Need It or Want It?: Grown-Ups Guide
How to play it, what it teaches, and how to talk about needs and wants together
Need It or Want It? is a gentle card-sorting game for kids ages 7–12. Children see one everyday item at a time – a glass of water, a candy bar, a winter coat – and decide whether it is a need, meaning something that helps keep them safe and healthy, or a want, meaning something fun to have that can wait.
The big skill it builds is telling needs from wants and discovering that the reason behind a purchase can matter as much as the item itself. There is no way to truly lose. Every answer leads to a kind explanation, so mistakes are safe practice.
- What it teaches
- Sorting needs from wants, and understanding why the reason behind buying something matters.
- How to play
- Tap one of two bins to sort each card.
- Time to play
- About 3–6 minutes per round, depending on the level.
- Players
- One player; also great for an adult and child to play together.
- Internet needed
- No. After the game is loaded, it can be played offline.
- Accounts or personal info
- None. No sign-in, no names, and no personal information collected.
- Works on
- Phone, tablet, or computer.
- Accessibility
- Keyboard- and screen-reader-friendly; sound is optional; the only timed mode is optional and appears in the oldest level.
How the Game Is Played
The goal is simple: sort each item card into the right bin. The signature element kids will remember is the pair of bins in the center of the screen: a wooden NEEDS crate, labeled “Keeps me safe & healthy,” and a shopping WANTS bag, labeled “Fun to have, can wait.” The bins are the answer buttons, and each sorted card drops in with a satisfying little motion.
There are three screens, and nothing pops up over them:
- Menu: The child picks one of three age modes, sees the badge shelf, and, in the oldest mode only, can turn on an optional Lightning Round.
- Play: One item card sits in the middle with its name, a small picture, and a short situation sentence. The child taps the crate or the bag.
- Summary: After the deck is done, a friendly recap shows stars earned, best streak, any new badges, and a dinner-table question to take with them.
Controls are tap-first. Tapping a bin is all that is needed. Dragging the card onto a bin also works as an optional extra, but tapping alone always does the job. Every button is a real button, so keyboard and screen-reader users can play fully. After each sort, a Next card button appears and is ready to press. There is no time pressure unless an older child chooses the optional Lightning Round.
Feedback is kind and always teaches. A correct sort earns a cheery “Yes – that’s a need!” and a star. A miss gets a soft “Good try – this one’s a want,” with no star, but it still shows the same explanation. Either way, the child learns why. Kids can earn badges like First Sort and Perfect Round along the way.
What It Teaches
The heart of the game is one clear idea: a need helps keep you safe and healthy, while a want is fun to have but can wait.
The deeper lesson children meet as they grow is that the reason matters as much as the item. The same object can be a need or a want depending on why someone wants it.
Some items honestly fall in between. For the oldest players, a few “it depends” cards – such as cell phone, bicycle, and home internet – accept either answer because thoughtful people can disagree. The card bank holds 27 cards in all, sorted into three difficulty tiers, and each round draws a fresh, shuffled deck so no two rounds are exactly the same.
Good to know: this is a teaching game, not a money tracker. There are no real prices or dollars. The stars are just points for careful thinking, not money.
The Three Levels
Pick the mode that fits the child. Each level adds a little more nuance.
| Level | Ages | What changes at this level |
|---|---|---|
| Learner | 7–8 | 8 clear-cut cards, each with one right answer. No tricky reason cards, no “it depends” cards, and no timer. |
| Builder | 9–10 | 10 cards, including 6 “reason” pairs where the same item, such as sneakers, is sorted differently depending on the situation. |
| Entrepreneur | 11–12 | 12 cards with the most reason pairs, plus 2 “it depends” cards. An optional 15-second Lightning Round is available in this level only. |
How to Talk About It With Kids
A few minutes of conversation can turn the sorting into real understanding. Match your questions to the child’s level.
Learner Ages 7–8
At this age, keep it concrete and physical: a need is something the body or safety truly requires; a want is something fun. Use the cards as anchors and connect them to your own home.
Questions to ask
- Of the things we used today, which were needs and which were wants?
- Why does our body need water and food, but not candy?
- What is something you really wanted lately? Would you have been okay without it?
- If we could only buy needs this week, what would still be on the list?
Try it together: Walk through the kitchen or the child’s room and let them point at five things and call each one a “need” or a “want,” just like the card sort.
Builder Ages 9–10
Lean into the game’s twist: the same item can be a need or a want depending on the reason. This is where kids start noticing style, peer pressure, and advertising as want-makers.
Questions to ask
- Sneakers because yours wore out, or sneakers because they look cool – what is the difference?
- Can you think of something we bought that was really a want, even though it felt like a need?
- How do ads try to turn a want into a “gotta-have-it”? Can you spot one?
- If something you own still works but a newer one looks cooler, is replacing it a need or a want?
Try it together: On your next shopping trip, pick one item and have the child argue both sides: when would this be a need, and when would it be a want? Reward the reasoning.
Entrepreneur Ages 11–12
Embrace the gray areas the “it depends” cards introduce. The goal is judgment: spotting context, weighing trade-offs, and defending a position while accepting that thoughtful people can disagree.
Questions to ask
- Is a cell phone a need or a want? Does your answer change if it is how the family reaches the child and keeps them safe?
- Is home internet a need or a want? What about for homework, or for a grown-up’s job?
- Can the same thing be a need for one person and a want for another? Give a real example.
- With a set amount of money this month, how would you decide which wants are worth saving up for?
Try it together: Give the child a pretend monthly budget and a mixed list, then have them sort and justify each choice out loud – especially the “it depends” calls.
Take It Off the Screen
These quick activities build the same skill in everyday life:
- Do a five-item “needs or wants” sort of objects around the house, then debate the trickiest one.
- On a real shopping trip, have the child label each item in the cart as a need or a want before checkout.
- Spot an ad together – on TV, in an app, or on a billboard – and name the want it is trying to create.
- Play replace-vs-upgrade: find something at home that still works but that an ad makes you want to replace, then decide together whether replacing it would be a need or a want.
- Give a pretend allowance and let the child choose which wants to save up for and which to skip.
Words to Know
- Need
- Something that helps keep you safe and healthy and that you cannot do without, such as food, clean water, a home, warm clothes, health care, sleep, and school supplies.
- Want
- Something fun to have but that can wait, such as candy, video games, movies, or an amusement-park trip. Life can go on without it.
- It depends / context
- An item that can be a need in one situation and a want in another, such as a phone, a bike, or home internet. The reason and the person’s circumstances decide, and reasonable people can disagree.
- The reason matters
- The idea that the same item can be a need or a want depending on why you want it. New sneakers because yours have holes is a need; new sneakers to match friends is a want.
- Saving up
- Setting money aside over time for a want instead of buying it right away.
- Advertising
- Messages designed to make you want something. Ads can turn wants into “gotta-have-its,” so they are a good reason to pause before buying.
- Substitute
- A cheaper or free alternative that meets the same goal, such as drinking water to cool down instead of buying ice cream.
- Streak
- A run of correct sorts in a row. The game celebrates it with a flame and tracks the best streak in each round.