A Saturday pay desk. Clips of cash land on a green blotter. Drag each clip into rent, food, bus, fun, or save. Cover the red due line on every envelope before the stamp clock hits zero. Built for money math: zero-based budgeting with moving bills, not plus and minus buttons.
Read the Due Lines
Five envelopes sit in the pigeonholes. Each shows how much is already inside and the red due minimum.
Stuff the Clips
Drag bills from the green pay tray into the envelopes. Cover every due line. Leftover money can go anywhere — savings pays a fat bonus at 20%.
Fix a Miss
Grab the top clip in a stuffed envelope and move it. The month does not seal until the tray is empty and no pocket is short.
Beat the Stamp
Eight sealed months win the desk. Three short months end the run. Easy, Medium, and Hard change clip sizes, due tightness, and clock time.
Bills on the Blotter
The paycheck arrives as real clips you can pick up. You stuff them into five kraft envelopes in an oak pigeonhole. The pieces move. This is not a row of plus and minus buttons.
Due Lines
Each envelope has a red due line — the minimum for rent, food, bus, fun, and (on Hard) savings. Dropping a clip raises the stack. Crossing the line pays extra points.
Stamp Clock
The month seals itself when the tray is empty and every due line is covered. If the clock hits zero first, a pocket is short and you lose a week.
Pull It Back
The top clip in an envelope can be dragged to another pocket or back to the tray. A bad first drop is a redo, not a locked quiz answer.
Budget Builder is a payday desk game. Kids drag paycheck clips into envelopes for rent, food, bus, fun, and savings. A complete month means every due line is covered and the tray is empty. That is envelope budgeting with weight and a clock, not a form with Submit.
Every Dollar Has a Pocket
The tray must empty. Kids feel zero-based budgeting because leftover clips sit on the blotter until they live somewhere.
Needs Come First
Due lines on rent and food are not optional. Dumping the paycheck into Fun leaves a pocket short and costs a week.
Savings Shows Up
A month with 20% or more in Save stamps a fat-save bonus. Hard mode forces a small save due line.
Touch First
Clips are large enough to drag. The mute knob sits with the score row, not under the fullscreen button.
Empty the pay tray and cover the red due line on every envelope. The desk stamps itself. There is no Submit button.
Pull the top clip out of that envelope and drop it on a short pocket. You can move money until the clock runs out.
Clip sizes, how tight the due lines are, whether savings has a minimum, and how many seconds the stamp clock gives you.
Each helpful drop scores. Crossing a due line adds a bonus. Sealing a month scores more, plus a fat-save bonus if Save is at least 20% of pay. Streaks raise the payout.
Fifth through eighth grade (about ages 10–14), when students practice money and percents. Stay on Easy for bigger clips and a longer clock.