Application Crunch

Application Crunch is a card game for high school students that creates playful ways to understand the systems essential to accessing higher education. Players take on the role of a college applicant who needs to balance academics and extracurricular activities as they apply to colleges and scholarships. To win, the player must get into college, save enough money to pay for tuition and other expenses, and build up the kind of character who can succeed in their chosen school. Application Crunch was created by the USC Game Innovation Lab as part of the FutureBound Games suite.

Application Crunch focuses on lessons of time management and application building. To succeed, students learn strategies around meeting specific application requirements, pre-planning which scholarships and colleges to apply for, and building up strong character qualities to match their aspirations.