Novel & Cerita Games About Poverty

(Vera POV) The next crisis was worse. DROUGHT. Then: MINING COLLAPSE. Then: BORDER DISPUTE. By evening, everyone was exhausted. Many deals collapsed, and two territories declared war. One contestant bankrupted herself maintaining an army she didn't need. Another hoarded food until her fictional citizens revolted. And somehow–

I feel pity for the big guy. Right now, Roman and I are in a stand-off against his cousins Menandro and Lara in a game called Sapo. It meant Choke the Frog, but without an actual frog. A figurine frog sat on top of an erected log in the middle of the garden. Each team has ten gold coins and all we have to do is aim for the frog’s mouth, choke the figurine. It was easier said than done. Each team hasn’t been able to choke the freaking open-mouthed frog yet. We only have four coins left for each team. Menandro missed another shoot. Lara’s aim was no good as well.

Note to self: Ask Adrian who they were later. With nothing else to do, I spent the day reading a book on my phone but got bored and ended up playing different video games, or—more accurately—getting my ass handed to me in a game called ‘Warzone Legion Xr’. A hyper-realistic shooting game that puts players into an underground warzone where criminals, assassins, and mercenaries fight for their freedom, using everything from different weapons and strategic sabotage, very Antonio-like. I kept losing to a player called WadeSlasher, and somewhere between our eighth or ninth match, I discovered, each loss cost me three thousand dollars.

Shane’s voice was steady, though his hands clenched tightly. “She looked out the window when the voice said not to. They don’t like it when you disobey.” “The what?” Shane didn’t answer her question right away. His eyes lingered on the girl with the rose blooming from her mouth, then slowly turned back to Farrah. “The ones who run this… whatever it is… they call it a game,” he said quietly. “But it’s not a game anyone wants to play.” Farrah’s hands clenched into a fist… “She’s dead, isn’t she?”

“I’ve been with my girlfriend for five years. I worked four jobs to help pay off her debts, but her family’s debt just keeps growing. Today we were supposed to go home together for New Year’s, but she said something happened at the barbecue place and left again. “Sigh… I guess I’ve failed as a boyfriend. I don’t even know when her debts will be paid off. Living on plain buns and pickles every day is just too hard…” As the train started moving, I posted it. I put all the money I had grabbed from Matt’s livestream into boosting it. Wren, those who lie have to swallow a thousand needles. Starting today, you can take your time swallowing them. I won’t be staying to watch.

"I'm fine." "You're eating half a meat pie for lunch Leo." "I said I'm fine Junior." Junior pulled it back with a long sigh. He knew better than to push. Leo's pride was the one thing that years of poverty had not managed to strip from him and everybody at the yard knew to respect that boundary even when it was painful to watch.

“Venus organized all of that.” His eyes widen as he turns back to me. “You did?” I frown slightly. “What? Is that weird?” “I didn’t know you were into things like that too,” he says honestly. “It’s important,” I reply. “Poverty doesn’t come from a lack of charity. It comes from unemployment. You can donate all you want, but it won’t last if people don’t have stability.” Alex looks at me for a long moment, something warm settling into his expression. “The more I learn about you, the more impressed I am,” he says. “Honestly, you would’ve made a great Luna.”

My boyfriend's childhood friend had set her sights on the one keepsake my mother left me. She wheedled and needled at me for weeks, but I never gave in. A few months later, my boyfriend came to me again, saying his business had failed and left him buried in loan-shark debt. He said that if he couldn't pay it back, the collectors would cut off his limbs. To help him settle it, I handed over every cent I'd saved, even my mother's bracelet. That same night, while I was working at the club, I overheard a conversation in one of the private booths. "Eric, if it weren't for Donna's idea to have the rest of us play loan sharks and put on this whole act with you, there's no way your girlfriend

"How do you think we should handle this, then, Mrs. Emerson?" Mom lowered her gaze to the smashed, ruined cake on the floor and looked back up at me. "Word is people from poor mountain gullies spend their whole lives pinching pennies and hate wasting things the most. Why don't you get on your knees and eat everything on the floor clean for me?" The guests around us watched the scene unfold, whispering and murmuring among themselves. Their gazes surged toward me like a tide, weighing down on me so heavily that I could barely breathe.