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Game Instructions - English The Playing Board - English Playing Cards 1 - English Playing Cards 2 - English Game Directions - English Overheads - English

Balancing Act: a microfinance accounting game

Topic : Microfinance

This game was produced to provide training course participants with a practical learning experience. By the end of a session using the game, participants will have practised accounting and decision-making and produced financial statements from the information generated during the game. It takes one full day to introduce, play and wrap-up the game. It is suitable for groups of 4-5 players and one trainer could supervise two playing groups.

The game is designed to consolidate and apply methods learned in the Calmeadow Financial Management Training Module I: Accounting, by taking players through a year in the life of a micro-loan fund as they move around a board containing scenarios and transactions. Transactions include disbursing and collecting loans, accessing various forms of debt, and investing excess funds. Players practise entering the transactions into financial record forms, such as the General Journal and General Ledger, and have to calculate how each transaction affects the Balance Sheet and Income Statement.

The original game was marketed as a set containing a board, cards and dice. It is now difficult to obtain this and it has been provided here in English as a set of downloadable guidelines. Using these it is possible to create your own playing board, cards and player instructions. You only need to add dice to be able to play the game. The Accounting Study Guide is also available as a downloadable document in the RFLC and provides the accounting knowledge necessary to play the game.