Dough & Dough

Inspiration

Financial literacy often feels intimidating, especially for students and young adults making financial decisions for the first time. Concepts like credit scores, borrowing, and financial responsibility can feel abstract and disconnected from everyday life. We wanted to make learning about credit engaging, visual, and interactive instead of passive. Rather than teaching financial literacy through slides or articles, we asked ourselves: What if managing credit felt like running a bakery? That question sparked the idea for Dough & Dough - a game where financial decisions directly impact business growth in a fun, tangible way.

What it does

Dough & Dough is an interactive browser-based game where players run their own café while managing their credit score. Players bake items like muffins, cakes, and croissants to earn revenue, but keeping the café running requires purchasing ingredients and every purchase becomes a financial decision. Players can choose to pay with cash or use credit, and their credit score updates in real time based on these choices. The game also includes loan functionality, where credit score influences borrowing outcomes. As players maintain a stronger credit score, their business grows faster, creating a clear visual connection between responsible financial behavior and long-term success. The entire experience is designed to make the cause-and-effect relationship of credit intuitive and engaging.

How we built it

We built Dough & Dough as a fully browser-based application using Next.js, React, and CSS. React was used for our core game logic and interactivity, and CSS was used for styling and layout. The credit scoring system dynamically updates based on player decisions and directly influences the business growth mechanics. We focused on creating a smooth feedback loop so that changes in credit score immediately reflect in gameplay. GitHub was used for version control and collaboration throughout development.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was balancing realism with simplicity. We wanted the credit system to feel meaningful without overwhelming players with overly complex financial calculations. Designing a system that was educational yet intuitive required thoughtful iteration. Another challenge was ensuring that the credit score, revenue, and growth mechanics remained synchronized in real time. We also had to carefully design visual feedback so players could clearly understand how their decisions were impacting their business outcomes.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that we built a fully interactive financial literacy game from scratch and successfully implemented a real-time credit scoring system that directly impacts gameplay. We were able to transform an abstract and often intimidating concept into something engaging and approachable. Most importantly, we created a learning experience where players naturally understand the importance of credit through play rather than instruction.

What we learned

Through building Dough & Dough, we learned how to translate abstract financial concepts into intuitive game mechanics. We deepened our understanding of state management and real-time updates in JavaScript, and we saw firsthand how important clear feedback systems are in educational tools. This project reinforced how powerful gamification can be in making complex topics accessible and engaging.

What's next for Dough & Dough

We see strong potential to expand Dough & Dough into a more comprehensive financial literacy platform. Future improvements could include more advanced loan structures, additional financial events such as unexpected expenses, progression levels, and achievement systems. We would also love to incorporate analytics to measure learning outcomes and potentially build a classroom mode for educators. Our long-term goal is to develop Dough & Dough into a scalable tool that empowers students to build confidence in managing credit and financial decisions.

Built With

• css
• javascript
• next.js
• react
• typescript