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Urban Cipher game teaches players the effects of redlining

Jul 1, 2024
"We're rolling the same thing, but we're getting different results" — that's a valuable experience, says creator Lawrence Brown.
Lawrence Brown, creator of Urban Cipher, explains how racially coded federal maps dictated lending practices in cities like Baltimore.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

How Kickstarter became a marketing tool for board games

Nov 23, 2023
Crowdfunding helps publishers generate buzz for new games, driving sales of deluxe copies.
Board game enthusiasts play Critter Kitchen, one of a growing number of strategy games that have raised more than $1 million on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

Meet Neil, 34, bartender

Feb 18, 2020
The Bureau of Labor Statistics would categorize Neil's job as a “service occupation,” along with a wide range of other workers. Two in 10 people work jobs in that category.
Thomas Patterson

The latest edition of Monopoly has a digital banker. Is it as educational?

Jul 1, 2019
No more shenanigans with that pastel-colored currency.
In this photo illustration, Monopoly board game pieces are displayed on February 6, 2013 in Fairfax, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

With Toys R Us gone, Hasbro's finding new retail shelves

Jul 23, 2018
Toymaker Hasbro will report second-quarter earnings later this morning. Earlier in 2018, the company reported that first-quarter revenue had fallen by 16 percent compared with the same period last year. It’s been a tough couple of months as retailer Toys R Us went bankrupt and closed hundreds of stores. But Hasbro is finding new shelves […]
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Clue, Battleship, Ouija and now...Catan? Hollywood tries its luck on board games

Jan 16, 2018
Popular German board game Catan may be headed to the big screen.
Players trade resource cards to build roads, cities and settlements in the German board game Catan.
Andreas Reeg/Marketplace

The Scrabble dictionary is getting an #upgrade

Aug 4, 2014
'Hashtag' is worth 14 points.

For public good, not for profit.

Family finance lessons: Comedian Hari Kondabolu

May 21, 2014
For Hari Kondabolu, the board game Monopoly was a lesson about life.