Attention parents with elementary school aged children. If you want to let your child play a tech game that is fun, non-violent and focuses on a real-life topic - money and shopping, you may want to give Renegade Buddies a try. 

Just launched by the National Center for Families Learning and The Dollar General Literacy Foundation, Renegade Buggies was created to help parents and children gain financial literacy skills together – all with a little fun and competition along the way. In Renegade Buggies, players navigate a digital course and make real-world decisions in the midst of addictive fun: grab items from a shopping list, collect coins and coupons and watch out for obstacles – all with the goal of saving as much money as possible. As a reward for completing various stages of the game, players earn Buggy Bucks and in-game currency that can be used to purchase Buggy upgrades so your kids will have a chance to decorate the character and make other fun changes.

By capturing these situations in a game, Renegade Buggies creates the opportunity for parents and children  to engage in a joint-learning process. It also aims to reinforce money-saving tips parents may or may not know while teaching young kids everyday financial principles. Renegade Buggies gives families a free opportunity to turn popular tablets, smart phones, and other devices into learning moments. “Like adding vegetables to macaroni and cheese, it’s easy to do something fun and good for you at the same time,” said Emily Kirkpatrick, vice president, NCFL. “Renegade Buggies embraces that logic and helps parents teach valuable lessons all under the guise of a fun game.”

My kids were excited to give it a try when they saw the graphics. While it's hard to keep a child's attention on one game or app these days, they definitely enjoyed the opportunity to race through the course and pick up some ideas about the cost of common items, units costs and the value of comparison shopping.

Renegade Buggies is free and available in the iTunes and Google Play store. For more information, go to http://renegadebuggies.familieslearning.org/index.html

Give it a try and let us know what you think.