permission to check the transaction’, which gives you the right to look through the cards belonging to another player’s transaction. If they do not have the required resources for the transaction, the transaction is voided and the cards go back on the pile.

Global action cards need to be opened immediately and apply to all players. These could be global events, like a financial crisis that causes all bank transfers to be cancelled. In such an event, all bank transfers that were still being processed will be voided.

Possible Routes