Each semester, introductory economics students at the University of New School Wales spend as much time playing an educational video game as they do studying their textbooks. To pass their course, they must master PlayConomics, a massive multiplayer video game created by the university.

Created by UNSW economics professors Isabella Dobrescu and Alberto Motta, PlayConomics takes inspiration from popular world-building video games like Minecraft, The Sims and Civilization. Within the game, students control their economies and resources, progressing from a simple society to complex cities with governments, schools and hospitals. Each of their decisions has consequences.