DECADES and Spellnest in the classroom
Two free games about money that run in a web browser. Students open a link and play: no sign-up, no accounts, no passwords to hand out. Here is what the games teach, a 40-minute lesson, and questions for the talk afterwards.
Before you start
Free, nothing to set up
Both games are free to play. There is no class code, no teacher account and no student login. Share the link and go.
Any modern browser
On a computer, an iPhone or an iPad, DECADES plays a full life in the browser. In a browser on an Android phone or tablet it is a demo that ends at age 30, which is usually enough for one lesson.
Saves stay on the device
Progress is saved in that browser on that device as students play. If school computers clear their data at log-out, each lesson starts a new life.
Names on the leaderboard
DECADES puts each finished life on a weekly board under the name the player types. For class, ask for a first name or nickname, or switch it off in Options, Online leaderboard. Spellnest's anonymous daily result turns off with Share anonymous results in Options.
Age and content
The legal pages of both games say they are not meant for children under 13. DECADES has a loan shark, gambling cards that always end in a loss, and mild mentions of violence, alcohol and smoking, all told in text. We think it fits upper secondary, college, university and adult classes best.
Fiction, not advice
Every company, person and price in DECADES is invented. The money lessons are real, but nothing in either game is advice about anyone's own money.
What the games teach
DECADES has 1,312 cards. Each is built around one idea about money and ends with a one-line lesson. These are the topics students are most likely to meet, with a real card for each. The deck deals by life, so not every student meets every card.
Budgeting and payslips
The first payslip is smaller than the offer letter: EPF, SOCSO and the employment insurance scheme come off first. The lesson: budget on the pay you actually get.
Card: "Where did RM 300 go?"Emergency fund
Size savings in months of costs, not a round number: about three months on a steady salary, six on gig income. A week of dengue or a salary that comes late puts it to the test.
Card: "How much is enough?"EPF (KWSP)
11% goes in from your pay and your employer adds 13% on top. A cash job with no payslip skips both. The fund stays locked until 55, when the game asks: lump sum, monthly payments, or leave it growing?
Cards: "The 13% you never see", "EPF unlocks at 55"PTPTN
The repayment letter arrives and a coursemate says nobody pays. Later a friend is refused a car loan because eighteen skipped payments show on his credit report.
Cards: "The PTPTN letter", "The car loan that said no"Buy now, pay later
Zero interest, with a processing fee in small grey text. Paid in four parts, RM 480 headphones cost RM 520 in total.
Card: "Four easy payments"Credit cards and loans
A card booth outside the supermarket with free luggage. Pay only the minimum on RM 3,000 at 18% and it takes about 23 years to clear. At the bank, clean months lift your credit and lower your rate.
Card: "Pre-approved, sir!"The ah long
He only turns up when a life is short of cash and sinking: RM 2,000 tonight, RM 2,400 by Friday, and a balance that grows 20% a week. The game is built so that borrowing from him always ends worse than the legal choices, such as walking away or free debt help from AKPK.
The loan shark screen, "The free door"Insurance and takaful
A schoolmate turned agent offers cover at RM 90 a month with a RM 500 deductible. Wait, and the price rises with age. With cover, a hospital month costs you the deductible; without it, you pay the whole bill.
Card: "The takaful friend"Investing basics
A stock market with company news and dividends, where one tip in four is wrong. A unit trust with a 5.5% sales charge turns RM 5,000 into RM 4,725 before it starts.
Card: "The 5.5% handshake"Being a guarantor
A cousin wants a guarantor for a RM 3,000 instalment plan. Line 14 says jointly and severally, which means the whole debt can be taken from you.
Card: "Just two names on the form"Spotting scams
A calm voice from "bank security" wants your SMS code. A job ad wants a fee before day one. Spellnest adds scam rounds: find the three red flags in a message.
Cards: "Read back the code, sir", "The job with a fee"Running a business
Open a business, set its formula and pay yourself from it. Keep its wallet above zero: three months in the red and it closes.
The business screenMoney words (Spellnest)
284 money words across twenty chapters, from money basics and budgets to debt, insurance and retirement. Each has a one-line meaning and a tip, and comes back for review until it sticks.
Spellnest's deckA 40-minute lesson
One way to run it. It works best with one device per student, or one per pair.
- Before class
Load it onceOpen aevest.net/decades/ on the class devices so the game has loaded. Pick the edition for your class: Malaysia plays in ringgit with EPF and PTPTN; International plays the same life in dollars.
- 0 to 5 min
Same startEveryone opens aevest.net/decades/, sets the edition in Options, under Region, and taps Daily life. The Daily life deals the same starting hand to everyone that day, so the class begins equal. On the name screen, a first name or nickname is enough.
- 5 to 20 min
PlayStudents play at their own pace and read every card. Each one notes a card where they were unsure, and what they picked.
