One of my favorite things about this game is the introduction of a currency. I haven’t done this in the past, so I’m anxious to see how it goes. Students can earn or find gold pieces and then spend them in an Item Shop. While students also earn Experience Points, I didn’t want them to lose a level by using those points, so I decided GP was a good option.
I also had to decide how students would earn gold pieces. This is where I have added choice. For example, in Garrison #1, they have a choice to go left or right at one point. By going left, they can go into a room and look around. When they see a small pouch, they have a choice as to whether they look inside or leave it alone. I’m betting the farm kids look in the pouch. Well, maybe I’ll just bet my prize heifer. When they look inside, they have to answer a quiz question to earn the gold.
The quiz will be worth 2, 5, 10 or more points and those points will be the gold pieces earned. These quizzes are in an Assignment Group titled Gold Pieces and each quiz has a (GP) in the title. This way, students can have an idea of their total GP and I can filter the gradebook by Gold Pieces to see how many students have earned. All other points would be considered XP.
I have already decided I will have gold pieces in various places for adventurers to find without having to work for it. While I do want them to earn XP and GP by doing some math, I also want to throw in some unexpected prizes.
Students will be able to spend their gold in towns along the way that have an Item Shop. There will be abandoned towns along the road to explore but also some newer villages that have popped up. These newer villages will be where students can do some shopping for Items.