The Loot Box Trap
A free game offers mystery boxes at €4.99 each and flashes “Only 02:00 left!” — the contents are unknown. Free to open, but is it free to play?
Ready-to-print worksheets
PDF · Ages 9–12Beautifully designed and ready to print. Opens as a PDF you can print or save.
In the year workbook
My Money YearThis lesson has a companion in the printable year workbook: pupil pp. 169–170, teacher companion p. 137.
Learning objectives
- Work out the cost of three mystery boxes (3 × €4.99 = €14.97)
- Explain why a “free” game does not make the €4.99 boxes free
- Name the timer pressure tactic and use a safe ask-first step before spending
Vocabulary
- In App Purchase
- Spending real money inside a game or app.
- Loot Box
- A surprise box in a game you pay for without knowing what is inside.
- Free To Play
- A game that costs nothing to start but sells extras inside.
- Pressure
- Being pushed to decide fast, before you have time to think.
Materials
Minute-by-minute flow
6′
Hook
Teacher does
Read the story: a fictional game is free to open but offers mystery boxes for €4.99 each and says “Only 02:00 left!”, with unknown contents. Ask which card facts are known and what to find out.
Students do
Say the game is free to open but each box costs €4.99.
12′
Model
Teacher does
Think aloud through task 1: what is the cost of three boxes? Show the multiplication — 3 × €4.99 = €14.97.
Students do
Work out €14.97 for three boxes.
20′
Practise
Teacher does
Set tasks 2 and 3: does “free game” mean the boxes are free, and what is the pressure tactic plus a safe ask-first step?
Students do
Explain opening is free but each box costs €4.99, name the countdown pressure, and pause to ask a trusted adult first.
4′
Discuss
Teacher does
Surface the misconception: avoid making mystery purchases exciting — the lesson is about cost, uncertainty and control.
Students do
Explain the paid cost is known but the box contents are not.
3′
Exit
Teacher does
Pose the reflection: can you know which reward a mystery box will contain before buying?
Students do
Answer no — the reward is uncertain, so the cost is known but the contents are not.
Check for understanding
Can the learner find 3 × €4.99 = €14.97, explain that a free game still charges for boxes, and name the timer pressure with an ask-first step?
Exit ticket
Three €4.99 boxes cost €__ — before spending in a game I first… (pause and ask a trusted adult).
Support
Use one box and one price card before calculating three.
Stretch
Compare four boxes with a €15 budget: €19.96 is €4.96 over.
Home connection
With a grown-up, find where in-game spending is turned off or locked on a device, and work out what three €4.99 boxes would really cost.