Thanks to Brian Page for finding this interactive and developing this set of reflection questions to accompany it.

Interactive: Up My Score: Million Dollar Challenge

Cheat Sheet:

• Adobe Flash Player is required
• There are four skill levels players should play in order: Clueless, Consumer, Expert, UpMyScore Guru
• Each level requires the player to respond correctly to 15 questions
• As you can see from the question dashboard:
• The player has 120 seconds to answer each question
• The player chooses from four possible responses
• The player receives up to three hints per level that can be used if a question is initially answered incorrectly
• The player receives feedback after responding correctly that provides more detail

Reflection Questions:

• Jot down your scores after each round:
  • Clueless: 
  • Consumer:
  • Expert:
  • Guru: 
• What facts most surprised you from the game?
• What question(s) did you find most confusing?
• What did you learn that you will apply to your own credit building plan?
• What questions do you still have about how you can build your own credit? 

Game questions requiring clarification: There are a few questions in the game that need to be clarified, which we do below:

• Age will indirectly impact your credit score because the length of credit history is a factor in credit scoring
• Experts do not always agree with the “best” number of credit cards to have in order to build the highest credit score. Some experts believe that up to 15 credit cards managed by maintaining a utilization rate as close to 0% as possible is most effective, while others believe 1-3 is most effective because maintaining 15 lines of revolving credit could be counterproductive and lenders may worry about the amount of credit available when applying for an installment loan.
• Professional “credit score enhancement” (or repair) can improve your score, however, consumers can learn and use the same strategies for free that are recommended for a fee by credit repair companies.
• Your credit history can be a factor in obtaining or maintaining employment, but employers do not receive the same credit reports as are sent to lenders, insurance companies, landlords, and utility providers.

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