Level Up!
Your Strategy Guide to the Game of Investing
Covering a wide range of investment options, the economics text Level Up! uses game strategies to engaging effect.
Financial professional Keenan Morris’s lighthearted business book Level Up! treats investing like a game.
Herein, computer games are the framework for understanding investment concepts. Drawing parallels between the strategies, decision-making processes, and risk assessment found in popular games and those used in the investment world, the book simplifies complex financial concepts in an engaging manner. Indeed, each chapter is treated like a new level in a game; subjects including diversification, retirement planning, and risk management are handled in chapters with titles like “Arcade Mode,” “Boss Battle,” and “Bonus Level.” And the series of worksheets in the back of the book also treats investing like a role-playing game, complete with fantasy character selections (for example, alchemist, cleric, and engineer) and a rogues’ gallery of monsters (for example, debt, procrastination, and recession). In similar form, the book’s glossary of financial terms is treated as an armory, while game-based scenarios and examples function in parallel to the principles underlying successful investing throughout the book.
Alongside its charts, tables, and graphs, which make financial data accessible to all, the book includes entertaining, fantasy-inspired illustrations to help its authoritative guidance stand out. Despite this playful approach, the book also includes serious coverage of topics like preparation for possible long-term health care and creating a will. Indeed, this is a steady guide that includes a bevy of examples and detailed explanations of how various financial products work. Investor case studies complement its central methods, with insights into people making the most of successes and anticipating and minimizing failures. The book’s deep coverage of retirement and life insurance is of particular use. Further, each chapter ends with useful exercises to solidify its knowledge and apply its theory, helping to cement principles in the memory.
However, the book’s subject matter is also enormous; in the end, its jovial worldbuilding and upbeat approach belie the breadth of its coverage. Additionally, not all topics are covered with equal depth in this mix, and the amusing chapter titles complicate the task of navigating between topics with ease. Absent an index or other clarifying material, it will be hard to return to this book in search of specific information or fast guidance.
The insightful investment guidebook Level Up! disguises its useful advice beneath the veneer of a fun gamer’s guide.
Reviewed by
Matt Benzing
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