- 20 to 25 min
Stop and write it downAge, then from the Home screen: cash, monthly income, monthly expenses and debt. The Money tab adds net worth and EPF.
- 25 to 37 min
Compare and talkSame start, different lives. Put the highest and lowest cash side by side and ask which choices made the gap. Then take three or four questions from the list below.
- 37 to 40 min
Exit ticketOne sentence each: a money choice they would make differently next time, and why.
Short on time? Spellnest makes a 10-minute starter. Everyone plays today's puzzle, which is the same for everybody, and the class talks about that day's money word.
How long a life takes
It depends on the pace. The pill above the big button lives 1, 3, 6 or 12 months per tap, and it starts at one. At one month per tap, a year of game life deals about fifteen cards. At twelve months per tap, it deals about three to five, so a decade is roughly thirty to fifty cards. Each card is a short read and one tap.
So in a 15-minute session, expect the first few years after 18 at one month per tap, or about a decade at twelve. A whole life to old age takes more than one lesson. It saves as students go, so it can carry on later on the same device.
Questions for the talk
Each one starts from a real card. If nobody in the class met that card, read the situation aloud.
- "Where did RM 300 go?" The first payslip is smaller than the offer letter. What comes off before the pay reaches you, and which of those deductions comes back to you later?
- "Any job, Mum says." A diner pays RM 1,900 in cash with nothing deducted. A stockroom pays RM 1,700 with a payslip and EPF. Which one pays more over a working life?
- "The PTPTN letter." A coursemate says nobody pays and nobody can chase you. What happens to a skipped payment, and who reads that record later?
- "Four easy payments." Zero interest, but RM 480 becomes RM 520. What is the real cost of the plan, and what happens when three plans like it land in the same month?
- "Pre-approved, sir!" Free luggage and no fee for the first year. Who is the card really for, and what does paying only the minimum do to a balance?
- The ah long. RM 2,000 tonight, RM 2,400 by Friday. What rate is that for one week? Why does a loan with no paperwork cost more, not less?
- "Just two names on the form." A cousin needs a guarantor for a small instalment plan. What does "jointly and severally" mean for you if he stops paying? What else could you do to help him?
- "The takaful friend." RM 90 a month and a RM 500 deductible. What does the monthly payment buy you in the years nothing goes wrong? Why can you not buy cover once the trouble has started?
- "Read back the code, sir." The caller knows the last four digits of your card. Why is that not proof he is from the bank, and what should you do instead?
- "How much is enough?" Why measure an emergency fund in months of costs instead of ringgit? How many months would you keep, and why might a gig worker need more?
Editions and languages
Malaysia
Ringgit, EPF, PTPTN, takaful, SOCSO and local prices, in English.
International
The same life in dollars with general money terms, for classes outside Malaysia.
BM (Beta)
Malay card text for part of the deck, mostly the early years after 18, with the menus still in English. When the Malay cards for that stage of life run out, the game says so and switches to English. Baca dalam Bahasa Melayu
Switch between them in Options, under Region. Spellnest is in English.
Questions, answered
Do students need an account or an email address?
No. Neither game has accounts, logins or class codes. Students open the link and play, and their progress is saved in that browser on that device.
Is it free?
Yes. DECADES and Spellnest are free to play in the browser.
Which devices work?
Any modern browser. On a computer, an iPhone or an iPad, DECADES plays a full life. In a browser on an Android phone or tablet it is a demo that ends at age 30; the full DECADES Android app is in a closed test on Google Play, and the support page shows how to join. Spellnest plays in any modern browser.
Can students carry on at home?
Yes, on the same device and browser: DECADES saves as they play. To move a life to another device, Options, Help and support makes a transfer code that works for 30 days. If school computers clear their data at log-out, the life is lost with it.
Can the whole class play the same life?
They can start the same life. The Daily life gives everyone the same starting hand that day. After the first choices, every life goes its own way, which is the point of comparing them.
What does DECADES send online?
The weekly leaderboard is on the first time you play: each finished life posts a random player id, the display name the player typed and the life's results. Switch it off in Options, Online leaderboard. The privacy page lists everything that leaves the device.
Is there a teacher dashboard or class mode?
No. There is no teacher dashboard, no class code and no way to see students' games from your screen. Students compare lives by reading out their own numbers. If a class feature would help you, tell us at hello@aevest.net.
Do the games follow the school syllabus?
We make no claim that either game matches a syllabus. They are practice for money ideas your lessons may already cover, with Malaysian money words in the DECADES Malaysia edition.
Is this financial advice?
No. Every company, person and price in DECADES is invented. The money lessons are real, but nothing in either game is advice about anyone's own money.
Tell us how it went
Using DECADES or Spellnest with a class? We would like to hear what worked, what confused students, and which cards started the best arguments. For class use or feedback, write to hello@aevest.net.
Last updated 27 September 2026