Learning aim
Pupils can explain that many "free" games make money from in-game purchases, that in-game currency hides the real cost in pounds, that loot-box rewards are random so you cannot be sure what you get, and that they should always ask a trusted adult before spending real money in a game.
Curriculum links (four UK nations)
- PSHE Association KS2: keeping safe online; recognising pressure and influence; about the role money plays in their lives, including saving and spending.
- Computing KS2 (England): use technology safely and respectfully; recognise where to go for help and support.
- Maths KS2 (England): describe events using the language of chance — certain, likely, unlikely, impossible; money problems with £ and p.
- Scotland (CfE): Health & Wellbeing — keeping safe and managing influence; Numeracy — money and the language of chance.
- Wales: Health & Well-being AoLE — influences and safe choices; Mathematics & Numeracy — probability language.
- Northern Ireland: Personal Development & Mutual Understanding — keeping safe; Mathematics & Numeracy — chance and money.
See the full mapping on the teacher curriculum map.
What you'll need
- Mini-whiteboards + pens (one per pupil)
- A small bag with 9 plain counters and 1 gold counter (the "rare" prize)
- Sorting cards: "costs no real money" vs "costs real money" (printable from the worksheet bank)
- Board space for the coins-to-pounds conversion
Background for the teacher
Most popular games children play are "free-to-play": free to download, but designed to earn money from optional purchases. Two ideas matter at KS2:
- In-game currency hides the real cost. Games sell coins, gems or "V-bucks/Robux-style" currency in bundles. Because you spend currency, not pounds, it is hard for a child to feel how much real money is going. Bundles are often sized so you must buy more than you need.
- Loot boxes are random. A loot box, pack or "mystery" reward gives an unknown item. You might get something good, or nothing you wanted. The chance is the same every time — buying lots in a row does not make a good one "due".
Keep the lesson about how the games are designed. The single safe behaviour to teach is: always ask a trusted adult before spending real money in a game. (UK law and gambling are taught later, at KS3/KS4.)
Lesson structure (45 minutes)
HOOK
TEACH
GUIDED
CHALLENGE
PLENARY
Adapting for all learners
Support
Pre-sort half the cards as a model. Give the conversion as a part-finished number sentence (£8 + £8 = ?). Provide the chance words on a number line from "impossible" to "certain".
Stretch
Ask: "Why might a game make the rare item very unlikely?" and "Design a fair label a game could show before you buy a loot box." Introduce simple fractions for the counter chance (1 out of 10).
SEND adaptations
- Use the physical counter bag so chance is concrete, not abstract.
- Pre-teach picture cards: free, real money, random, ask an adult.
- Replace writing the golden rule with choosing the correct rule from two options.
- Offer a calm opt-out for any pupil for whom this is sensitive (see safeguarding).
EAL support
- Bilingual key words: free / real money / random / ask / help.
- Lean on the hands-on counter and sorting activities so understanding is not language-dependent.
- Allow the golden rule as a labelled drawing.
Assessment criteria
- Working towards: can say that some game items cost real money.
- Expected: can explain that in-game currency is real money and that a loot box is random, and can state the golden rule (ask a trusted adult first).
- Greater depth: can work out the real £ cost from a coin bundle and explain why leftover currency encourages more spending.
Homework pack
- Spot the real price (no spending). Find a game you know and write down one thing it sells and what it would cost in real pounds.
- Chance words. Write one thing in a game that is likely and one that is unlikely.
- Talk task (optional, voluntary). Agree one game-spending rule at home with a parent or carer. Nothing to hand in — it is a conversation.
Marking guidance: accept any sensible real-money example for Q1; for Q2 check correct use of likely/unlikely.
Classroom safeguarding
This can be sensitive. Some pupils may be affected by money worries or game-spending at home. Keep all activity about how games are designed — never ask pupils to share their own or their family's spending in front of the class.
If a pupil discloses a worry, follow your school's safeguarding policy and speak to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. Respond calmly, do not promise confidentiality.
Help to share and display:
- Childline — free and confidential for any child: childline.org.uk or 0800 1111.
- Always okay to tell a trusted adult at home or school.
Answer key & differentiation
Answer guide
- Hook: "free" games earn money from optional purchases made inside the game.
- Guided (a) sort key: playing, and earning coins by playing, cost no real money; buying gems and buying a loot box cost real money.
- Guided (b): pulling the gold counter is unlikely (1 out of 10). Because the counter goes back each time, the chance never changes — a gold is never "due".
- Challenge: a 1,500-gem skin needs two 1,000-gem packs = £16, leaving 500 gems — and that leftover is designed to prompt the next purchase.
- Plenary golden rule — accept any wording of: ask a trusted adult first, and check the real £ price before spending.
Support (scaffold)
- Stack a physical "£8" card on the desk for every gem pack bought, so the real cost is visible and countable.
- Give the sorting question aloud for each card: "Does this need real pounds, or just playing time?"
- Paired echo: one pupil says the golden rule, the partner repeats it back before both write it.
Stretch (challenge)
- If each loot box costs 100 gems (80p at £8 per 1,000), roughly what might it cost to keep buying until the 1-in-10 prize appears? Why is there no guarantee even then?
- Shade 1 square in a 10×10 grid to feel what a 1-in-100 "legendary" chance looks like next to the bag's 1 in 10.
- Is currency earned by playing really "free"? Argue both sides using time as a cost.
Related lesson plans
This is general financial and PSHE education, not advice. See our editorial & sourcing policy. Free to use in UK classrooms under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 with attribution to UK Tax Drag.