Common Sense Media Review
By Galen McQuillen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Match-3 game about money management not rich in learning.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
T. Rowe Price Star Banks Adventure
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
T. ROWE PRICE STAR BANKS ADVENTURE is a match-3 game in the spirit of Candy Crush, Bejeweled, or countless other clones with the added twist of investment-banking concepts and vocabulary. In it, players act as a space alien who performs various "jobs" by connecting matching color tiles, which transform into coins. First, kids choose items to work for, all with different prices and quality levels. Players gather the coins into a bank tile, where they earn interest toward a final goal of each level's item. As the game progresses, it introduces more complicated concepts like risky investments, entertainment expenses (which give energy for power-ups but don't contribute to the level's goal), bank transfers, and more. Throughout the game, players can take short quizzes on financial literacy concepts to earn extra moves, though these aren't explicitly taught anywhere.
Is It Any Good?
Though this game does introduce some money-management concepts, its lack of information around those ideas, its singular message, and its technical glitches set it back. The core ideal in T. Rowe Price Star Banks Adventure is that true success comes from acquiring material goods and that the point of entertainment is to gain more "energy" to pursue those goods, which gives it kind of a depressing feeling. The financial-literacy quizzes don't truly teach any concepts and usually have two completely ridiculous multiple-choice options and one clear winner -- a form of teaching-by-testing that really doesn't help kids understand anything on a meaningful level. Ultimately, it's entirely possible to breeze through all the game's financial content and just play to win, but paying attention to it gives a narrow view of what a person can do with money that only includes buying things and saving to get more things. If an adult sits with a kid to explain the concepts and expand on the options, it could be one way to start a conversation about money. Unfortunately, during the review period, the app continuously quit upon launch, making it a difficult sell, despite it being free.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about money management and the concept behind T. Rowe Price Star Banks Adventure. This game works best as a conversation starter, so you and your kids can have some fruitful conversations about budgeting, banking, saving, investing, and responsible purchases.
Families also can discuss alternative uses of money that might not involve paying for goods and services. There's little in the game about financial burdens like bills, rent, mortgages, and (especially relevant for today's kids) debt. There's also no suggestion that money can go toward charity, the arts, non-bank-related investments like small businesses, privately held companies, or collectibles.
Talk about the money-management choices in your family. How and where do you save money? If your kid gets an allowance, what are some ways they can save, spend, and share?
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Subjects : Math : money , numbers , Social Studies : the economy
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : decision-making , Self-Direction : goal-setting , set objectives , work to achieve goals
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : June 30, 2016
- Genre : Educational Games
- Topics : Adventures , Numbers and Letters
- Publisher : T. Rowe Price
- Version : 1.2.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 8.1 or later; Android 2.3 and up
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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