BIG ISSUES. SMALL GAMES Game play meets social responsibility unidos us | Economic prosperity agenda
four pillars
every day consequences. Whether a family can buy a home, earn a fair wage, build a business or afford childcare, these are more than just individual efforts. They are an interconnected ecosystem.
The UnidosUS Economic Prosperity Agenda connects four essentials:
Housing: Building wealth through homeownership and ensuring every family has a safe, stable place to thrive and put down roots.
Labor and Workforce Development: Creating quality employment with fair pay, safe conditions, predictable schedules and real voice in the workplace.
Entrepreneurship: Expanding access to capital, networks and support so Latino entrepreneurs can start, grow and sustain businesses that strengthen entire communities.
Family Security: Ensuring families can care for loved ones—through paid leave, childcare and income support—without sacrificing economic stability.
the problem Our work was valuable. But engagment was slipping. For years, UnidosUS has stood out by publishing research reports, videos, webpages, microsites and more. While those are helpful, we needed to take a deeper dive into our website analytics and see if it was actually working. In a comparative analysis from 2024 to 2025, we found that: There was an 11.43% drop on our clicks across the website.
A difference of 14.81% in our bounce rate.
Our challenge: How do you get people to experience what policy means in everyday life?
Despite producing valuable content, audience engagement declined across several key website metrics. We needed a stronger invitation to engage with the issues.
filling the engagement gap Information creates awareness, but awareness does not always create understanding. In a world competing for attention across news, social media, AI and countless digital platforms, how do we close the engagement gap between awareness and understanding?
Observation of the world (Insight): A policy issue becomes personal when you have a decision to make.
A shrinking budget. A demanding shift. A path to homeownership you’re still learning to navigate. Those are the moments where economic policy meets everyday life.
They became our creative starting point. The goal: Transform awareness into understanding by helping audiences connect with the realities facing Latino families, fostering deeper connections to economic prosperity issues and building support for policy solutions that influence decision-makers.
WE found an AN OPEN SPACE BETWEEN POLICY AND PLAY. Our landscape review revealed an opportunity: combine the policy depth of advocacy with the participation built into game-based learning. Bring the Economic Prosperity Agenda into that space and give audiences an active role in understanding it.
THE BIG IDEA: GAMEPLAY THE AGENDA We translated four policy pillars into four browserbased mini-games.
Each gives players something to do: connect, care, budget, or work.
Each is designed to make an economic issue tangible through play.
1
under one roof Before you get the keys, you need the connections.
Sixteen words. Four groups. One housing puzzle.
Players connect the terms and concepts that shape the journey to homeownership.
The first door to open is financial literacy.
The puzzle creates an approachable entry into housing knowledge.
Its purpose: help players navigate the language behind one of the biggest financial decisions a family can make.
Design choice: We layered our team’s hand-drawn character over photographic interiors, pairing the familiarity of a real home with the warmth and imperfection of illustration.
2
playpen corral First, you notice the children. Then, you notice their absence.
Players gather children into a daycare playpen.
As the rounds progress, fewer children return. The changing scene brings the lesson into the gameplay.
An empty place in a daycare reaches beyond the playpen.
The shrinking attendance invite players to consider what happens when childcare becomes inaccessible.
Childcare connects a parent’s ability to work with a family’s ability to remain financially secure.
Design choice: Loose lines and playful figures soften the photographic setting. The handmade style brings an approachable visual language to a difficult subject.
3
EL MERCADITO The budget is fixed. The decisions keep coming.
You run a neighborhood mercadito.
Month after month, you make choices about staffing, inventory, and expenses while trying to keep the business afloat.
Every choice has a cost.
Behind a small business is a balancing act.
The game turns entrepreneurship into a series of trade-offs.
Players encounter the pressure of managing limited resources, opening a conversation about the access to capital and support small businesses need to thrive.
Design choice: We blended the texture of a neighborhood storefront with custom illustrated details, giving the game a local identity and the personal touch of the business it represents.
4
the american dream The clock keeps running. So do the demands.
You are a lawn maintenance worker earning the federal minimum wage.
Cut the lawns. Beat the timer. Handle the interruptions.
The pressure keeps building.
Hard work happens inside a set of conditions.
Time limits, distractions, and demanding expectations shape the player’s experience.
The game makes those conditions visible, creating an entry point into the conversation about wages and job quality.
Design choice: Our hand-drawn worker stands against a photographic landscape. The contrast keeps the person visually central, bringing a human presence to the mechanics of work.
CLAIMING website PRIME REAL STATE From exploring the pillars to stepping inside them.
Before: Four interactive cards explained the problems and policy solutions.
THE POWER OF GAME PLAY After: Four playable experiences invited visitors to engage with the realities behind those policies.
The agenda became something audiences could participate in.
DON’t just
READ about it
Play it! LINK TO GAME
economicagenda.unidosus.org
THANKS! Digital Strategist and conceptual development: Alessandra Cespedes
Portfolio Lead: Kim Marshall
Sr. Creative Director: Carlos Barahona
Art Director: Jennifer Rincon _______________________
Dev Partner: Dialogue Theory