The Cash Flow Game

We attended another Real Estate Investors Association meeting this week. There was no speaker or topic. Instead we broke up into groups to play the Cash Flow Game. The Cash Flow Game is an invention of Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad, Poor Dad Fame. It is a board game that can be played by about 6 players at a time. Each player is assigned a profession and the basic financial parameters of that profession. There is a center circular track on the board that is called that Rat Race. That is where all of the players being, going round and round in the rat race. The object is to get your passive income to be higher than your expenses. Then you can get out of the Rat Race and on to the Fast Track. On the Fast Track, the income potential increases dramatically, and basically you have won the game.


The game makes several interesting points. The first being that your starting profession, doctor or janitor, has no bearing on how quickly you can get out of the rat race. The other important point is that as long as you keep playing, all players will eventually get out of the Rat Race. The game also requires that you keep a basic personal financial balance sheet. So, it is helpful to see how different kinds of investments affect your personal financials.


Even though the game is a bit pricey, $195, to purchase, I would recommend it as a useful tool to begin your real estate investing career. There is also a children’s version of this game that I am told is also very good. I have yet to try it myself since I do not have any children, but I do believe that it is important to teach children financial lessons early in life.