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When Winny Soendaroe introduced a financial board game to her 11-year-old son, Justin, a few months ago, her only hope was that they would have a good time playing it. Little did she know the game would forever change the way the family looked at money, especially Justin.

“After we played the game, on our way home Justin asked me in all seriousness if we had proper insurance to protect us,” Winny said, smiling.

She said she’s grateful she introduced the game, called Praxis, to her son. “I’m a single mother and the game told Justin about financial education without me having to lecture him,” she said.

Praxis was created by the Singaporean company Eduwealth, which is widely recognized as a leader in financial education in the region. Part of its work involves improving financial literacy through games and programs.

At first sight, the game reminds many people of the iconic board game Monopoly, where players take turns and roll the dice to move their tokens, buying properties, building hotels and collecting rent. But Praxis has far more depth than Monopoly, and teaches players about actual financial situations that they could experience in real life.

Players must acquire health insurance, buy stock during a market downturn, put away money for retirement and savings, juggle cash flow and even lose a job while still having to pay rent and income tax.

Praxis Junior, which is a simpler version of the game, is available for children from 8 years old, and continues to pick up fans.

“After playing the game I have a new understanding of what it feels like to be a grown-up,” said Justin, a fifth-grader in Jakarta. “I realize now that in the past I have consumed too much by spending my mom’s money on toys and fancy weekends at the mall. Now I want to save my pocket money for a college fund.”

“I also love Praxis because I don’t have to go to jail like in Monopoly,” he added.

Praxis was developed over several years before it was introduced to a larger audience. It’s been revised several times to reduce the complexity of the game and to make it more fun for players.

“The inspiration for the game literally came to me when I was in the kitchen, so I used a simple cutting board to start with,” Hemant Doshi, one of the creators of Praxis, told the Jakarta Globe during a financial seminar in Jakarta last month.

“I wanted to fill the gap in Singapore’s education system, which does not accommodate financial education,” he said. “But if you try to do this through lectures, I guarantee you will lose the audience after 20 minutes.”

Doshi still recalls how the game received a cool response when first introduced to the public in Singapore a decade ago. “I introduced Praxis around schools in Singapore and remember how teachers were skeptical about it,” he said.

But that initial cool responses did not dampen his desire to educate more people about financial matters.

“Usually people realize that they have made some big mistakes in handling their financial situation after going through an ugly experience, such as a serious illness, and then they realize they need to get proper health insurance,” Doshi explained.

“But by then, it’s too late because insurance companies don’t want to protect them, and before you know it, you lose all your assets to cover your health bill. Now, this game is trying to deliver you that message in a simple way: Get insurance while you still can. It saves you from the shock and awe,” he said.

Today, financial education is embedded in Singapore’s education system, which helps young people understand the financial hurdles they may face in life, and prepares them for a descent retirement.

Just a decade since its introduction, Praxis has been played by more than 200,000 people, including workers and students in Indonesia. A version of the game in Bahasa Indonesia is in the works for next year.

In the meantime, the game continues to impact lives such as Winny and Justin Soendaroe. “We learn together how to handle our financial situation through this game,” Winny said.